Snow Pants and Sunshine

These pants work and play

I finished 4 pairs of snowpants today. I didn't sew them all in one day. A month ago I bought 2 yards of fleece, generic stuff from JOAnn's to make leggings to wear under normal jeans, (without elastic to hold them up, so they're not supposed to wear them alone, but they do anyway. I will have to do something about that) and then a few weeks ago I saw water-repellant nylon/wool fabric for $2.40 a yard at Fabric Mart (an online fabric store with delicious fabric and wonderful deals). This price compelled me in spite of my ridiculous fear of sewing outerwear, so I cut them out, sewed them up, and finished them while it's still winter. This is worth cheering about.

I sewed the coats too, not the red one, not when I saw it on Amazon for $17. I told my daughter that it wouldn't last long because it's a cheap coat, but since she'd rolled down a hill of mud the week before I was going to make her a very nice wool coat, a cheap washable coat is what she got. A button fell off the very first day it came in the mail, but it's warm, cheerful, and I didn't have to sew it. (More cheering)

On the left, Atomizer wears a fantastic coat that I'm particularly sentimental about. His grandparents brought it back from Alaska for me, a coat that while warm wasn't ever my style. Fortunately, he loved the moose and I made a coat for him out of it, interlined with thinsulate with a hood added instead of a collar, because he wanted one. The pattern comes from OttobreDesigns, Winter 2006 #20.

In the middle, my 2-yr-old wears a coat out of fabric that is dryclean only. She got it muddy before I could sew the cuffs on. It got washed, I put on the cuffs, she rolled around in the mud some more... It's also an Ottobre pattern, Winter 2013, #16.

The snow pants came in a fabulous size range from their most recent pattern catalog, 86cm-128 cm. Basically ages 18 months-8 years. This is perfect for me so that I can trace out one pattern with multiple lines saving time and pattern paper. That is OttobreDesign Spring, #18. I reinforced the knees and rear, double topstitching in white. I embroidered something on one knee for each kid, a lizard for 10 yr boy, a snake for 6 yr boy, a butterfly for 2 yr girl, and a house for 8 yr girl. She came last because she couldn't decide what she wanted. Finally I told her I was going to do her initials. She said, "No. I'd rather have nothing. Yes, do nothing and add a little house." So she got nothing and a house.

I'm so glad I got these finished. Now I can go back to SWAP.

Do you have any tips for staying warm this winter?