Oh where, oh where has my sew-jo gone..

... oh where, oh where can it be?

Oh my, I have seriously lost my sewing mojo. Is it the time of year, lack of inspiration? Well, I know it's not the latter, inspiration is out there always. It might be the nasty croup M brought home in the last few weeks that had us up for nights on end, that then turned into an even nastier chest infection, that she then kindly passed onto Mummy and Daddy in the form of the most dreadful cold. I've renamed our home "The House of Ick". We are still struggling striving valiantly onwards though...

I don't think I've ever gone this long without sewing in a long, long time. You know, perhaps it's also that I've been pumping things out at quite a rate (for me anyway!), and really, how many items of clothing can one person wear? I've got a heap of dresses, a few new skirts, I've been making stuff for M... seriously, when will this stuff wear out so I can "replace it".

Well it seems M has helped me out there. I swear that child grew inches overnight. Suddenly all her pants were looking more like capris!

So I share with you my latest project, the piece to break the sewing drought. M's new Big Butt Baby Pants.

Don't worry, I didn't accidentally cut one leg shorter than the other... all will be revealed.

Now if you don't know of this pattern and you have a little one to sew for, you gotta get it. It's from Rae over at Made By Rae and I have literally made a million pairs - well maybe not literally, but you get my drift. This pattern rocks and the finished product is just awesome.

Why so exciting? A few reasons...

• You can make them for summer or winter, simply by changing the fabric used (I've made them in denim, corduroy, quilting cotton, flannelette, lawn, you name it).
• You can add little features that change the look completely, so it doesn't look like they're wearing the same pants everyday. Rae's pattern includes a frilly butt version and cuffs, just to start you off. I've also done them with knee pads (for those crawling months) and with a cute embroidered flower on the butt.
• They've got space for a nappy (even a cloth one)

Dreadful shot, but trying to show the butt panel at back

• The pattern comes with all sizes included from 0-3 months, right up to 2T.
• You can protect gorgeous, fragile little baby and toddler legs that tend to be prone to scratches and bumps when learning to traverse this brave new world on all fours or on tippy toes.

My little M has been in long daycare three days a week since she was 8 months old (oh, the guilt of a working Mum). She started in a long hot summer and was just beginning to crawl. She was always getting bumps and scrapes when wearing shorts, so I decided to make a few pairs of these in a super light cotton (gotta keep cool) to help protect those chubby little legs. She loves them - whenever I make a new pair, even today, she wants to put them on straight away. She still wears a pair to daycare everyday, 13 months later.

This latest version I did with cuffs. M seems to grow at the rate of knots lately - up, but not out. For this reason cuffs are awesome. I can fold them up when she first starts to wear them and flip them down as she starts to grow. Here's a close up showing one up, one down.

They always draw compliments, with lots of requests from other's for their own custom pants. You are allowed sell your versions (handmade, not production line), with design credit given and registering with Made by Rae as a seller. I haven't gone this route yet (haven't made them for anyone other than M, just no time), but it could be interesting to be a seller if I find the time in the future.

Oh and the best part? They are super quick to whip up. I've renamed them "nap time pants" in our house as they are so quick to run up they can be completed easily during a 2 hour nap!