More of Ottobre 1/2021-30

 Neither my husband nor I are much into plaid, but for some reason the nerdlet completely loves it.  I bought 3 different plaid knits from califabrics.com this week and they sent it out right away.  Two of them were double brushed knit but the 3rd was a cotton jersey knit without near the softness or stretch.  The nerdlet wasn't sure of those and I decided to use that one first so that I didn't decide not to use it at all.  I am not even sure if my reasoning made sense. This is the fabric.  I actually bought the last of their inventory.

                                

I used the pattern Ottobre 1/2021 - 30 in size 140 that I used for her school uniform pants last year.  She wears those pants all the time, for school and home.  I turned the pattern into long shorts.  I actually aligned the pants where I thought the straight of her leg would lie and it was a mistake.  The next pair, which I will post after I get a picture of her in, I aligned the horizontal along the bottom of the leg so the hem was straight around.  Here is the pair I finished before she went to bed.  She says they are super comfortable and loves them, but because they are tight like leggings, I made the next pair an inch wider, which I think still might be too snug for acceptable school clothes, but I will see when she tries them on tomorrow.  I also ended up cutting off half of her uniform pants into capris like these since she doesn't have to wear a uniform for high school (I don't think anyway).  

                                

I am considering making her a raglan top with the sleeves with the same plaid, but matching is really not the nerdlet's style so if she wears such a top, it is highly unlikely she would wear it with these capris.

The next pair which I just finished is from this double brushed knit.  I actually bought 2 yards of this and so I have a fair bit left over.  I'm thinking of making a super simple shirred dress for the grandbaby with what I have left over, but I haven't decided yet.

                        

This is the last fabric I bought in this batch, and I'm waiting to see how the extra inch fits the nerdlet before I cut out another pair.  But she will be getting capris out of this also.  If she would wear a skort, I'd make a skort from it and I might anyway since the bear cub can wear the same size, even though she is much shorter, but I haven't quite decided yet.

Ottobre 2-2020-2

 These were made in size 40. Darth Monkey asked me to make cactus pants for her teacher. I decided to try the pattern out on my daughter first and she chose this pink and purple tie dye double brushed knit fabric (from califabric.com) which is super soft and similar to the cactus fabric (from fabric.com). I changed the drawstring waist band to an elastic band on my daughter's pants and a simple yoga band on the cactus pants.

Darth Monkey in her pants

Holding her teacher's pants

This is the first time where I have made something for someone else without taking any measurements and I made them in my daughter's pants size 40 and I hope they fit well. I do like the pattern and am considering making them in my size (much larger than 40).

Tunic for the Bear Cub

I need to make some long sleeve tunics for the bear cub.  People with Down syndrome in general tend to have long torsos, shorter arms, and shorter legs for their heights compared to duosomy people of the same height.  The bear cub still loves dresses but it makes it more difficult to use the restroom by herself.  Also, it's getting colder and so long sleeves are a better idea right now. Unlike the nerdlet, the bear cub prefers her outfits to coordinate and be as feminine as possible.

I started with a t-shirt that I thought would fit her.  This is a modified Ottobre 4/2018-9, a basic long sleeve t-shirt pattern.  I shortened the sleeves by two inches, added 2 inches to the bottom length and width, and curved the back lower in the back.  This was basically a muslin to see the fit so the inside isn't finished with the serger and I hemmed it with a zigzag.  It's been so long since I did a finish like this that I had forgotten that you can still get a fairly nice piece without the fancy equipment.

You can also see how my nerdlet has decided to wear one of the pairs of pants I showed in my last post.  They are watching Supergirl before they go to school.  Darth Monkey is obsessed with that show.


The fabric was given to me by my cousin and I used it before right after she sent it to me in 2011 to make a shirt.  I don't have any idea what happened to this shirt, but I do believe that I need to pull up Simplicity 4076 to make me some more of them as I remember really liking that design.

I also had forgotten how this knit has such a cool, subtle, silver sparkle. I couldn't quite capture it on camera, but you can see it a bit in this picture.  I have a tiny piece left and I may just have to make my grandbaby a t-shirt or something.

More pants

The first pic is after the nerdlet was wearing them all day.  They have been slightly deformed by her usage.  They were made out of a stretchy denim.   I tried to get some pics of her as she wore them because I thought she looked sort of fantastic and showed off how unique this child is, but she wasn't at her most cooperative.

Anyway here are the other pants.

These last two are pinwale corduroy.

