Prelude to KCWC

I (along with a bunch of really talented and inspired sewists) are participating in the upcoming Kids Clothes Week Challenge on the Elsie Marley blog.  Toward that end, I'm trying to finish up some sewing I've begun, but not totally completed.

Here is my last UFO - a Family Reunion dress from, of course, Oliver + S patterns.  It was another pattern I had purchased, but hadn't gotten to yet.  No reason why, because every time I see one in the O+S forums, I absolutely love it.

This is made from a Kokka medium weight cotton.  It has a really nice drape; not too lightweight, so Julia can wear it in the fall, with a yet-to-be-made lightweight jacket.  The piping is some Kaffe Fasset shot cotton that I had leftover from another project.  I made it in exactly a 3T, no modifications.  I'd say it fits pretty true to size as Julia will be 3 in about a month.

Julia got new sparkly shoes yesterday, so she was ready to walk across the street and model her new dress with the new shoes.

Yeah, not exactly my taste in shoes, but I've got to let her express herself!

I had Julia help sew the buttons down the back, so here's a picture to memorialize her first sewing project:

I absolutely love this pattern; as with the Playdate pattern, I find that it is a beautiful frame to a child's face; I wonder if that was what Liesl was thinking when she designed this pattern...

I'm also taking pictures to make calendars for Christmas gifts for the grandparents, so here's my artsy shot for the day:

 

Now, on to planning, shopping, and organizing for KCWC!!!

Fall Wardrobe....in 97 Degree Weather....

I long for fall.  Real fall, with leaves turning, and apple picking.

Instead, I get 90 degree days and walks on the beach.

I do know that the weather will turn here (at some point) and my kid will need more clothes.  So, I'm trying to plan outfits that go with shoes, and outfits that have coordinates.  A lot of Julia's clothes will be various shades of purple and teal this winter.

I started with actually the first Oliver + S pattern I ever sewed, the Sailboat top.  I made this in size 18-24 months just over a year ago, and I made this on in a 3T which is the largest size in the pattern.  I'm sure I'll be purchasing the larger size because I love the Sailboat top.  In fact, I'd like one for myself.  In fact, I'd like this exact top I sewed for Julia for myself.  I'd totally wear it.

I made this in a teal knit, 100% cotton, from Free Spirit/Westminster fabric.  The fabric is conveniently located in my shop, so I have to try some out.....it didn't shrink barely at all in the wash (when I pre-washed it) and the color stayed vibrant.  I used a woven for the facings, from Eleanor Grosch's, also from Free Spirit/Westminster.  The way this pattern is put together makes all the insides seem so, well, finished.   I opted to roll up the sleeves, bartacked one seam, and put a button on the cuff.  I thought it was kind of a cute look.

And, the skirt.....it's another Oliver + S pattern - the 2+2 skirt.  I've made the top a bunch of times, but never made the skirt.  Well, silly me for waiting!  It's freaking adorable.....for some reason I avoided pleats in the past, but after this, I'll be making a lot more.  The skirt has a flat front waistband, and an elasticized back.  It's got a really well put together side placket, and a button loop closure.  All really nice touches.

I tried on the outfit for fit, but since it was so hot out, I had a less than cooperative model.

The skirt really looks adorable on...

I'll definitely be using both of these patterns more....

An End-Of-Summer/Back-To-School Tea Party

So, continuing on with the "Make It While It Fits" challenge, I decided to make a Tea Party dress for my daughter for her first day back to preschool.  While I long for turtle neck jerseys, and wide wale corduroy pants with a blazer, it's not realistic around here as it's typically still really summer temperatures here for a very long time. 

Going along with the ideas in the Oliver + S forums with people giving their thoughts on how to get their children to actually wear the clothes they make, I decided to let Julia select the fabric.  Well, this is what she chose:

It's kinda screaming.  I won't lose her in a crowd.  It's definitely suited to her personality.  She immediately chose to wear it, and asked to go to the beach.  Success! 

I made a 4T, thinking that she could wear it for maybe this month, then I would put it away for the spring.  She's got room in it (she's still only 2) but the length works for right now just fine.

I love the pattern, but had a bit of a glitch when I was finishing the seam allowance between the bodice and the skirt, and my serger bit into the piping.  I really need to go un-pick it and re-do it, because there's a little spot that's making me crazy where the piping is uneven.

The fabric is a Robert Kaufman cotton, from Amy Schimler's Fly Away line.  It has a coordinating stripe, which I was originally going to use on the bodice, but that was really too much, even for me.  I used the stripe for the lining and the adorable hem facing.  The bodice is actually pink very soft corduroy that I know I made my older daughter some pants with probably when she was 6....and she's now 22.....

I added covered buttons with the lime green in the fabric.  I used to use covered buttons all the time - I should use them more, cause I really like the look.

So, quite the success - another pattern that I know now what to expect from....next time, I might actually trace out the size 3 and add a bit more length than the 4....

So, back to school and back to work.

I Hate This Dress!

No, I don't hate it.  My kid, however, does.  With a passion.

This is the absolutely darling Play Date pattern by Oliver + S.  Pretty much everything I sew is Oliver + S, so it's not really unexpected.

One of the smart sewists on the Oliver + S forum came up with the "Make It While It Fits" challenge to use all the un-used patterns in our stashes before the release of the new season's.  A great idea it was, so I jumped on the bandwagon.  I still have several patterns that I haven't used, and the Play Date pattern only goes to a 3T, so this was the first one I attempted.

