Sew You by Erica Sue: Crocodile Project

I’ve been so busy with photography, that it’s been a while since I’ve done a Sew You by Erica Sue post!  This one is extra special, because it wasn’t my project.  My eldest son had to create an endangered 3D animal for a school assignment, and he chose the American Crocodile.  We could have done clay, but he had done that for his last project.  Paper mache would have been really messy, and using recycled materials would have worked, as well, but we decided it would be fun to work together to sew the croc.

The first decision was whether we should create our own pattern or buy one.  I figured buying one would be easier, so we went with Steve the Croc from Funky Friends Factory.  It turned out to be a very advanced pattern, with just a list of directions and no photographs, so making our own might have been easier, but in the end, we got it all assembled and our croc looks great, so it’s all good!

I encouraged sewing the croc, because it was a really good excuse for me to expose him to sewing.  I think he now appreciates the work that goes into creating a sewn item, and got a taste of the geometry involved in turning something 2D into something 3D, and really creating something from nothing.  Following the pattern is like a more advanced version of assembling a lego set (minus the step by step pictures for this particular pattern)!  There are also some projects I was going to create for him but never got around to being made.  I told him he can start working on cutting the pattern pieces and fabric whenever he wants!

The first step was cutting the pattern.

Second, he traced the pattern pieces onto the fabric.  We found a printed cotton croc fabric (Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements Worn Croc Black) instead of an adorable snuggly green because it was supposed to be biologically representative and accurate. 

Then, he cut the fabric.

Next, we created our own reptilian eyes, rather than the cutsey eyes provided in the pattern, and appliqued them onto the fabric before assembling the animal.  Another modification we made was cutting the mouth from a light pink (the closest we could come to croc’s tongue), and using ric-rac for the teeth.
Click here to see a video of him completing this step.

He clipped the threads after every step…

and removed the pins as he sewed.  Mommy helped by reading the directions and pinning the pieces together.  And even with my expertise, we still had to bust out the seam ripper a few times.  It really was an advanced pattern.

Here’s the croc all assembled, inside out ready to be turned.

Here he is being turned right-side out.

Then he was filled with stuffing, and the turn hole was sewn shut.  Dad helped with this step, b/c he is more skilled with hand-sewing a ladder stitch, whereas mom loves to use the machine.  Here’s the proud project leader with his finished croc! 

So You by Erica Sue with Sew You by Erica Sue: Where the Wild Things Are

Since Lower Elementary has a Storybook Parade at school, my boys’ costumes usually have a storybook theme.  This year though was big one’s first year in Upper Elementary, and instead they have a Vocabulary Parade.  He got the word “monstrous”, which we figured would go perfectly with “Where the Wild Things Are”.  I made little one Max’s wolf suit, and big one was a Wild Thing.  He chose to create his own Wild Thing that wasn’t in the book, rather than emulating one of the characters in the story.

I used Butterick B3238 for the headpieces (since I already had the pattern cut out from Curious George last year) and substituted ears that we created.  I used Pellon sew-in heavyweight interfacing so the ears would stand up, and sandwiched that between felt. For Max, I traced some khaki pants, and sewed buttons onto an Old Navy shirt.  The Wild Thing is wearing gray pants he already had and we sewed his belly and spikes onto an Old Navy shirt.  Both boys have felt “claws” sewn to their sleeve openings. 

Here are some photos of our pre-trick-or-treating “wild rumpus” as the sun set over our street.
“The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another…”


“…till Max said “BE STILL!” and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all…”
“And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start!”
“But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go – we’ll eat you up – we love you so!”

So You by Erica Sue with Sew You by Erica Sue: Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat

I like to make my kids’ Halloween costumes, b/c then we get to be creative and make what we can’t buy, and we also get to choose the materials.  The store-bought polyester is such a sweat factory, and when I make costumes, I choose a lighter weight cotton as much as possible.  I also like to do theme costumes.  Here are some from the past few years.  Two years ago, we dressed as characters from Phineas and Ferb.  This is the project I bought my sewing machine for!  We even got my parents involved as Phineas and Candice’s mom and Doofenshmirtz.  Last year, little one and I were The Cat in the Hat and Sam I Am, and big one was Harry Potter.  Since they also get to wear their costumes in a storybook parade at school, we stuck with the storybook theme.  Little one loves Curious George, so he has the whole family hooked.  Naturally, we choose Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat.

 

There are a ton of creative people out there, and patterns, so I started with some of their inspiration and guidance.  I got Butterick B3238 for my monkey’s head piece, and McCalls M4951 for The Man with the Yellow Hat’s boots.  For The Man with the Yellow Hat, we had a white shirt we didn’t need and I got a pair of light khaki pants at Goodwill when school started, that we were lucky enough to find in his size, and I dyed these with yellow dye from Wal-Mart following this method from danamadeit. 

For The Man’s Hat, I loosely followed this tutorial from Melly Sews.  My yellow felt was flimsier than felt usually is, so I had to use a craft weight interfacing, and on the brim, I didn’t turn anything inside out since felt doesn’t fray.  I just made a sandwich of felt, interfacing, and felt.  The Man’s tie was an inexpensive Ebay find, and I painted the dots on with fabric paint.

For Curious George, I used June Tailor printable fabric (purchased at my local Joann’s) to applique the Curious George logo onto an old red shirt, and added sleeves by tracing another faux layered long-sleeved shirt.  The pants were made by tracing an existing pair of cotton pants.  Instead of making a separate waistband, I folded the fabric over at the top and inserted the elastic that way.