First Sewing Post in a Long Time

The nerdlet has issues with pants.  In lengths she wears an 8 or 10 depending on the pants, but she has a waist of 19 1/2 inches (49 centimeters).  In addition to this, like a lot of kids on the spectrum, she has tactile sensory issues which makes clothing difficult in general.  Mostly she likes to wear knit fabrics, but she will wear other clothing if it is both loose and soft.  If all that were not enough, she loves colors and patterns so while I have been able to buy leggings for her and just sew in the waist, it was tolerable to her and nothing more.  She recently requested for me to make her flannel pajama pants (which are 4T but she is still wearing) in other fabrics. 

So I decided to start with a pajama pants pattern.  I chose Ottobre 4/2005-10.  I went with a size 128 to start with.  I knew they would be short but I figured that the first pair would be just to try out.  I chose a lightweight denim that I got from from my MIL.  Other than the length I changed nothing.  they ended up being really big.  Luckily Darth Monkey, who is 3 years younger, is significantly larger in every way but height (though she might match her in the next year in height).  You'll have to excuse her pose.  I'll admit I didn't make her change it.

 I actually have a hard time fitting Darth Monkey's butt into normal pants so I might just use these as a jumping off pattern for pants made for her.  The front would need a bunch of excess fabric removed.

So after trying on the above pair, the nerdlet expressed that she wanted to wear them lower and she wanted a waist band, too.  I added 14 inches to the length and removed 5 inches from the top (an inch or so too much) and added a long waist band.  She's wearing them now, but I think they still need some adjustments for the next iteration. 

 If it wasn't winter, I might have a field day making her batik and other light cotton fabrics.  As it is I'll have to go through my fabrics to find something appropriate.  This particular fabric I've had forever and I made a fantastic skirt for my mom with it about a decade or so ago.

Ottobre 4-2011-15 and another Jalie 2796 Circle Skirt

I pulled out an old favorite Ottobre 4-2011-15 to use for the top of Merida, but since it has been a while since I made it, I had to make it up again in red as a sample first.

The nerdlet decided to play the part of uncooperative child today.

I did get some cooperation after she had worn it half a day and had breakfast and spilled stuff on it.

This top is a size 98 in width and a 110 in length and made out of red rayon knit.  The Merida top is out of a cotton jersey and will not be so clingy.  When I showed it to the bear cub, once again she wasn't enthusiastic about it and my mother figured out that the bear cub doesn't want to wear red.  The nerdlet loves it though.

The skirt is a size 7 Jalie 2796 skirt with the Mickey fabric as another circle skirt.  The nerdlet fits into the size 4s that I made earlier, but she much prefers the extra room in the bigger skirt, so I likely will be making them bigger since they don't fall off of the nerdet who has the smallest waist of my three girls.

Minnie Mouse Outfit

So this outfit was a trial before I made the same outfit in red polka dots as a Minnie Mouse outfit. The top is Ottobre 6-2009-19 in a size 98 in width and a 110 in length.  I decided to try to use snaps instead of buttons and was not entirely successful in having the front hang perfectly flat.  The bottom is Jalie 2796 with an attached circle skirt.  

I showed the bear cub the skirt and asked if she was going to wear it tomorrow.  She said, "No!"  The nerdlet immediately piped up that she would wear it since her sister would not.  I'm hoping that it isn't too childish for 2nd grade because I don't think that there is anyway that I could talk her out of wearing it.  I just don't want her to be teased and since she is already a bit of a bully magnet so I worry.

Now that the bear cub has rejected the first of the line I plan on making, I'm wondering if she'll wear any of them.  The only sure thing is Sofia the First because the bear cub loves her.  Next up is Merida.

I'll try to post a picture of this one and it's trial with the girls in them tomorrow.

Another Ottobre 2-2007

After making the version of the dress for Darth Monkey, my mom fell in love with the fabric and requested for me to make her a shirt from it.  She doesn't wear sleeveless items and I didn't have enough fabric for more than that so I made it thinking that it would be muslin.  

 I also forgot to add the seam allowances so then  I really didn't think it would work at all.

She decided that she likes it a lot and has been wearing it for working out at the senior center.  I've also cut up a bunch of her t-shirts and reshaped them to fit her better.  I've also resized some t-shirts for the girls so that they would fit them better, too.  I've decided that unless you really like the t-shirts for some reason it is easier to make a t-shirt than to resize one.

More versions of Ottobre 1/2016-18

After I finished the nerdlet's recent peacock dress, I made a number of other versions of the dress.  I'm just going to post pictures and not really go too much into them.

This one was for my niece.  I let her pic the fabric and when I pulled it out, her sister and my nerdlet wanted dresses from the same fabric, so I ended up making three dresses with this fabric.

