Monkey Business

My little one loves monkeys.  He thinks it's the funniest sounding word.  So when his first birthday came around, I made him a monkey t-shirt for his special day.

DIY monkey shirt

I started by drafting a simple raglan tee using a current t-shirt from the boy to figure out sizing.  I used an old white T-shirt for the material, and an old brown t-shirt for the contrasting collar.

I love raglan tees because they are super easy to draft and sew, much less fiddly than traditional set-in sleeves.  And that means, I can draft and sew them much quicker.

I grabbed some fleece scraps to make the monkey face, and hand-sewed the face pieces together, then machine sewed around the monkey head to attach it to the t-shirt.

For Halloween this past year, the boy also got an entire monkey costume.

DIY monkey costume

In the Northeast, having a costume with long pants, sleeves and a hat is an imperative for young kids to stay warm when running around outside.  So making a monkey suit made was perfect as both a cute costume and a warm outfit.

DIY Monkey Costume

The entire suit was made of fleece, using my same self-drafted raglan tee pattern for the top, a self-drafted pants pattern for the bottom, and adding a tail to the pants and a monkey hat with ears.

DIY Monkey Shirt and Monkey Costume for 1-year old

All in total, I probably spent ~ 3-4 hours making the entire monkey suit and the shirt, and 90% of the sewing happened on my serger, so that the seams would be stretchy and finished all at the same time.

Life Update

So, I think it's time for a bit of a personal update...

Over the past 2 years, we have been busy with a major house renovation and a new addition to our family - a baby boy!

As you might imagine, these two things happening simultaneously meant very little free time. We were hoping the renovation would be finished before our little one was born, but instead our little one's first 4 months were full of trips to Home Depot and lots of contractor visits.

Our little Monkey is now just over 1 year old, and is learning new things every day! When he was much smaller and still mostly sleeping, I spent many a naptime working on a rag rug for his bedroom.

DIY Rag Rug made from old T-Shirts

I made it with a bunch of old t-shirts, cutting them into strips and braiding, then coiling them into a rug shape. It turned out cooler than I expected! And obviously it was soft enough for a sleeping baby to enjoy!

 If interested, I can share a more detailed tutorial on how I did it. This is definitely a great naptime / TV-watching project!

New Year - New Look!

Hi All! It's been a while! Hope the holidays were lovely. It was quite snowy up here in the Northeast (and still is).

The weather gave me a bit of time to update the blog - thought it was about time for a design overhaul to something cleaner and brighter. Let me know what you think of the new look! I always appreciate feedback!