My Mum Makes Art Smock

My son, who will be turning three this summer, has always been a messy eater. When he was an infant, during the warmer months we would just strip him down to his diaper (suggested by our lactation consultant) and put on a bib and let him go to town. For the colder months I discovered these waterproof smocks. My husband and I have been suiting him up with a silicone catch-all bib and smock and it’s been working really well. We are at the point now where the smocks are too small and the Velcro has gone out. While the waterproof fabric is good in some ways, it also delaminated over time and tended to be very sweaty during the non-winter months. For this reason I wanted to make him some sturdy 100% cotton smocks in a larger size. I wanted to avoid Velcro this time around too because as I mentioned before, over time it lost its effectiveness and it made washing more of a pain because things would catch on it (and over time fuzzies got caught in it too).

I found it surprisingly difficult to find a sleeved smock pattern. The sleeves are pretty crucial because as I mentioned before he’s messy and always finds a way to get his arms into whatever yogurt or marinara sauce he happened to have in front of him.

After some searching on Etsy I found the My Mum Makes art smock. I chose it because it had the size range I was looking for, good reviews, and actual finished garment photos.

Pattern Background

This is a PDF only digital pattern. The two sizes included are 1-4 and 4-8. In addition to written instructions the seller has video instructions available as well. I love this trend because it makes sewing so much more accessible to younger people who may not an actual in-person mentor to help them out.

The smock has two pieces: front and back. They’re cut-on sleeves and just sewn together. The hems are finished with bias tape. Elastic is used to gather the neckline and sleeves.

Materials

For my first version (the blue one) I used a sturdy cotton Kaufman Oxford cloth shirting I got from the long gone fabric.com back in 2012. It is the weight of a lightweight denim shirting.

For my beige versions I used a Robert Kaufman 100% cotton fine line twill from Fabric Mart.

Construction

I changed a few things from the instructions.

I didn’t use binding for finishing the back and hem. Instead I did a 1/4” rolled hem. For my blue version I used a rolled hem foot on my Juki TL-2010Q. For my beige version I used the paper hem method.

I wanted to use a tie in the back instead of the elasticized bias binding as it isn’t important to me that he get it on and off independently. (In fact I want him to need help because I want to get a chance to wipe off his hands before he touches his hair/clothes!) So I ended up cutting out some self fabric bias binding, making it long enough to tie in the back. I then threaded the elastic through the casing made by the binding and secured it where the back ends. It was tedious. For subsequent versions I used 1/4” elastic, stretching it as much as it could go to fit and stitched it down in the middle. Then I applied the binding, stretching the elastic out as I went along so it wasn’t gathered. Then once I was done I carefully steamed it so it shrunk back into shape.

The cuffs called for 1/4” elastic with a 1” casing. Like what?? The cuff is quite small so I ended up cutting a piece of 3/8” elastic, overlapped and sewed the ends, tacked it down at the seams, then stitched it in place to the wrong side down the middle, stretching to fit. Then I flipped it over twice so that the raw edge was fully enclosed and stitched along the edge very closely. Much neater and the elastic won’t roll during washing.

Conclusion

This pattern is not really professionally done pattern like you’d get from Jalie, Style Arc, Ottobre, Burda, etc. The drafting IMO should be cleaned up a bit more (it is literally just hand drawn lines) and I noticed some errors. There’s no grainlines drawn and both pieces are labeled “front.” This didn’t give me a ton of confidence However, it fits my son well, keeps his clothes clean, and is very easy to wash.

Ottobre 1/2024 #17: Toddler Wide Leg Pants

Another winner from the Ottobre 1/2024 issue. He’s been wearing them all fall, winter, and spring!

Pattern Background

This is a wide leg pants pattern with back and front pockets, faux front fly, and a partially elasticized waistband. It has a wide range of sizes. #17 is European 92-122, and #22 is 128-170.

As I mentioned above, these pants start at 92 and go all the way to 170. I made a size 92. I do find the waist is a bit on the low side with these pants, especially since he wears cloth diapers, so in the future I may extend the rise a bit to help with coverage. I did my usual adding 1/2″ length to the top of the center back seam to help with coverage and and honestly it could have been more.

Fit/Sizing

When I first made these they were a bit too long and needed to be cuffed, but not long after he had a growth spurt and now they’re totally fine as long as he’s wearing shoes with them.

Materials

Any sort of woven with a bit of stretch will work for these pants – denim, corduroy, twill, etc.

