Scrap Busting September 2024

Happy October! Did you participate in Scrap Busting September this year? The endeavour is organised by my pal Meg Grandstaff who encourages us all to explore our creativity and resourcefulness by crafting with scraps and leftovers of fabric and yarn. If you'd like to hear more, check out this recent episode of my podcast, Check Your Thread, in which I have a hilarious chat with Meg. 

Trainer socks:

I'm making this post to record the items I made using fabric scraps last month. First up, I made two pairs of trainer socks using this free sewing pattern and tutorial. The pair pictured above were made using some 100% cotton interlock with cotton/lycra jersey for the band. The pair pictured below were made using some Liberty cotton/lycra jersey entirely. Both are wearable, but the second pair are more so because I adjusted the heel dart so there's less bulk underneath my foot. I'm so excited to have a well-fitting trainer sock pattern that I can use over and over in the future. 

Kid's undies:

I continued to raid my jersey scraps tub to create a couple of pairs of undies for my son. I used a new-to-me undies pattern from an Ottobre Design magazine because it was comprised of quite a few pattern pieces that would make it easier for using with scraps. I also chose it because the leg holes were hemmed rather than finished with bands. The waist is finished with visible elastic which feels to me like they'll have more longevity than with a band of fabric like most of the previous pairs I've made him.

I had a lot of fun picking the different jerseys to go together. I have had some of these scraps for so long, it feels good to get them out of my stash. 

Kid's joggers:

Next up was a pair of joggers, also for my son. I had lots of remnants of the same speckly sweatshirt fleece from the scrap bin at work. I didn't do anything clever, simply pieced sections together and topstitched down the seam allowances to reduce bulk. I wanted these to look fairly understated so he has the option of wearing them for PE at school, but I chose a scraps of striped french terry for the back pocket and cuffs for a tiny bit of interest. 

Again, the pattern comes from an Ottobre Design magazine. Those magazines are such a great resource for basic knit garment patterns. I didn't bother with the side seam pockets however, as I find they often create visible bulk, and he doesn't really use those pockets anyhow. I combined sizes (116 width and approx. 128 length) to more closely reflect his long, thin frame. He's already been wearing and enjoying them. I had to buy elastic to finish these off. 

Kid's scrappy cardigan:

And lastly, I wanted to reduce the volume of ponte and double knit scraps in my stash, so I proposed a scrappy cardigan for my daughter. She's got a whole Goblincore thing going on these days, and over-sized scrappiness fits well in that aesthetic. 

Compared to women's patterns, and patterns for younger children, the selection available for tweens and teens is really poor. I plan to create a post that lists the pattern companies I have found that do cater to this age group at some point. However, with the selection of suitable cardigan patterns incredibly limited, I ended up tracing her school cardigan to make my own pattern. 

I got my daughter to select the scraps that most appealed to her from the tub, which produced quite a wild effect! She also chose the top stitching colour, ribbing and wooden buttons from my stash also. It's so pleasing to make an entire garment from items you already own. And the best part is that she loves it! She's worn it basically every day since I finished it up. 

Alex Jogger Pants

Yep. More rust coloured clothing. Although I've rebranded these as 'orange' because, as Frankie reminds me daily, orange is one of his two favourite colours. The other is red, FYI. Anyways, although the colour of this new creation may not surprise you, what may come as a shock is that I shelled out actual money for a kid's sewing pattern!

Pattern:

It goes to show that offering up sewing patterns for free really is a good way to get potential customers to appreciate your products, and eventually part with money for something. Misusu Patterns have a generous array of free downloadable sewing patterns. You can read my reviews of the Rowan tee pattern here and Olli shorts/pants pattern here. 

I'd liked the look of the Alex jogger pants pattern for a while, and when the pattern recently got an update and re-release (plus a discounted early bird price), I bought it. I'm a fan of the unique design of the kangaroo pockets (there are two versions of the kangaroo pocket plus a more regular hip pockets style), and the gusset to provide ease of movement. 

(image source: Misusu Patterns)

For this, my first go with this pattern, I made the version with the kangaroo pocket that extends up into the waistband, and omitted the optional waist tie to make them quicker to get on and off. If memory serves, I made the size 98 which is a bit bigger than he currently wears to give them a long lifespan, which is why they are gathering around his ankles a bit. 

I've made many a pair of leggings and joggers in my six years of parenthood so far, and I think this is the first pair I've made with a gusset. I stuck closely to the instructions and used my regular machine to insert it accurately as the instructions had you do it. Next time, however, I think I'll fudge it a little and insert it with my overlocker so there's less switching back and forth between machines, although this strategy may be a little less accurate.  