I chose some Eleanor Grosch fabric from Free Spirit (conveniently located in my shop! - www.the-fabric-stash.com).  I have some really cute turquoise shoes in my eBay wish list in preparation for this outfit.  I used Kaffe Fasset shot cotton for the piping and the hem facing.  I reviewed every single photo of the play date dress in the flickr group before doing this pattern.

I got the idea to do embroidery on the yoke instead of buttons or ruffles.  I tried a couple of patterns that didn't work for me.  Sometimes it's harder than it looks to choose the right embroidery pattern to match the fabric.

The pattern is of course extremely well thought out and well written.  There was one spot finishing up the back seam of the yoke where I had to really ponder how it was going to go together, but once I actually read the instructions rather than just look at the pictures, it ended up perfect.

I had tried the dress on Julia a couple of times while I was putting it together.  I wanted to make sure it fit over her head, and wanted to check the fit.  For some reason, that made her hate the dress.  I think she could use a size 4 in this pattern as well, so maybe it fit tighter than her usual dress.  I really can't figure out a two year old psyche.

I made this over Saturday and Sunday, maybe about 4 hours total.  It went together very well, and when it was completed, I made the suggestion to my child that she put on the dress, and we go across the street to the beach and take some photos.  ABSOLUTE MELT DOWN.  Screaming.  Yikes.  It is amazing how passionately she feels about things.

Once she calmed down and became a human being again, she agreed to wear the dress, briefly, in her sister's bedroom only.  I did get some fairly good modeled photos after all:

What a silly kid.....I'm hoping that if I put this hanging in her closet for a while, she'll change her mind....otherwise, I'll be looking for a size 3 kid with the first initial "J" to hand this down to!

Oooohhhh.....Nani Iro!

So, I've seen lots of garments, read lots of blogs, about Nani Iro double gauze fabric.  I've never sewed with it before.  I've got a couple of bolts of it (and more ordered) for my shop, so I think it's only fair that I give it a try to see what all the fuss is about.

Oh my goodness; this stuff is just wonderful.  It kind of reminds me of the softness of a high-quality knit as far as the hand, but sews like a woven.  I can definitely see a lot more garments made from this...to say nothing about the subtle designs in the Nani Iro fabric.  It's just beautiful.

I made a size 4 Oliver + S Bubble Dress.  The pattern was a long out-of-print, but now converted to a pdf for download.  People just raved about this pattern during the period it was out of print, so once it was available, I bought it immediately.  I didn't find a fabric that really called out "Bubble Dress" until this Nani Iro double gauze from the "Melody Sketch" line.

My daughter has an absolute full closet, so I decided on a size 4 thinking that it would be for next spring/summer.  The bodice fits really big now, but the length is actually good on my now 2 3/4 year old.  She's got a doctor's appointment this week, and I'm really interested to see where she fits in the height chart.....maybe a future basketball or volleyball player....unlike my other gymnast daughter!

I love this dress.  She liked it too.  I do believe it fit's into her "pretty dress" category.  We took a walk around our block, and stopped at our neighbor's wonderful flower garden.

This photo shows how much room is in the size 4, so it totally works as a dress with lots of growing room...

She really likes the style - pretty, yet still able to climb.....

 

I'm glad Oliver + S made all their older patterns available for download for those of us who got on the O+S train late!

A Quick Sailboat...

I've been really busy trying to get my shop up and running.  It's really a ton of work, but I'm really excited that it's heading in a good direction - we actually have some cool stock, are making sales, and am having fun working on this with my husband.  He calls himself the "unpaid intern" for the business.... but that's another story!

I took a couple of minutes to make a quick sailboat skirt from some fabric that I've had in my stash for years and years.  I'm pretty sure that it's from Osh Kosh - there was a time where I had access to buy Osh Kosh fabric, and I bought a ton of it for my oldest kids.  It obviously never got used....

It's a very heavy twill - probably more suited to shorts or pants, but my daughter insists on skirts and dresses.

I added some Riley Blake mini-poms around the edge....I love how they looked - and it dawned on me while I was putting them in that the little hats actually have pom-poms on them!  It wasn't really easy though to put these in - I inserted them just like you'd insert piping, but I think I need more practice....which, I'll most likely get because I think these are so cute it's worth it.

I didn't want to purchase any buttons, and had the choice between plain white, and the red anchor buttons in my button jar.  The white were too plain, and the red were too small, so I got out some super glue and glued them together....I lined up the holes with a pin and they went together perfectly.

The model was WAY less than cooperative this evening.....after school - before dinner.....not the best time to gain cooperation from a two year old!

I made this in a 3T - fits perfectly.  Next time, I might make a 3T and add an inch or two...

A Lazy Day for "Skirting the Issue"

I made a Lazy Day skirt today. It's a free download pattern from my all time favorite pattern company, Oliver + S.  It's for a donation to http://www.projectrunandplay.blogspot.com/ for their "Skirting the Issue" project for girls in foster care.

The skirt literally takes about an hour, if that.  The result is adorable:

The ribbon hem facing gives a perfect finish to the hem.  It's a great place to add some cool ribbon, if you have some in your stash.  I like the black for this particular skirt because I think it emphasizes the black in the butterflies.

I made this in a size 3 to be donated, and I've got another length of the same fabric cut to put together for a size 5 to donate as well.  This was graciously modeled by my daughter....who is not really a size 3 in the waist, obviously!  And, yes, I realize the shoes don't match, but they were her choice...

The fabric is from Valori Well's Cocoon collection (from here:  www.the-fabric-stash.com.)  If you know a girl (or anyone!) who likes butterflies, this fabric is for them!

I added a little tag to hopefully let some little girl (or at least her foster mom) know that we're thinking of them.