Kids Clothes Week - The Beginning....

So I kicked off my Kids Clothes Week yesterday.  But, the planning began a while ago....

Really, my kid doesn't need any clothes for summer.  But, what little girl doesn't need a green blazer?  Really?

I used a pattern from Blank Slate Patterns - the Basic Blazer.  It's a boy's pattern, but no reason that a girl can't wear it - I would!  The sizing goes from 18 months to 8 (how cute would a 18 month size blazer be?!) so the pattern is well worth it.  I never made a pattern from this site before, but after making this blazer, certainly would buy another....

The fabric is corduroy, made by Westminster/Free Spirit from my shop.  The color is really like the photo above - the color is a bit off in the modeled photos.  The chevron is Riley Blake, also from my shop.  This is a size 3T on my 3 year old...

I was really pleased with how this went together.  The instructions were great.  I tried to girly it up a bit and added a faux belt thing in the back, and the wrist strap thingys....

If/when I make this again, I would maybe put some interfacing in the front facing area and collar.  I didn't think about it at the time, but in the photos, the front looks a bit floppy for my liking.  The corduroy is very soft, so maybe if it was made in denim, or another stiffer fabric, it may lie better.  But, overall, I really, really liked the pattern.  It will definitely go in my pattern rotation....

This took maybe 3-4 hours total....not a bad start to Kids Clothes Week!

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....

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!

"I'm a Princess..."

One thing that I have to come to terms with is having a semi - girly girl.  She's not totally girly girl - she plays in the sandbox with the best of them, gets filthy, runs, scampers, and picks her nose occasionally.  But, she, like most girls of 2 1/2 years, she is into the "princess" thing.  As much as we try to not do a lot of commercial type things, like commercial TV, shirts that say "Daddy's Little Princess", the girls in her pre-school peer group seem to just naturally gravitate towards princess-like things.

I'm trying to work on making her things that (1) work for her coloring and (2) that she will like.  The majority of my wardrobe is black.  Probably not the first choice for most two year olds.  And, what she really wants to wear, is what she calls a "pretty dress".  I don't know how some of her dresses qualify to become the "pretty dress", but some are, and some are not.

This is the Jump Rope dress from my absolute favorite pattern company, Oliver + S.  I made this in some pale green and pale coral seersucker.  The placket and collar are white linen.

When I completed the dress, and she put it on, she said "I am a princess".  Success.

The dress is not easy, but it is not crazy-difficult.  It has a perfect collar, that is the perfect frame for a little girl face.

The instructions to construct the placket are perfect.  Probably the most important instruction is at the end, where you are instructed to do a "little fiddling" to make it look just right. I sewed this over about a week - doing just a little bit in the evenings after work.  I'm usually good for about 20 minutes of sewing at the end of a long work day....

It has a sweet belt, that hits just at the waist, and the gathers are slightly below, which I think may be the part that Julia likes the best.  I love the way this looks at the back...

I did make the button tabs on the sleeves a bit larger - I used white linen for the placket and collar, and I wasn't able at all to make the tiny tabs that the pattern included.

I did search about a million images in the Oliver + S Flickr group to decide if I should make a white belt, a self belt, white belt loops, or self belt loops.  Then, of course, I had to find the absolutely perfect buttons....I wonder if people who design/manufacture children's clothing for a living agonize over details as much as sewing moms do....