Mass Production: Colouring Shorts

Here is a little something I did back in June but didn't get around to blogging about. Mass production on shorts. 

I had picked up the material in Spotlight on sale a while ago, thinking to make something for our newest nephew. Our neighbours also had new grand-babies added to them in the last year, so I figured, while I was at it, I may as well make them some too.

The next thing you know, I'm also making shorts for their older grand-sons, and my sister's nephew on her husband's side. I mean, why make one, or three, when you can make six pairs of shorts all in one go? Right?  

Since Archie is still under two, I let Hugo, Sophie and Rachel decorate his for him before I sewed them together. The kids had a stack of fun decorating the little monsters and talking about what they thought Archie would like.

It took me back to 2018 when they were colouring in a pair of shorts for Hugo to wear to kindy. 

Sycamore shorts pattern for the win again. Clicking back through the archive, turns out my first batch of mass production Sycamore Shorts was in 2014, so that makes 10 years of shorts making for people. Almost can't believe it. 

Shades of Blue

When one has decided to mass produce for one's child, it is my strong recommendation that the material chosen, is all the same, or a very similar colour, thus enabling mass production to occur without having to change the thread on one's sewing machine. 

This was certainly the case for the quick sewing I did last weekend. Sophie needed new shorts for summer (and boy is it coming in quickly this year!) so I asked her to choose material from the stash (still trying to use it up before buying more) and got sewing. I was able to cut everything out on a Saturday morning and sew two thirds of it Saturday night. I ran out of elastic and needed to borrow a pattern for the last pair of pants, so the final sewing happened the following Sunday night.

Can you see what I mean by it all being the same colour? I had blue thread on Sally the Sewing Machine the entire time. So fast. Sophie got four new pairs of shorts. Three of which are Sycamore Shorts Patterns, which is my go to basic shorts sewing pattern (see?) I left the pockets off two of them (the blue flowers and the pink-ish one, but put them on the owl pants, because I had the coordinating blue (left over from Rachel's Easter Dress). The owl fabric I've used before in an Izzy Top for Sophie.

When I measured out the fabric, I noticed that I had just enough of the blue/owl combination to make one more pair of shorts, though slightly smaller, so I made a pair for Rachel. I kind of like the mix of the shorts and pockets being alternating.

And since I was making something for Rachel I decided I'd make her a dress too, just because I could. I have heaps of this blue with white flowers material left over too, at least another two meters I think. Actually not sure where it came from. The pinky material came from a lady at church.

The final pair of shorts were Clover Shorts, which are by far fancier in construction, although I left out the pockets, sash and belt tabs for easy sewing. I still did the cuffs though. I don't know where this fabric came from either, maybe the haul from my friend Kurt recently? But there is also loads of this still. I'll be making more shorts out of it in the future!

Repurposed

I'm working hard on saying no to people who offer to give me free material. It's hard. Oh so very hard. But I gave in when my friend Megan down the road offered me this doona cover she had picked up at an op shop for $4. One side had big trucks and cars printed on with words, and the other had a lighter blue background with a smaller print of trucks and cars. It was so fun! Who could resist?!

In return for the copious amounts of free material, I made Megan's two kids something out of the fabric. I used some tutorials from Ikat Bag, which I had used before to make the Strawberry Print Denim Dress and another Red Denim Dress. Very helpful.

I love the pockets and piping on Digby's overalls. Those are the best I think. I wish I had more photos. Hadley got something similar, but a bit more girly: an elastic waist skirt with a bib front and cross over straps.

To make it slightly more fancy, I used some yellow piping around the straps and bib front. I've used it before in other skirts (and maybe something else, but I can't remember). Those buttons are useless, because I'm terrible at button holes, but they look good.

Sophie also got something out of this fabulous material. Same kind of thing that I made for Hadley, although she got two. One, which is totally plain and not fancy for kindy.

And the other which has a little bit of piping on the bib front (I didn't have enough left for the straps as well), and some cool buttons, which she is not allowed to wear to kindy.

I've still got fabric left too, so maybe Hugo and Rachel will be the next beneficiaries.

Space Capes

When someone hands you the bed sheets from your husbands childhood, I suppose the usual reaction would be thoughts like: "Why have you kept this? I think I'll throw them away." I'll admit, I may have thought the first half, but it was followed with "Free material! Awesome!"

It's moments like these that I know I've gone over the edge with sewing.

So earlier in the year, Steve's mum did in fact hand me some old bed sheets from his childhood. Two full sets, pillowcases included. Complete with doona covers. That's a lot of material. A lot. I was a little excited.

It was all space - planets and rockets and spacemen and what not, so I was inspired by things that fly. It will take me a while to get through it all, but I made a dint a while ago by making some capes for the kids to use as dress ups. While I was at it, I made some matching shorts. And not just for my kids, but also for five others. Mass production is really addictive.

They made good Christmas presents.