Lotus Pond Meets Oliver + S

When the fabric line Lotus Pond came out from Rae Hoekstra (shop link), I was immediately struck by the color palette.  I knew I had to test it out, you know, so I can vouch for it if someone asks....

I started with one of the more subdued prints, called Fluttering Fields.  It's a really sweet peachy pink, with teeny butterflies and flowers.  I knew the look I was going for; I wanted to make a 2+2 Skirt from Oliver + S.  I thought and I thought about what type of top - in the end, I decided with a modified Oliver + S Class Picnic top.  The top fabric is a really nice white cotton from Robert Kaufman - really, really nice quality.

You can clearly see my crappy ironing job at the bottom; I swear, it looks better in real life!  I used a blind hem stitch, and I really need to do some better steaming along the hemline.

Julia actually chose the really short sleeve length on the top, and I agree with her.  I'd wear it.  I added some decorative stitching around the bottom, because, really, I just can't leave well enough alone.  I was going to add butterfly embroidery (in lieu of the decorative stitching) but in the end, I like the way it looks.  In fact, I'm going to make a pair of leggings to go with the top to get some extra wear.

The 2+2 skirt is a size 3 with about 5" added to the length.  She's still wearing a couple of old size 3's and it fits her fine, but the length is super short.  I like the 2+2 skirt with the pleats stitched down, and not ironed like crazy.  Kind of more of a dropped waist effect.

As always, here's the overload of modeled shots....

We're getting near the super-crazy end of school here - school play, dance recital, and the start of summer activities - beach, concerts in the park, all the good stuff!

KCW 2014 - Something Old, Something New

I did most of my sewing for day one of this Kid's Clothes Week on Sunday.  That's reality - there's not enough hours in the weekdays for me to even sew for one hour.  My KCW will be done mainly on the weekend, and all day Wednesday.  I bet I get a lot more than 7 hours in!

For my first outfit, I went with an oldie, but goodie - the Class Picnic blouse from Oliver and S.  I've made it a bunch of times, including modifying it to be a dress.  My daughter is in the size 4 in this, but lengthened about 3 inches.

It's a pattern that just doesn't disappoint.  I don't even need to look at the directions at this point.  The fabric is a cotton from Yuwa from my shop - Owls by Marie Jacobi.  It's a really cute subdued print  - some of the owls are even sparkly....

Next up, I FINALLY purchased the Kids Shorts Pattern by Made on danamadeit.com - seriously, why did I wait?  I've had this bookmarked for a while, and just never made the purchase.  I probably have other patterns that I could easily just convert to shorts, but why do that when these are already drafted and sized for you?  These have SO many options - I'll definitely be getting my money out of these!  Based on the measurements, I made a 5 in these.  Seriously, a 5???!!!  Where is my baby going???? Granted, these will be worn for quite a while - they've certainly got room to grow into!

Who needs some serious lotion????

These are made in some orange 21 wale corduroy by Moda, with some leftover turquoise linen.  Super cute, and she loves the pockets!

This is how I roll - this is all I had left of the turquoise thread that I used for the shorts when I was done!!

 End of the KCW Day 1 sewing.....my next project should be finished up on Wednesday - I can't wait to share this one!

Success on several counts....

I'm making a concerted effort to:

- use up fabric that I've had for more years than I want to own up to,
- use my machine's embroidery features,
- take into consideration Julia's "style" and what she likes and wants to wear (regardless of my "style")

This one worked for all three:

It's made from purple velour that I've had in a Tupperware bin in my garage for at least 17 years.  I know this because the tag from the moving company is still on the bin from when I moved from Canada to California in 1995!

I used the Oliver + S Class Picnic top pattern.  I saw this modification on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/disdressed/6949853281/in/faves-janice4839/ made by the maker of the Oliver + S pattern, so I know it would totally work!  It's simply elongating the torso, and adding a ruffle.  Easy, except that she recommended that the ruffle should start halfway between the wearer's waist and hipbone - since I couldn't find either Julia's waist, nor hipbone, I kind of just punted!  It actually came out kind of long, but she loves it:

It spins!!!

Once a dress passes the spin test, and it has no tags to itch, and soft fabric, she might just wear it!  Time will tell!

I used some variegated thread to make the snowflakes - I was very pleased the way they came out.

I made this in a size 4, and since it's pretty long, I have hope that she may be able to wear it again next year....

I'm just about to get started with some Christmas sewing.....I have lots on my list, including a baby gift for one of my co-workers....should be a fun month!

KCWC - An Early Start

I'm really ready to go and get a good start on my fall sewing.  I've been organizing, and planning for a couple of weeks.  Since I never know during the week when I'll get time to sew, I started today.  I sewed both this morning, and during afternoon nap time.  I managed to make a really cute outfit:

I used the Class Picnic top from Oliver + S, plus the music class skirt.  I made the top this morning, and since it was the third one I'd made, I had no problems with the sewing.  What I did have, however, was problems with the cutting.  I really can't explain what I did, but I did have a plan with the fabric, which is a Nani Iro double gauze.  I planned to cut the top yoke, and the top of the sleeves from the predominantly white part, and have the more orange part at the bottom of the sleeve and the front/back.  What I did, somehow, and I really don't know how, was I used the bottom pattern piece twice, didn't cut any sleeves, and then when I figured out what I did, I cut the sleeve upside down from what I had intended.  Yeah.

Regardless of my errors, I still love the top.  The fabric is just so soft.  It really is just a joy to sew with.  And, this top works great with the fabric...as it's kind of a loose fitting, flow-y top.

I then, during afternoon nap time - about two hours - made my first music class skirt.  I used orange corduroy from Freespirit.  The pattern is really clever how it's put together and it has pockets on the sides which my daughter really liked.

My daughter woke up from her nap and actually volunteered to put on the outfit and take some photos....which explains the hair-do!

Since lately picture taking has been like pulling teeth, I didn't want to worry about her hair.....

This reminds me of the semi-pouty models you see in magazines......anyways, I'm really happy I was able to fully complete an entire outfit today - and one my kid actually likes!