The instructions for this pattern are fantastic. The step-by-step diagrams are incredibly clear and easy to follow. Plus there's all manner of additional info on blending sizes, sewing with knits and such. 

Fabric:

I've got a sizeable stack of knit fabric leftover from previous projects that I've earmarked for the kids when they could do with something new. This speckle sweatshirt fabric in rust was originally from Fabric Godmother (they still it have it in other colourways) and was leftover from Pat's much-used Apollon sweatshirt. The contrasting forest green pieces were cut from more leftovers, this time some Ponte Roma given to me by my lovely colleague Linda. The combo came from playing about with my stash, it's not a colour combo I would have come up with in my head, but I'm very much enjoying it.

Thoughts:

I'm very pleased to have this pattern in my arsenal, not least because it goes up to approx. age 14. It's ripe for all manner of scrap busting and colour blocking, and I'm excited to play around with further possibilities in the future. However, it is a bit more complicated, and therefore time consuming, than the jogger patterns I usually use. So truth be told, I'll probably use the Alex pattern for my kids only and turn to more simple styles when making gifts. I'm already hatching plans for Frankie's next version...

Frankie's Joggers Update

It may not be very noticeable in my blog content and IG feed most of the time, however, a lot of my brain space these days is occupied by the topics of waste reduction and the consumption of stuff. But the trouble is: when it comes to my sewing-related consumption, I really can't seem to stop myself from buying some lovely new fabric now and again. So I've set myself two rules by way of compromise, until I finally manage a bigger, better commitment. Firstly: I am only allowed to buy some new fabric if I know EXACTLY what I'm going to make from it, and that that item will definitely receive a decent amount of wear from whoever I'm making it for. And my second, more recent rule, is to alternate my sewing projects between those that use new fabric (either stuff I've bought recently, or that has been languishing in my stash for a while) and those that use fabric that's leftover from previous projects, or that use fabric that has been harvested from unwanted garments. In reality, that has actually manifested as a couple of projects in a row that use unused fabric (category A), followed by a run of items made from the reclaimed section (category B).

I don't always share the category B projects, because often they are repeats of basics for my kids (like yet more leggings), but I will make more of an effort to share them in the hope that it sparks some thought and/or discussion about fabric consumption, even though I'm not exactly a shining example of fabric consumption habits myself at the moment.

So on to these two new garments. Having wee people about the place is a freaking gift to a newly emboldened stash-and-scrap buster, such as myself. The pattern pieces are small, and the need for clothes in the next size and season seems insatiable. The summer is taking it's time to kick in, plus I've got laundry issues at the moment, so a couple of extra pairs of trousers for Frankie would come in VERY handy. I'm also vaguely aware that potty training is on the horizon, and lord knows we're going to get through a lot of bottoms as soon as that begins. 

Pattern:

Most of the time, I prefer to put Frankie in knit garments so that he has complete freedom to move,  hurl himself around and do funny little dances. So I turned to my trusty stash of increasingly dilapidated Ottobre magazines, and had a hunt for a joggers pattern that I hadn't tried before. The gem of an issue that is Spring 1/2014 (pictured above) threw up this sporty looking option called the 'Relaxed Fit Sweatpants' (pictured below) that included his current size, so out came the tracing wheel. 

I really liked the overall shape, plus all the additional details that would make them both a more fun project to tackle, and hopefully a more 'elevated' garment when finished. The details include a faux-fly front, and front and back pockets with visible coverstitch (or in my case, faux-coverstitch) stitching. Frankie is mad into pockets at the moment, so I knew they would appeal to him. I found the waistband design interesting: it's pretty deep, but you only insert elastic in the top half, and topstitching around the centre to keep the elastic from roaming around in there. I decided to omit the waist tie, plus I chose not to include the coverstitch stitching along the waist and ankle cuff seams because I knew my machine would be unlikely to cooperate through those bulky layers. I also swapped the overly complicated front pocket mouth bias finishing for a self-band overlocked on. Oh, and I altered the order of construction by applying the ankle cuffs as a band to the bottom of the legs, rather than stitched on flat to the bottom of the legs after the side seams had been stitched but before stitching the inside leg seams. If that last sentence didn't make sense, then don't worry, you didn't miss anything interesting.

