Gotz Happy Kidz Checkered Shirt Pattern

Gotz Happy Kidz Checkered Shirt

Copyright © 2018 by Peggy Stuart

Pattern will require at least 1/3 yd. of fabric. If you only have 1/4 yd., it is possible with very careful cutting. (See end of pattern for photos of how this can be done.

Print all three sheets of pattern, making sure the 1” test gauge is 1”.

Cut out all pieces or transfer to freezer paper* or pattern tissue. Identify pieces that must be cut on the bias** and put them aside. 

Fold fabric over 17 1/4", so that the remaining pattern pieces will fit, lining up along the fold those that must be cut on the fold and matching the straight of grain lines with the straight of grain of the fabric. You may use lengthwise or crosswise straight of grain, but pay attention to any directional design or lines in the fabric. The yoke back will have to be repositioned and cut out again so that you have two. (One will line the back.)

After cutting out the main pattern pieces, open fabric and make a fold on a 45º angle with fabric wide enough to fit collar on the fold. Cut out collar.

Refold fabric if needed, still keeping the fold on a 45º angle. Place the cuff pattern on the fold, and leaving enough room to cut a second cuff, cut out. Repeat for second cuff. The pocket may be cut out of a scrap, placing the pattern on a 45º angle.

Take pocket piece and finish top edge with zigzag, pinking shears or sewing under 1/4”. Fold on fold line with right sides together. Sew one edge closed to make a hem, continue down the pocket with 1/4” of seam allowance, pivot at each corner and continue up to the fold at the top of the pocket hem. Trim corners. Turn pocket to right side, and using stitching as a guide, fold under the 1/4” seam allowance. Press. Top stitch pocket hem. Using pattern as a guide, position pocket on left front and stitch down close to edge, securing beginning and end with back stitching or by pulling front thread through to back and tying together with bobbin thread. 

Take one yoke piece and sew each shoulder to one of the two front facing pieces so that the neck opening is in the middle and the armscyes/sleeve openings are on the outside. (If you are using a fabric with no right side, such as a woven check, be sure your front facing pieces are facing the right direction before sewing.)

Take the other yoke piece and sew each shoulder to one of the two shirt fronts, making sure that the neck opening is in the middle and the armscyes/sleeve openings are on the outside.

Fold collar so that right sides are together. Sew both ends. Trim corners. (Tip: It will be easier to turn if you press seam open at this point.) 

Turn to right side and press. Fold collar in half to find middle, pin middle of collar to middle of back neck. Pin collar to right side of shirt fronts and outside back yoke. You should have 3/4” extra shirt front on each side. Baste in place. 

Pin front facings and back yoke lining from center back down to the bottom of the shirt front on each side. Sew, trim and clip seams, and turn to right side. Press. Zigzag over edges of front facing.

Baste back yoke to back yoke facing.

Pin back to back yoke, matching both ends and the middle. Pin along seam starting at outer edges. When you find you have extra fabric, fold it toward the middle and pin. Repeat on other side. This forms the pleat in the center back. On the inside, you will have two folds that meet where you have pinned in the middle.

  
Sew seam and finish with zigzag or overcast.

The back should look like this.

Press seam toward yoke.

Sleeves are symmetrical, so they can go on either side. Sew two lines of basting stitching along top,  curved edge of each sleeve. You may not need to gather these; sewing them may be enough.

With sleeve on top, pin top of sleeve to armscye/sleeve opening, right sides together, matching beginning and end of seam and middle of the sleeve top with the middle of the armscye/sleeve opening, using as many pins as needed to keep the two edges together. Make sure you have caught the sleeve edge of front facing even with the front armhole/sleeve opening. Sew seam, being careful to keep shirt front and yoke from gathering underneath. Repeat for other sleeve.  Finish edges with zigzag or overcast, if possible.

Now you have a choice: You can sew the underarm seams, sew the ends of the cuff closed, fold the cuff over and sew the cuff to the right side of the sleeve, matching the underarm seam with the cuff seam…

Or, you can take the chicken’s way out and sew the cuff, folded wrong sides together, to the bottom of the sleeve and then sew the underarm sleeve. If you can get your doll to keep her arms down, the underarm sleeve seams may not show. Finish underarm seam with zigzag or overcast stitching, and tell your doll not to volunteer any answers in class.