I used a slightly stretchy fine wale corduroy, purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics last year.

Construction

These pants are fairly straightforward. As I mentioned in the description its a faux front fly, so you just turn back the inside pieces and topstitch and then sew a button onto the front. The waistband is elasticized except for a small section in the front between the pockets.

Conclusion

I’ve made my son a couple of pairs of woven pants for the fall and this is my favorite pattern. He really likes the wide cut (easier for playing). I was unsure at first about how it would look on him since he has a slim, muscular build for a toddler but I really like them on him. They have a modern look and go well with looser fitting sweatshirts as well as slimmer fitting t-shirts.

Jalie 4131 Laurent Sweatshirt

The boys in their matching Easter shirts!

I made this several times so far for both my husband and son. The latest version, which is shown in the photos, were matching Easter sweatshirts. I embroidered both of them on the ancient Janome 300e my mom gave me last fall (another new obsession of mine). The machine is ancient and was sitting in a closet completely untouched for about 20 years. I oiled the bobbin and needle bar and have been using it ever since. I had to hunt on Amazon for memory cards that would actually work and designs often require me to do some rotation and size adjustment in Ink/Stitch, but I’m making it work.

Another one I made for my husband, freshly embroidered! You can see how much nicer the neck looks.

Pattern Background

This pattern is for crewneck and hoodie sweatshirts as well as a tshirt. The size range goes from size 2T to 2X. Th suggested fabric is sweatshirt fleece with a minimum of 10% stretch and ribbing for the neck, cuffs, and waistband. You can also use self fabric if your fabric has at least 30% stretch.

Materials

I used a cotton/polyester sweatshirt fleece I found on Amazon. It is not great quality but for something like this which is worn only a few weeks it is fine.

The ribbing is a cotton/lycra rib knit from Nature’s Fabrics. I’m not really happy with it. It seems like the recovery isn’t great (which caused some gaping at the neckline) and the hand suggests there’s some polyester content hidden in it.

Fit and Alterations

For my husband I used size Y, which is on the larger side of Medium.

I found the collar ribbing rather wide and removed 3/8” from the width, bringing down the finished width to 3/4”.

He also found the collar was too tight. I added another couple of inches to the length.

My husband is 5’4” so I shortened the sleeves 3”. For the first version I shortened the length 3” but he found it too short, so I reverted back to the originally drafted length.

For my son, I just added a couple of inches around the hips because he still uses cloth diapers when out and about. I may have to take it in next year because he keeps getting taller and slimmer!

Construction

This is a super easy make. You can do it almost entirely on a serger. I did cut out the fronts and embroidered them before sewing it up because it’s just easier to hoop that way.

Conclusion

I use this all the time for sweatshirts for my “boys.” It is a classic style and one of the few knit Jalie patterns that doesn’t require a lot of stretch. Highly recommend!

First Jelly Roll Rug

Something totally different for me. I happened to see videos of people making them on Facebook and decided to try it for myself. I wanted something to go under my recliner so that’s why I chose to make a circular one.

Materials

I used Craftido’s Timeless Blue jelly roll. One jelly roll made a circular quilt about 3 feet wide.

For the batting I used HexaHive 2 1/2” jelly roll batting. I used an entire roll and then some of a second roll.

The thread was Gutermann Mara 100, one of the big spools from Wawak. I can’t believe how much thread jelly roll rugs require! I changed my bobbin at least twice on my Juki when I was sewing the strips and batting together and 4-5 times on my Janome when sewing the rug.

Construction

I found this YouTube video very helpful for getting started. She gets to the point and moves along unlike so many others that just talk talk talk.

I constructed the strips on my Juki TL-2010Q with the help of the Clover fabric tube maker. I found the big piece of the fabric tube maker really helpful but struggled getting the edges even with the smaller one. I would consider not using the smaller section next time.

I sewed the strips together on my Janome 6500P using a 6mm width and 1.5mm length and 100/16 jeans needle. Many people use a walking foot but I found it wasn’t necessary. My machine had no issues feeding the fabric despite going at top speed sometimes.

By far the hardest part was getting the middle started. I had to try a few times and what worked was just standing there with my iron working it in a circle at the ironing board. It still looks a bit rough to my eye but I guess it’s a good first attempt. You can see how my stitching improved more as the project went on and I got the feel for what to do.

