The First Japanese Pattern Sewing Week!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

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Welcome to the very end of the First Japanese Pattern Sewing Week!

There's a lot of good things on Facebook (and a lot of crazy nut-job things too...) but one thing that is great is like-minded, or at least like-sewing-minded folks coming together.  It's kind of a beautiful thing.

Definitely (if you haven't already) check out these blogs for some seriously amazing creations - all made from a wide variety of Japanese patterns....and, yes, mostly written in Japanese!



In a Manner of Sewing  |  Conversas de Hermanas  |  Pequenos e Verdes  |  Climbing the Willow
Bartracks and Singletrack  |  S is for Sewing  |  Sew Happy  |  Mamacosesola
Fairies, Bubbles & Co.  |  Sewing Like Mad  |  As it Seams  |  Sewing For Mini Me
La Folie Sewing Booth  |  Just Add Fabric  |  Blogless Anna  |  Sweeter Than Cupcakes  |  Needle and Ted
Miss Castelinhos  |  Made by Toya  |  Lil Luxe Collection  |  House of Estrela
Patty Made It  |  Paisley Roots  |  Rita Pirolita  |  Call Ajaire
So-cal Sewing Mom  |  Kiwi Crafty Chemist  |  Sew Shelly Sew  |  Made by Sara

Here's my creation:


I love the clean lines of Japanese patterns.  I only own 4 - 3 children's clothing, and 1 dog clothing generously gifted to me from the brains behind Bartacks and Singletrack.  I actually intended to make a dog outfit for my small pup, but I ran out of pattern tracing paper.  So, poor Sadie has to go without...for now.










I used the Pintuck Smock pattern from Happy Homemade Sew Chic Kids. Yes, it's translated into English.  I feel a bit like a cheat.  I made a long sleeve version which is what is shown on the dress version of the pattern.  I used the size 120 for my tall, skinny-ish 6 year old.  For the top, I used fabric from my shop - a lawn from Kokka.  Lawn really is a great choice for this pattern, in my opinion.  Being cheap with my fabric, I actually couldn't squeeze in the pattern pieces with a seam allowance for the hem, so I thought I'd add some lace.  Turns out, my kid really, really likes lace.  She squealed when she saw the back pockets on the shorts.

For the shorts, I used another pattern from Sew Chic Kids - Shorts with Back Pockets.  I really didn't even read the directions for these, as they are pretty simple shorts.  I made a size 110 in these as I wasn't sure if the kid would go for the long fairly oversized shorts.  Turns out she fits perfectly in the 110 and she was very happy with the shorts.  Next time, I think I"ll combine the pockets on the Knee Length Shorts pattern with this pattern as my child really likes both front and back pockets.  The fabric on the shorts is from the shop also - Denim Chambray Dobby from Robert Kaufman. 

Stuff I messed up on- I did the pintucks the wrong way.  I think they're supposed to stick out on the front side, not the back.  I didn't cut the front neck facing strip on the bias so it doesn't lay very well.  And, next time I make this top, I will use a plain fabric just so the sweet details show up better.

And, last but not least, there's a giveaway!

- One pack of 2 two Japanese Sewing books from Tuttle Publishing
- One pack of 2 two Japanese Sewing books from Tuttle Publishing
- A $40 fabric voucher from Urban Sew 




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Word Up It's Word Girl!

Sunday, November 1, 2015

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I guess I like Halloween sewing.

Here's a few photos from the past few Halloweens....






Ok, so I didn't make the first one....but it's so cute I had to include it!  The only year that we didn't do trick or treat was when Julia was two...she was sick that year, sadly.

I could dig through my photo archives and find photos of my older kids....I recall a dalmatian, a bumblebee, and Humpty Dumpty.  Maybe I'll find photos of those in my spare time.

But, this year, Julia decided quite early who she wanted to be, and I knew it would be really easy - Word Girl from PBS Kids.  I actually love that show, so I was totally on board.




Here's the details:

I used Catalina knit from Robert Kaufman - I seriously love it!  It's 100% cotton and a great weight - perfect for this project.  The belt is Kraft-Tex paper fabric (which we sell in the shop) with a large grommet glued on.  The cape design was a great suggestion from Shelley at Bartacks and Singletrack to use the patter for the baby bib from Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson - worked perfectly!

Patterns used:

Playtime leggings from Oliver + S
School Bus t-shirt from Oliver + S
Cozy Winter Hood from Little Things to Sew
Messy Kid Bib from Little Things to Sew

A super easy costume!