I should have taken a picture of the chocolate I had to give him so he would wear it.

Yes, we're at that place already.  Picture me pleading with him to just put the shirt on and mommy will give you a marshmallow. I'm starting to give away the clothes I make for him to his friends because it's less trouble than trying to get him to wear it. Maybe the fact that it's happening already means he'll grow out of it faster?  Please, I need hope here!

Anyway, the concept for this tee started with an article about Rachel Griffiths and her cute family in Cookie* last year. She is a fantastic actress. She also happens to have a baby girl with the same name as mine. But what really got the wheels turning was a picture of her son with cute shaggy blond hair wearing a really nifty navy striped-dyed shirt.  As soon as I saw it I thought "I could make that!"  I won't go through all the other elements of this outfit which I found endearing (such as a pair of Minnetonka beaded moccasins that I am embarrassed to say I actually purchased in hopes that I might replicate this look on my own son), but I will say that there also may have been a pair of bright green skinny jeans involved. 

*the now defunct momma-mag whose demise I bemoaned in this post.  Then someone commented and reminded me how crazy expensive everything in Cookie was. The ridiculous travel articles like "Taking your kids to eco-resorts in Bora Bora!" I'm over it now.

my favorite part is the white contrast stitching

So it would have been easier just to take a white long sleeved tee and tie-dye it.  Let's just get that out in the open right away.  But I wanted each piece to be individually dyed, and if you look carefully at this garment you can see that this is so. I also wanted a nicer style than your average Hane's tee, so I cut a Tee for Two (see the Lion Tee Post earlier this week for a pattern review of sorts) out of plain white jersey and twist tied it with those annoying plastic twizzies that come on every electronics thing you buy:

Then I immersed it in half a package of Navy RIT powder dye and some hot tap water and left it for a few hours.  Thanks to Dana and This Momma for providing some how-to on dying stuff that came in useful. Wish I had paid more attention to This Momma because she was right, that powder is Evil. I hates it. I vow will never use it again. I think I may have ruined at least 3 yards of fabric with vagrant powder dust by opening the package in my sewing room. I know, how dumb could I be?  

I did not photograph each step, but you can trust that after washing and drying the pieces, I sewed them together to produce the garment you see here.  It is pretty cute.  Worth all the trouble?  That is really going to depend on if I can ever get him to wear it again or not. 

At least I no longer have to cajole him into riding his new bike *crosses fingers.*  Don't be fooled by all that cute blond hair, this kid is a stinker.  Would you like to hear about my engagement ring which he played "Ring-Ring" with last week and was lost until yesterday when I found it under the story chair in his bedroom? It went missing from the shelf which I left it on, stupidly enough, within his reach. Attempts to determine the ring's whereabouts resulted in a multitude of horrifying stories including "I chewed and swallowed it!" and inquiries into the nature of "Ring-Ring" resulted in "I tooked it and I THREWED it into the air!" As my seester Elli so eloquently put it, "I'm sure you felt like ring-ringing his little neck!" I can't really blame him though, poor guy, I mean, he is only three.  And as much as he makes me want to check into the Funny Farm sometimes, I love him to death.

I'd better quit now before I admit to any more stupidity. Here's a quick rundown for my Mom-Of-The-Year acceptance speech: bribing children with sweets to wear handmade clothes, purchasing a pair of beaded suede shoes for a little boy, ruining things with powder dye, and leaving an engagement ring within child's reach.  See, I live to make you feel better about yourselves.  You're welcome.  Have a great weekend!

UPDATED for Full Disclosure: Since meeting in "real life" earlier this year, Karen and I have become friends and now have playdates with our kids every few weeks or so.  I guess that's just how life goes.   I actually didn't have the full pattern when I wrote this post since Karen had given me a computer printout taped together with masking tape precut to Elliot's size.  Since the writing of this post PBF's has very kindly given me a Tee for Two pattern so now I can at least claim to own a real copy.  Am I biased in writing this post? Absolutely. Does that mean this pattern is any less awesome?  I sure hope not!