The nerdlet's is only slightly different.

And a few more.

This last one was made from a fabric that Darth Monkey insisted that she had to have a dress from.  After it was made the bear cub decided it was hers and that was that.

Jalie 2796 and Ottobre 6-2009-19

While I have not been blogging, I have been sewing.  My plan is to post a number of them in a row, but I'm going to start with what I finished today.

First is Ottobre 6-2009-19.  This top is a size 98 in width and a 119 in length.  It is meant for the bear cub, but I'm hoping it will fit the nerdlet also.  It is made from a tutti frutti fabric that I got from my MIL.  I actually just finished sewing on the last button right before sitting at the computer to post this.

Next is a matching skirt from Jalie 2796.  The skirt is a circle skirt that I sewed between the shorts and the waist band.  

I made the skirt opening 30 inches and then stretched the shorts and waistband to match to sew so that it would still stretch.  I loved the look of the circle after I hemmed it so I took a pic.

This was just a sample to see if I like it.  My bear cub cannot use the restroom herself unless she is in a two piece outfit and so I cannot send her in dresses to school like her sister.  I've been planning outfits that coincide with all the Disney princesses and a few other Disney characters.  This particular set is going to be for a Minnie mouse set that I have already purchased a red and white polka dot fabric for.  I'm glad that I made this ahead of time because I want to make so changes, but for the most part, I really like how it turned out.

Ottobre 2-2007 Tshirt Combo

So on the nerdlet's peacock dress post, Mother of Reinvention asked me if I had made any adult Ottobre patterns.  I have only made panties but I have traced a number of patterns off and decided to make one of them up.  This is a combination of Ottobre 2-2007-3 and 2-2007-5, which are both tshirts with slight variations.

I hadn't intended to trace off different sections and didn't realize that I had until I had finished the t-shirt up.  This was made in a size 46.  I chose it on the basis of most of my measurements and made no adjustments, but my chest measurement is a size bigger than the pattern.  I figured that the since it was a knit t-shirt it would be fine, but I think I might be more comfortable in a 48.

The fabric was sent to me by my cousin and it is incredibly soft.  It's actually been through the wash a number of times before the t-shirt was made because my girls are constantly playing with it and at one point the nerdlet even cut a big hole in the middle of it.  It was going to be my first maxi but because of the hole the plans for it changed and a number of smaller things are being and have been made from it.  There is another dress from the pattern that I used for the peacock dress coming up, but one of the bodice pieces has disappeared.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and I intend to make a number of other items for myself, though I may trace off larger sizes than the ones that I have waiting.

Ottobre 1/2016-18

My nerdlet loves birds, especially flamingos and peacocks.  When I saw this fabric, I knew she would love it.  I had just received the newest edition of Ottobre, which had this dress.  The picture is not that good because the nerdlet was not exactly being cooperative.  I barely got her to take off her jacket and she wouldn't let me straighten the dress on her shoulders.

I finished the neckline and sleeves with fold over elastic.  She really likes the style and has asked for more.  I think she is outgrowing her desire for frilly over-the-top girly dresses and is looking for more comfortable and simple dresses.

Bear Cub Sweater

The best sweaters for my bear cub are a design for infants and toddlers from Ottober Magazine 6/2011.    The reason that I think it is the best is because it is lined and none of the seams touch the body.

It goes up to size 86 which is a size 2T.  I was planning to use the 86 and blow it up to the bear cub's current size, but I couldn't find either the magazine or the pattern sheet.  So I had to improvise.  I used a boys's sweatshirt with raglan sleeves that started at size 98 from Ottober 4/2010 for the length of the shirt and sleeves and estimated the size and shape of the pieces.

Here is Darth Monkey modeling the sweater.  Please ignore the dishes behind her that need to put away and may or may not have needed to be put away for quite some time.

My MIL bought the pink sweater fabric at Hancock's last week and she also bought it in purple and green so I will be making more assuming that this fits the bear cub well.  Based on the fit on Darth Monkey, I imagine that I might have to shorted all the pieces, but either way the bear cub will be wearing this one tomorrow since it is supposed to be close to freezing tomorrow and for us this means very cold.

Ottobre 01/2004 25 and 28 (Funny Faces and Neon Stripes)

Q took the girls to visit my mom so that I could work on my broken lone star quilt but as I have to wait to buy the background and backing tomorrow, I had some time to work on some Ottobre patterns I had planned.

The first is Ottobre 01/2004-25, Funny Faces, which I made to be a little bumblebee dress.  This was the first time that I worked with ruffled knit fabric.  Working with the ruffled knit, rayon knit, and clear elastic turned out to be a bit much for me so I ditched the clear elastic.