The kids had a great time wearing their costumes to the Halloween event at our local Goldcoast Railroad Museum as well as Trick or Treating.  For our Train Museum visit, my original goal was to get to the museum early to get some "golden hour" pics there, but then I would not have gotten these amazing shots right outside of the Lime on Kendall drive, where we had dinner with the family. The boys would have been too busy with the bounce house and the trains, and this railing, although not sexy, turned out to be a great spot for the boys to stop moving for a few minutes and participate in a photo shoot for me! And I love how these images captures that childhood fascination with sitting and climbing on railings. Sometimes, the best plans are the ones we didn't make!

         

Sew You by Erica Sue: Lady Skater #2–Jay Godfrey Summers Color Block Copycat

I loved my first Lady Skater so much, I had to make another.  I knew I wanted my next dress to be color blocked, so I turned to my favorite trusty source for inspiration, ‘Google Images’, and searched for ‘colorblock dress’.  One of the dresses that popped up in my search was this awesome dress, which Nina Dobrev wore on some red carpet somewhere (wouldn’t have known who she was if her colorblock dress didn’t appear in my Google search).  I searched further to find better pictures with more angles in the black and white version.  Check out my Pinterest board of sewing ideas for dresses for some of the other great color blocking inspiration I found.

 

I got to work refining my pattern, and cut it up and added 1/4” seam allowances per this great colorblocking tutorial.  I also added back the length that I had removed from the skirt the first time I made the dress because this time I made sure to have enough fabric on hand.  I used solid Interlock from Joann, 60/40 poly/cotton I believe.  I didn’t realize until after I was done cutting my navy fabric that the stretch was directional and the stretch should have been along the width of the fabric.  I caught my error when cutting the raspberry fabric, so my effort was not lost. 

When I assembled the dress, despite my accurate measurements when piecing the pattern, the assembled pieces didn’t always line up.  My Engineering self is still puzzling over that one.  It was basically within the seam allowance in most cases, so I just went with the flow.  In the final dress, one side has a perfectly aligned waistband, the other side not so much.  It still fits great and I love the design, so I’ll wear it with enjoyment.  And of course, I had to add another patch pocket (5” x 6” again) to the back so I could wear this one for photography too!  (Disclaimer:  photography and sewing don’t always mix, like the work in progress camera phone photos above).

As with the last dress, I did a sway back adjustment, but it was built into the pattern based on my adjustments.  I also added bust darts again.  The hem was a bit challenging, b/c the cut is circular, and folding and ironing a circle was rather odd.  This is one of the many reasons I love sewing with knits, though. They're so forgiving, and you can't tell there's any hem issue in the finished dress.  Can’t wait to edit and post the birthday party photos I took today, wearing this dress!

   

Dress photography credits to my older son.  I set up the exposure on my camera, and have him stand on a stool to snap some shots of me.  Good job little buddy – mommy looks great in these photos!

Sew You by Erica Sue: Lady Skater #1 – Black Chevron on Emerald Green Heather

When I saw Sara from Sew Sweetness post about her Lady Skater, I knew I had to make one.  I’d had green and black chevron in my stash, from when I pinned this dress from Make It Funky.  I live in Florida, and all I’ve been wearing this summer are dresses.  I’ve also been really into knits.  I particularly like sewing with knits because I find them very forgiving, and they don’t require a zipper.  I don’t have issues with putting in the zipper, but when I have to rip things out to fit with the zipper (which I usually do), knits are just easier.

 

I purchased the pattern from Kitschy Coo, and after assembling my pdf pieces, I made some changes right away.  Based on the other dresses I’d seen, I shortened the bodice by about an inch using the shortening line.  I also shortened the skirt.  I had to shorten it more than I’d intended because I only had a yard of fabric. I also made the armholes slimmer so it would look more like a tank than a sleeveless dress.  During assembly, my knit needle and stretch stitches were behaving rather funky, so I just sewed the whole dress with a regular needle and straight stitch, and since there's plenty of ease, I'm not worried about straining the seams.

After I had it all assembled, I had to do some fitting.  I added bust darts around the armpits, which is actually an ideal spot for them because it fits great, and they’re barely noticeable in the finished dress.  I also took it in at the shoulders by about an inch, and had to do a MAJOR sway back adjustment.  I usually don’t do FBAs, but I have done several sway backs.  I actually didn’t know this adjustment had a name until this project.  I read about it on Amanda’s site, where she gives lots of helpful hints for fitting the pattern.  I got more info about this adjustment here.  The photo below shows the piece I removed from the back bodice, folded in half, and where I’ve removed the same piece from my paper pattern for future editions of this dress (and reading what I’ve handwritten will give you a clue as to what’s coming in Lady Skater #2). 

Because I only had a yard of fabric, the dress came out a bit too short.  I had to order another 1/2 yard of fabric.  Girl Charlee, my primary source for knits, was sold out, and Etsy came to the rescue.  I used the 1/2 yard to create a hem band.  I cut 4 strips of the fabric 4.5 inches wide, pieced two together for the front and two for the back, ironed in half, and sewed it to the bottom of my skirt, right sides together, with a 3/8” seam allowance.  The length correction is a happy accident, because I really love the visual interest the opposite directional chevron creates.  I also added a back pocket so I would have a place for my lens cap and could wear this dress to photo shoots!  For the back pocket, I cut two pieces 5” x 6” and sewed them right sides together with a 1/4” seam allowance.