If you are brave and willing to sew the underarm seams and the cuff seam first, pin them in place, then finish the both seams with zigzag or overcast stitching, take each cuff and sew the ends together. 

Press seams open, then fold the cuff, wrong sides together. 

With the cuff on the outside of the sleeve and matching the underarm sleeve with the cuff seam, pin carefully, using only a few pins and lining up the cut edges of the seam.  

This is a very tight cylinder, and the pins get in the way, so I like to push them all the way in as far as they will go, and then pull them back into place as I approach them, pulling out any pins I’ve passed as I go. It’s very tight, but depending on your sewing machine, quite manageable, and the result is a nicely finished underarm seam. And your doll can raise her hand in class. 

Zigzag or overcast over the seam again; it will be easier with the pins gone. 

At this point, you can finish the lower seam. You can turn it under 1/4”, then another 1/4” and sew it down with the front facings folded in place, or you can pink the edges with pinking shears, then fold over and sew in place or my preferred method is to run a line of zigzag stitching along the lower edge, fold up and press 1/2”, then fold the facings in place and sew 1/3” or 1/4” along the bottom on the right side.

Buttons: You can sew Velcro on the two front edges, overlapping slightly with the top of the Velcro even with the button placement indicated on the pattern, then sew buttons evenly space on the right front or you can make the top buttonhole on the right front even with the button placement on the left front and space the others evenly below it, sewing buttons in the corresponding positions.

Press shirt, dress your doll and turn up the sleeve cuffs to the position you prefer.

*If you use freezer paper, you can iron the pattern, shiny side down, onto your fabric, cut the straight lines with a rotary cutter and then put in pins before cutting the curved lines of the pattern.

**These pieces may be cut on the straight of grain to save fabric, but cutting on the bias makes construction easier and, in the case of stripes, plaids or checks, provides a nice contrast to the lines in the main pieces.

This pattern is protected by copyright.

Any items made from it may be sold.

Copyright © 2018 by Peggy Stuart 

Gotz Happy Kidz Checkered Shirt Rev. 3, 7/22/18

Please note: If you would have paid for this pattern and would like to do so, please donate the amount you would have spent to CURE Childhood Cancer, https://curechildhoodcancer.org/donate/. I thank you for your generosity and for not having to do the books.

If you have children who enjoy stories about dolls, check out my blog for children, The Doll’s Storybook at thedollsstorybook.blogspot.com

Managing with 1/4 yd.

Fold fabric at 17 1/4". Place pattern pieces that go on the straight of grain and the pocket as indicated in photo, avoiding selvedge. (Pocket only goes through one layer.) Cut out all pieces except for pocket. You will only have one back yoke piece so far.

Separate pocket from rest of fabric and cut out.

Place back yoke pattern on fabric as shown and cut out. This will give you the second back yoke piece.

Like the pocket, the cuffs and collar will be cut out on the bias. The arrow indicates the straight of grain, either lengthwise or crosswise. 
Fold remaining fabric as shown below. The cuff pattern should only just fit without going into the selvedge. Pin cuff pattern on fold as indicated and cut out, trying not to cut too far past the pattern piece. This will give you the first cuff piece.

Refold fabric again and pin collar to fold. Cut out. This is the entire collar.

To get the second cuff, fold as in the photo below, pin cuff pattern to fold and cut out.

If you want a second pocket, you may have enough fabric left for it, if you have been careful in cutting.

To Everything There Is a Season....

A time to be born and a time to...dye. At my place, summer is a good time to dye using the method I like best. The sun-tea method with Kool-Aid and food coloring.

I'm sort of a health nut, so this is the only purpose I ever put Kool-Aid to, but it's a good product for that. I started out with the instructions I found on Knitty. 

The instructions are mostly designed for top-of-the-stove or microwave, but being a health nut, I'm also concerned with using renewable energy when I can, so I use the sun-tea method, mentioned in passing in a small side bar in the Knitty article.

I have two sun-tea jars dedicated to dyeing. 

I made a lace shawl a few weeks back, using lace-weight yarn left over from the gown I made for Miss Daphne's naming ceremony, back in July, 2010.

I don't know what I was thinking when I calculated how much lace-weight yarn I would need, but after making the gown and bonnet, I ended up with about 500 gm of Knit Picks Bare Merino Wool Lace Weight yarn (now called "Shadow," like the predyed version), most of it already wound into "cakes."

