Mama's Flannel Pants

So, enough of making cute things for this tiny being who does not yet have a body to himself!  I made some pants for me, this time!

Don't judge... I haven't taken a shower or finished my first cup of coffee yet today.  

I used the same idea as for Stig's pants, and super-sized it.  My mom had sent me a pair of flannel pajama pants she found at a thrift store (I'm pretty sure they've never been worn, even!  Good find, mom!) that will hopefully keep fitting me as I get bigger this fall.  They are green with pictures of Eeyore all over them.  Not exactly a fashion statement, but they are pajamas, after all, so who really cares.  The only things I wasn't completely thrilled with were the drawstring waist and the fact that they tapered at the ankle (and will probably shrink a bit and be too short for my gargantuanly long legs.

It also so happened that I had about 3 yards of flannel fabric that I've been meaning to make some pajama pants out of, so I decided no time like the present and pulled out the fabric yesterday.  I used the Eeyore pants as a general template, making the legs much wider at the bottom, just eyeballing it.  I really hate to measure, which probably negatively affects my sewing, but I don't really care.  A few LLLLOOOONNNGGG seams, some hems, and some elastic in the waist (yes, I have reams of elastic just laying around my house as well) and we're done!   

And for proof that I really am pregnant, and not just making up this tiny being that has taken over my body and life, a preggo picture:  

Stig's Flannel Pants

 So, I've seen tons of tutorials on making baby pants.  Turns out, since I've made several pairs of pants and understand the basic construction, it's super easy and I don't really need a tutorial!  So, I made some pants for Stiggy today out of an old flannel shirt of my grandma's.  I'm trying to amass flannel shirts to make a baby blanket, but the color on this one didn't really mesh with the other ones I have, thus, pants.  Here is a close up of the flannel pattern.

It's difficult to match that turquoise with other flannels and not have it look totally psychotic.  But it looks super cute at tiny pants!  

I'd like to point out that I almost matched up the lines of flannel perfectly without even trying to do so.  You know that if I had tried, it never would have worked.  Happy accidents lead to adorable pants.  

I was able to whip these out in about 10 minutes.  Because I used an old shirt, I just cut them out on the bottom hem of the shirt, so that I didn't have to hem them myself.  This also meant that I could have a side seam and still only use two pieces of cut fabric. I used a pair of baby pants I had bought on super sale for a quarter at Target as the pattern, so you can pretty much use any pair of pants that fit well to make your pattern.  Just fold in half, place on a fold, trace around leaving about 1/4 inch for the seam allowance and about an inch (or more if you're a messy cutter and ironer like me) for hem allowance at the top. 

Then, basically, place right sides together, sew the crotch pieces together and then sew around the legs.  Iron a top hem, sew it, leaving an opening, and insert elastic (which I happen to have just laying around, because I have problems.).  Sew up the elastic to the appropriate waist length so that it stretches to fit, but won't cut off circulation, and sew the hole closed.  

Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy!

Fancy Pants

I am the first one to admit that I am a "fair weather" knitter.  I like quick projects.  Not necessarily "easy" projects, but quick.  I like to start and finish them in 3 days at the most.  I hate weaving in ends, I don't like color changes, and I want things to be mostly useful.  That being said.  I have completed one afghan for myself (it was crochet, and technically the first thing I ever made... hey, go big or go home) have done a few baby blankets which have taken longer than a few days, and have started (and failed to finish) three sweaters and two other afghans.  Yep.  I stick to hats, mittens, scarves, bags, and doo dads.

But, I bought this really beautiful cotton yarn and knew I wanted to make something really special with it.  It was so soft, and the colors were so rich and pretty.  I bought 2 skeins on sale, about 360 yards all together, so that meant my project had to fit those yardage guidelines.  I went on Ravelry (my obsession) and entered my criteria (I love an easily searchable pattern site!) and came up with a few options.  But, seeing as how everything I'm wanting to craft right now is for Baby Boo, I decided on the cutest pair of knitted bell bottom baby pants.  I went with the newborn size, hoping that these will be the perfect size for bringing the little one home from the hospital.  They turned out way better than I could imagine, even with all the seaming I had to do on the waistband and around the inseam.  Here they are, in all their adorable glory:

Seriously, are they not the cutest!?  I wish I had a baby to model them in, but you'll have to wait 5 more months for that.  They're the perfect colors for a fall/winter babe, and because they're done on smaller needles than recommended for the yarn, they're a tight weave and should be really warm and soft.  I need to do a round of onesie dying so that I can get a little brown top to go with them.  I'm so excited with how they turned out.  No pastels for this baby!  Added bonus... they only took me 4 days to complete!  Apparently I'm not inept at making articles of clothing, just large articles of clothing.