At a certain point I realized I really needed an extension table in order to continuing making the rug. I technically have an extension table for this machine but some of the legs broke on it years ago, and I have no idea what happened to the remaining ones after we bought our house a few years ago. I ended up propping up the table with a bunch of books and magazines on the larger end, and cut a couple of pieces from a sturdy cardboard tube for the section that wraps around the machine. It is not a long term solution for sure but it got me through this project.

There is a bit of curling around the outermost edges. I admit I was rushing the final few laps because I was almost done and my toddler needed to be fed lunch. I should have done this at my dining room table because the table I was working at in my sewing room isn’t super wide and in the final stages of the project it started hitting the wall. I also should have stopped and pressed more like I did in the beginning, and been a bit more aggressive about easing in the strip being sewn in to the rest of the rug like I was earlier on.

Conclusion

When I started on this project last night I was like what have I done?? It seemed like the sewing would never end, and my wrist is a bit sore from manipulating the fabric round and round into the circle. I also struggled a LOT getting the circle started. But on the other hand as time went on I almost felt like the constant sewing was rather soothing. I also like the practicality of being able to make whatever size, shape, and color rug I want in the future.

Jalie 3243: Pull-on Pants

This was a very quick and easy Friday night project. I’ve been trying to get ahead of a summer wardrobe and needed some lightweight pajama shorts.

Pattern Background

Jalie 3243 pull-on pants and shorts have front patch hip pockets, an elastic waistband, and the option of having either the waistband facing showing on the front (nice if you want to do a contrasting color) or hidden inside. This pattern is drafted for wovens.

Sizes go from 2T all the way up to women’s size 22. As is often the case with Jalie, I chose this pattern because the wide size range and classic styling mean I can use it for my toddler son as he grows as well as for myself and my husband.

Materials

You can use both regular and stretch wovens. I used a lightweight plaid flannel I bought back in 2012 from Fabric Mart. It isn’t the best quality flannel but since I wanted these for summer pajama shorts the light weight and minimal nap worked in my favor. (And yes I really paid only $3 a yard! How I miss the times before rampant inflation and tariffs.)

Size and Alterations

I cut a size CC based on my hip measurement. For alterations I added 2.5” to the center back seam height, tapering to nothing at the center front. I also added 1/4” width to the front inseam. I left the pockets off because these are for pajamas and I just didn’t want to deal with trying to pattern match that.

My first pair wasn’t uncomfortable but they just seemed too snug for my taste. Jalie does note on their website that if you want a looser fit in the hip you should go up a size or use a stretch fabrics.

I also noticed they were too tight in the butt and the side seam wasn’t hanging straight. So for my second version I added 1/4” to all side seams, thus giving myself another 1” of ease, and added another 1/2” width to the back side seam at the hip. Here’s what the back piece looked like after I was done:

These alterations made my second pair much better.

Construction

These pants are very quick to make. I sewed them on my Juki TL-2010Q (always a pleasure to sew on for light to medium weight fabrics) and finished the inside seams on my serger. I did a couple things slightly different from the instructions though.

Rather than creating a casing and then pulling the waistband elastic through, I sewed the seam allowance of the waistband facing piece directly on top of the elastic, overlapping the edge of the seam allowance about 1/4” from the left edge of the elastic and using a 4mm length stitch so I wouldn’t overwork the elastic and stretch it out of shape. Then after I rolled the elastic to the inside of the shorts I stitched very close to the lower edge of the elastic. Once it was done the elastic was completely encased and then I topstitched in the middle. No need to make a casing and then pull the elastic through.

Of course it isn’t as adjustable after the fact so probably not good for kids clothes or your first version, but good for situations where you have confidence that you won’t need to alter it after the fact.

When I did the hem I first turned it up only 1/4”, then turned it up again another 3/4” and stitched very close to the edge. Very similar to how I did the waistband. This made for a very neat hem finish:

In the past I used to serge then fold to the inside and then topstitch over the serged edge, but I find myself preferring to try new things and do finishes like this lately. Helps distract from some recent sadness like my father’s health struggles and losing my beloved cat recently. (My dad actually improved enough that he was able to go home to my mom a couple of weeks ago, but I’m still doing a significant amount of caregiving duties. And while my cat had some health struggles the past six months, I wasn’t anticipating losing him quite so soon and miss him terribly.)

Conclusion

This is a really nice pull on pants pattern for all ages. The waistband facing eliminates having to measure and turn up a waistband casing, and the fit is actually quite tailored for this style of pants. I do recommend going up a size though if you use a non-stretch woven.