I really enjoyed making the shawl, as well as wearing it, so I decided I needed to make more shawls, but not all in "Bare." The line of Bare yarns are designed to be dyed as well as knitted or crocheted up as-is, so....

Here's the finished yarn:

Here's how I did it. I had about 4 oz. to dye, including one of the cakes and what was left over from the shawl. The instructions said to use one packet of "dye" (Kool-Aid) to one ounce of yarn, so I used four packets: two cherry and two orange. I added a few drops of black food coloring to grey-down the color a bit. I soaked the yarn in some warm water with a few drops of mild dish soap while I mixed the dye bath in my sun-tea jar. You don't need to add vinegar to the water you mix your dye in, as the drink mix is pretty acid, so I just used warm water. (No sugar, of course!) I added the yarn and more warm water to cover, and put it out in the sun. About an hour later, the dye bath was clear (exhausted), so I knew it was ready. I wanted the kettle-dyed look, so I didn't turn the yarn over during the dyeing process. The pups and I went on a hike instead.

Because I didn't turn the yarn over and open up the hanks of yarn during the process, the dye bath didn't reach all of it. The effect is nice in the finished yarn, though. It came out lighter in some places and darker in others.

If you want a yarn that's consistently the same color all over, you will need to open up the yarn and turn it several times during the dyeing process. Use tongs or rubber gloves for this, or you'll be wearing your dye for a while. (Your skin qualifies as an animal fiber for the purposes of this project.) This is because to dye with Kool-aid, the yarn has to be all or mostly animal fiber, although nylon will dye nicely. (My sweater dryer, made of nylon net and a PVC frame, has dye spots on it from previous projects.) Cotton won't take up this dye. This is why you want to be sure you are wearing old clothes you don't care about or 100% cotton fabrics. A cotton apron in a dark color (just in case) over your clothes is perfect. Since wool comes from an animal, it's perfect for dyeing with Kool-Aid, and my yarn is 100% Merino wool.

I rinsed the yarn in water close to the same temperature as the temperature of the dye bath and handled it gently, so the yarn wouldn't felt/full. I put vinegar in the first rinse and then Kookaburra Wool Wash in the last rinse. One disadvantage of dyeing with Kool-Aid is the lingering scent of (phony) cherry and/or orange, which eventually goes away. Neither is my favorite scent. The Wool Wash and vinegar seemed to take care of that problem, although in the past I've had to smell it all the time I was knitting the project.

Since I still had lots of leftover yarn and more hours of daylight, I decided to try tea dyeing. I found instructions here.

I used pretty much the same method except I didn't worry about getting my hands in the "dye bath." I was careful not to spill on cotton clothes, though, as tea will stain cotton, which means you can use this method to dye cotton.

For this batch, I used eight black tea bags in hot tap water. I poured in a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar, just in case. Very old tea works just as well as fresh tea, so this is a good use for tea that is past its prime. I was looking for a light color, so I didn't leave it in too long, but kept checking every 15 minutes or so. I don't think the tea dye bath "exhausts," but I'll have to experiment and report back in a later blog post.

You can get different colors from herbal and green tea, so it's fun to experiment with. Heres what I ended up with:

The original yarn (I still have more to dye), is on the left, and the tea-dyed yarn, on the right. Now I have yarn for two lace shawls and they aren't "Bare" anymore. For me, the hardest part came at the beginning and the end. because I had already wound up my yarn and didn't want the kind of regular pattern you can get from just putting your cake of yarn into the dye in a dish, I had to get out my knitty-noddy (which my wonderful DH made for me out of PVC pipe) and rewind it into hanks. Since it was lace yarn, this took for-ev-er! Then when I went to wind my yarn into a cake again after it was dry, the yarn kept flying off the ball winder. I finally got out a new TP sleeve to fit over the shaft of the ball winder, bent the bottom edge in so it wouldn't slip, and had no further problems, other than it still took for-ev-er even when it worked correctly. 

I was happy with the result and look forward to dyeing the last of the leftover lace-weight yarn on another nice day.

On almost any sunny day in the summertime, you can hear me paraphrase the famous Klingon battle cry: "Today is a good day to dye."

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Watch for my regular blog, returning July 27th.