Fabric:

My first version were the lightning flash French terry pair (pictured above and below). There are no prizes for noticing that I used the leftovers from his dad's Apollon sweatshirt for this pair. I also used up the rest of the matching cotton ribbing so this double-scrap-bust was extra satisfying. This fabric is very soft with quite a loose knit (I really struggled not to type 'weave' then), so scored high for comfort and movability.

Once I knew that this pattern was a pretty good bet, I felt emboldened to use it as the basis for a refashion/upcycle project, and finally cut into Pat's unwanted hoodie that I'd been storing for a year or so. He's decided he no longer suits hoodies (something about turning 40 apparently), but this one's zip had broken so we couldn't send it to a charity shop in the hope that someone else could get some use from it. I'd always really liked the colour, plus the fabric was still in good nick, so I decided to hang on to it knowing that I could weave some magic with it somewhere down the line.

Harvesting its fabric wasn't too tricky, I just had to unpick the front pockets and cut along the seam lines. I lengthened the legs on the pattern because the cuffs from the original sweatshirt were narrower than the ankle cuff pattern piece required, and I didn't want to lose overall length. As you can see I managed to include the little metal Fenchurch logo on the front of the final trousers. The placement isn't ideal, but the hoodie was a small size so I didn't have much width to work with. I also included the little side seam tab from the original hoodie, positioning it at the side of one of the back pockets. Anyways, these joggers totally fooled my friend Joe who commented on Frankie's Fenchurch trousers when he saw him recently!

Thoughts:

Despite the issue of Ottobre being over five years old, I think the shape and proportions of these joggers look fresh and modern, and definitely a bit Scandie-cool. All the extra topstitching and details meant these took a lot longer to make than the very basic joggers I usually rustle up for Frankie, but I really think it was worth it and I'm happy he has some nice new bottoms. I am going to go back to my super-fast, down-and-dirty basic joggers pattern though to make more in preparation for potty-training, but I imagine I'll definitely trace out bigger sizes of this Relaxed Fit Sweatpants pattern to make more in the years to come.

Free Pattern Friday: Kid's Retro Sweatpants

This is my new monthly feature where I road test a free sewing pattern or tutorial: sometimes a children's one, sometimes a women's one. I publish these posts every first Friday of the month, timed to provide inspiration for those of you who plan to get your sew-on over the weekend. I firmly believe that, if you pick your projects carefully, sewing doesn't have to be a crazy-expensive pass time. 

(image source: Elegance & Elephants)

Pattern type:

It's properly Autumn now here in UK, so it's cosy clothes a-go-go. This is Elegance & Elephants's free Retro Sweatpants pattern for making unisex, old-school style joggers (thanks so much E&E!). They include in-seam pockets, an elasticated waist and optional drawstring. This garment can be made with or without using an overlocker/serger.

Sizing info:

This is a multi-sized pattern from 12 months to 9 years. I made the smallest size (12-18 months). Frankie has just turned 1 and is fairly average sized, they came out quite big and I'm guessing these will probably fit him when he's about 18 months.

Fabric info:

The suggested fabrics include cotton ribbing (although it's not clear if that's just for the cuffs and waistband, or the whole garment), interlock, sweatshirt fabric and jersey. For my version, I've used some ponte de roma that was leftover from my recent cardigan project, and soft, solid ponte for the cuffs and waistband. French terry would also work well.

Findings:

The pattern itself is a well-produced, digitised PDF. The instructions, although not the most detailed or 'hand-holdy' I've come across, feature clear, colour photographs to illustrate the construction steps so you can work out what's required easily enough. Because Frankie is still a baby, I decided to omit the in-seam pockets and the waist drawstring, which sped up this already quick project even more. I'm not super happy with how the waistband has turned out, but I'm currently too tired to figure out how I'd rather it'd be. That said, it's a great basic garment. If you have some crazy energy-filled scamps that like comfy clothes, you could batch-sew a bunch of these and they'd be sorted for a whole season.

Customisation ideas:

Ways you might customise this pattern to get different looks might include:

• knee patches 
• contrast waistband and/or cuffs
• applique or sewn-on patches
• colour blocked panels
• front or back patch pockets
• piping or ribbon (or dinosaur-esque triangles!) along the side-seams
• shortened/cut-off to make sporty, basket-ball style shorts

(image sources: Sloppop, Mothercare, Paul and Paula, Boden, Tug Tug (couldn't find link))

Would I make them again?

Overall, I'm pleased with how these turned out. I'm looking forward to seeing Frankie wearing them for real when he grows into them, but I'm not sure how much of that is about my deep love for this anchor fabric! I probably wouldn't make them again in this size, but I might return to this pattern for the larger sizes in the future.