It's a straight size 104 and I think that was a mistake as it looks like it will likely be really wide on any of my girls and a little short on the nerdlet.  I'll take pics when I have the girls back to try it on them.  I know regardless of the fit that Darth Child is going to love it.  The other thing about this is that they will have to wear shorts under it as that black is very see through so I'll be making shorts in yellow and black in the very near future (or maybe just short leggings).

The other Ottobre pattern that I finished is Ottobre 01/2014-28, Neon Stripes.  I used a favorite knit of the nerdlet.  This is a straight size 110 which is the smallest size of the pattern.

I really don't have any idea of how this will fit her, but it is an easy t-shirt to make so if she likes it, I can see making a bunch.

And because I'm not quite off the quilting idea, this is another broken lone star quilt that I'm planning.

The top seven would be the diamonds in the star with my replacing the solid yellow with a tone on tone yellow batik and the black on the bottom would be the background.  I'm going to see if I can find an orange I like better to replace the third fabric from the left, too, but I'm okay with using that one, if nothing suits me better.

Ottobre 5-2009-2

I made my first pair of adult panties.  I used the Ottobre 5-2009-2 "Simply Basic" panties pattern - sort of.  I planned to make a straight size 48 and ended up mistracing the back and didn't realize it until I cut out the back piece.  Then I could recut the fabric or retrace the pattern.  Since I hadn't made a pair before and I really didn't have any idea of changes I would need, I decided to change the tracing to fit what I had cut and decide whether to make another pair with a correct back or adjust what I made based on how it came out.

The finished pair looks huge.  It is 100% cotton knit that the quilting stores were trying to sell and has a decent amount of stretch, but side-by-side next to a purchased pair of panties it looks twice as big.  I thought there was no way that it was going to fit, but they fit fantastically and I will definitely be making more.

I also traced the camisole top in the same issue and plan to make a matching top, but I haven't yet.

Ottobre 1-2014-21

So the nerdlet has a new favorite outfit.

Yes, indeed, I'm definitely spreading my tacky love of crushed panne.  I finished these about two weeks ago and as soon as they come out of the wash, the nerdlet has them on again, and we usually end up having to peel the leggings off of her as she will slip them back on even after a bath and changing clothes.  She has requested multiple pairs so that she can wear them more.

The pants are Ottobre 1-2014-15 (Green Lines) and is in a size 110 in length and a size 86 in width and are in the last two posts.  The top is Ottobre 1-2014-21 in a straight size 110.  I did the neckline and the hems of the sleeves in thick FOE because it was a perfect match, but I will avoid that in future tops.  I don't have a good picture of the flair at the bottom of this shirt, but it is definitely cute and I made add an inch or two to lengthen it to a true tunic in the next rendition.  

A few more sewn items for the girls

I spend a large portion of last weekend tracing off a bunch of Ottobre patterns for the girls (from the last two children's editions).  This week I have sewn a bit even though I haven't posted along with my finished items.

First version 8 of McCall's 6875.  This is a straight size 4.  When I asked who wanted to model it, the nerdlet gladly volunteered.  Her mood did an about face the moment I pulled out the camera to take pictures.

Next I did a couple of versions of Ottobre 1-2014-13 (Blue Orange) in a double-sided rayon and cotton knit from Jo-Ann's.  This fabric is so soft the girls were all willing to try it out and wear it for me.

 Like the bow?

It's a straight size 110 and as you can see it turned out way, way to big, but I did do a pretty good job of stripe matching.

Though it isn't going to last since when I sew it smaller the stripes are unlikely to still match and I don't plan on taking the whole thing apart, but just sew down the sides.

The second version of this is the same fabric but with the stripes on top and the diamonds on bottom.  For this one, I just serged off 1 1/2 inches off each side (so 6 inches total), and you can see that it fits a lot better and still has room.

The last piece that I just finished is a pair of ruched leggings.  This is Ottobre 1-2014-15 (Green Lines) and is in a size 110 in length and a size 86 in width.  I made them in a lavender crushed panne.  I love this stuff but I rarely use it because I have been told it is beyond the lines of taste.  That doesn't stop me from using it altogether.  The nerdlet loves her new leggings and has said that she would like them in every color.

This leggings are great for her.  She has never had a pair that has fit her so well.  I'm not sure I'll make a pair in every color, but she'll get at least a few more before I start looking for a non-ruched legging pattern for her.

I actually have a number of the other patterns I traced already cut out and still another pile that needs to have fabric picked for it.