A Budding Designer

Now that I got my nephew interested in sewing, he is obsessed with what can be made with the "stash."

This morning, he began dismantling all the "fun" prints, removing them from their tubs, spreading them all over the bed, and making matches. Here and there I would have to respond to "Aunt Missy, does this go?" until he finally settled on this combination:


And demanded that "We need to make a shirt. Today." Fortunately, the serger makes quick work of finishing the seams, so it went together in about 2 hours, even with a wiggly 6-year-old on my lap (I insisted that if we had any hopes of getting it done today, he would have to help).

He is getting very good at guiding the fabric, and is also quite bossy with the "Now backwards, Aunt Missy. And hand me the scissors. No the little ones." His favorite part is easing the sleeves, because I taught him how to "crowd" the fabric. I never really easestitch, but for the caps of sleeves I just run a line of stitches in the seam allowance from notch to notch on the cap, pressing my finger on the back of the presser foot, and letting the fabric "crowd up" behind it. This takes just enough length out of the sleeve cap that it fits right into the armscye, without any gathers. Now that he has seen the trick once, he wants to crowd EVERYTHING. I'm surprised his shirt isn't shirred.

Here he is modeling his new shirt:


And here he is hopping around telling me what he wants to make next and how Caiden (his baby cousin) should have a shirt to match his, and you should make that this week Aunt Missy:


While it's kind of a pain to have to instantaneously put together shirts for him, it is very heartening that he is so interested in what can be made as opposed to what can be bought.