I haven’t touched my sewing machine since mid-June, when I went a little nutty with some last-minute clothes-sewing. I’m sad that I haven’t had much time to use it, especially given some of the projects I’d had planned (and some that were started but not yet finished). Sadder still – My Old Man gave me a serger for my birthday, and would you believe I haven’t even learned how to use it yet? *Le sigh*.
But before my machine started serving as a dust collector, I did whip out a few little gifts. First, I made the boys some little pj pants that they’d picked out the fabric for months earlier.
SpongeBob Jammy Pants
I find SpongeBob highly annoying and not really suitable for young kids. But Tiny Dancer is totally smitten with him (even though he doesn’t get to watch the cartoon). So of course he picked out some SpongeBob material for his pj pants, which means they go with the fleece blanket I “made” for him a few months earlier (i.e., I bought some fleece and used pinking shears to cut it into a blanket). Using directions from Sew What! Fleece, I made a posterboard “pattern” based on his measurements. These pants couldn’t have been quicker or simpler.
Buzz Lightyear Jammy Pants
Little Buddha picked Buzz Lightyear fabric, which meant his pj pants matched his Buzz Lightyear blanket. They were a hit.
testing out the pants with a little bed-running
I also did a little sewing for a little girl in the boys’ preschool class, whose birthday was near the end of May. She had a princess birthday party, and the boys picked out fabric for me to make dresses for her. It was that fabric that you make into a sundress simply by sewing a seam and adding some straps: what could be simpler? Really the only tricky part was the fit – I kept making them a bit big and then needing to cut them down and re-do.
I didn’t get pictures taken before gifting. But the boys were so crazy about the fabric, and they love playing dress-up so much, that I gave in to their pleas to make the same dresses for them. Tinker Bell for Little Buddha, Disney Princesses for Tiny Dancer. Here they are, in their little sundresses:
little boys in dresses
I kind of love it.
They are so sweet in those dresses that I am practically dying here.
They make such adorable little girls. So satisfying to blatantly violate cultural gender rules for children. I am totally smitten with how Little Buddha’s hair goes with his dress. I do wonder how they will feel about this picture when they turn about 14…
Oh man, that pic of them in dresses just made my day. And I LOVE that they love to play dress-up. In Disney princess dresses, to boot.
Perhaps you should give them a little sister to dress up while you’re at it.
they are going to hate this picture when they grow up! how great that you have evidence that it was their idea. I love it and I think they are so cool!
A mama who makes her boys jammie pants and little dresses is one cool mama in my book! I’m curious to know what you dislike about SpongeBob–is it his voice? I have always liked him (but my kids are older) because of his kindness and optimism. Do tell!
Last night I dreamt your boys were all grown up and I was at their wedding. I don’t remember much, but they both had lovely curly hair like Little Buddah has now.
to. die. for. i almost cannot stand it.
i have some pj’s in the sewing queue for the twins. wait until you see the flannel i found. i’ll have to blog it soon/.
Oh my goodness, Stacey. HOW CUTE!
Oh this is all too adorable! Love the pj bottoms and the dress up!! Wow! I have so much to look forward to don’t I?
Your boys are so adorable! I love the pj pants and the dresses. You just need to work on sewing the rest of the outfits for the dress up trunk!
Love the picture of them in their sundresses! It seems that you can just whip up sewing projects so quickly – I’m jealous!
Little Sir usually looks over my shoulder when I am on the computer and when I first saw this in response to your comment on my blog, he saw it and said, “those boys are wearing dresses, right?” We have had a longrunning conversation about dresses and skirts and the perceived gender specificity of said garments. Needless to say he was very confused when he saw men in kilts marching in a bagpipe band last Friday. I think I just need to make the kid a pink dress and be done with it…but then I would need to sew the whole dress up trunk, and I am just not that dedicated! All of your recently knitted and sewn gifts are very cute.