Momma Sewing Style

Instead of simply talking about the style I have when sewing for my children, I thought I would talk more about my style of sewing.  It is simply put ... mama style.  I am lucky to have a large space that is mainly for my sewing.  But it is so much more than a sewing room.  It has two boxes of toys, craft bins, and a tiny table and chairs for coloring.  It also houses the family computers.

can you spot the stuffed animal?

And the toys don't always stay on the floor or in those toy boxes.  When I sew, I usually have my kiddos wandering around in the midst of my sewing.  They are playing all around me.

 Often, Isabel wants to participate.  She sits in my lap and "helps" me sew.  I let her press some of the buttons, and that keeps her feeling like she is part of the team.

When I really need her not in my lap, I give her a bag of buttons or zippers to sort through.  That usually occupies her for a while.

And I like it this way.  See, I am a working mother and as much as I love to sew, I also cherish the time I have my kids around.  They are old enough to enjoy playing on their own, but I make sure that they can play around me while I sew.  Especially the baby.
 

Also, there are frequent times when we are taking a break from sewing and dance around together.  This slows down the sewing process, but it keeps what is important ... well, important.

She is not so little anymore either, but she likes to color in here and play on the floor as I spend the weekend creating. 

So on to the actual outfit she is modeling in the sewing room.  Another part of my sewing style is that I hate wasting fabric. I am not a huge fan of upcycling, but I do my darndest to use every inch of the fabric I buy.   So, when I had some leftovers from PRP projects this month, I pieced them together for an outfit for the 'baby'.  With the left over pink sweater knit from Abi's Love is in the air outfit, I squeeked out a basic t-shirt (Kwik Sew's Sewing for Toddlers).  

Then, I used the blue corduroy from Blue Yonder Boy to make Isa some basic pull-on pants (same Kwik Sew's Sewing for Toddlers book).  I dressed them up just a little bit with some top stiching and a decretive hem on the ankle.
 

 I tried to tie the two together by embroidering a circus horse in a matching blue on the sweater. The design is from a book of redwork embroidery my mother had given me.  It has lots of classic designs.  The contrast of the embroidery on the sweater was really not enough, but for a 'spare' outfit out of nearly scraps, I think it will do fine. 

 

 

TIP:  Normally when working with a fuzzy fabric, you should use a water soluable 'topping' when stitching out the machine embroidery.  Since this fabric is really not that fuzzy I did not think it was necessary.  But, I probably should have and in order to make it just a little more visible, I stitched it out a second time on top of the first.  If this had been a more dense design, I would have definitely needed the topping to keep the fuzziness from popping up in the stitching.

 

So there you have it; an outfit sewn Major Moma Style.  Sewing up fun basics with the kiddos fully involved.