A Bedford in Double Gauze...

I have been sorely neglecting this little blog lately....I have been sewing, but not doing such a great job of documenting.

I have lost a bit of my sew-jo - at least for right now.  Julia will be going to a public school next year (kindergarten - finally!) and they wear uniforms.  Navy blue, white.  The end.  Nothing else.  I went to my local shop and bought some white blouse fabric, and a bunch of navy in various substrates - very nice, but boring nonetheless.

I recall when I sewed for my older children, school uniforms really became the demise of my sewing.  Once they wear school uniforms, and are involved in sports, really all they wear are athletic wear and uniforms.  For a while, I sewed my older daughter's gymnastics leotards.  Then, I took about a 10 year sewing hiatus.....

Anyways, I've been working slowly on a super-cute top for the past couple of weeks.  It wasn't difficult; I just get interrupted and side-tracked very easily.  The top is the Bedford Top from Brooklyn Patterns.  This is their second pattern release - previously, they opened up shop with one pattern - the Franklin Dress.  I bought that pattern as a result of the many cute ones on their blog tour...but haven't had a chance to sew it yet. 

The Bedford Dress and Top has an amazing back - even my daughter said to me that she loves the back and that the people who made it did a really good job on the pattern.  Now that's a serious compliment!

This is a size 4 with 6 length.  Seriously, this back!

The pattern is drafted very well - line drawings, not photos in the instructions.  I'm personally huge on line drawings and not a big fan of photos in instructions - but that's just my personal preference.  I spent a good deal of time putting in the zipper.  I actually hand-basted it in because I wanted to get it just right.  When you have a bold feature, you want to make sure it's not wonky!

I actually intended to make the dress, but due to a cutting error/fabric miserly mistake, I ended up with the top.  The fabric is a Kokka double gauze from my shop - it's really Julia's favorite fabric substrate. 

How goofy is the child??

Ok, just a couple more photos.....

There will be more sewing soon - and I hope it's not all navy blue and white!

February Free-For-All - Popover Sundress Inspiration

Welcome to visitors from the Frances Suzanne blog - what a great idea they had to showcase free patterns!!

Where do you get inspiration for your sewing?

I *used* to rely heavily on the now near-dead Flickr website.  When I started sewing for my youngest, I got tons of inspiration there - I "favorited" items to document where I'd like to go with my sewing.  When I started a new creation, I'd go there to see what other people had done with similar patterns.  I joined groups, made friends.

Then, Flickr pretty much died.

Now, I get lots of inspiration searching Instagram.  But, unless people hashtag correctly or in a predictable manner, it's tough to really keep track of what you like.   I've never been much of a Pinterest person.  So, when I signed on to showcase a free pattern, I - of course - chose an Oliver + S pattern, then went back to my old friend, the Flickr group.  A group of folks who do seem to still hang with Flickr are the O+S people - which is a good thing.

I chose the Oliver + S Popover Sundress.  Even though this is a free pattern, it includes all the high quality finishes you expect from an Oliver + S pattern, including a bonus doll pattern.  Little things like a beautifully finished yoke, and a reminder to iron down your stitches to set them really set Oliver + S patterns apart.  In my opinion!

I had made this previously for a charity event making dresses to send to Haiti, but never for my child.  When I'm searching Flickr for inspiration, I search first the pattern name within the group, then refine by "interesting".  Who knows exactly how Flickr determines interesting, but it definitely gives you good results.

When I searched the Flickr pool for the Popover Sundress, I found some interesting trends.  It seems like some of the most popular sundresses were:

1.   made from large scale prints
2.   made from plain fabric, with lace inserted in the yoke
3.   made from a border print or applique

So, in the spirit of trying to be interesting, I made 3.

Here's my large scale print...

For this version, I used some very interesting Kokka double gauze from my shop.  I shortened it into a tunic.  Since this was a woven, I decided to try a size 5.  Probably a bad decision.  I used foldover elastic for the straps - a good decision.  However, this particular FOE was a bit too narrow.  Still, in spite of the pitiful look on my child (stomachache) she does really like this top.  A lot.

Here's a phone picture later in the day to prove it!

I was struggling for inspiration for a border/applique version.  Then, sadly, I got inspiration from my old dog Luther.  Luther went to doggie heaven this past weekend.  A very, very tough weekend in our house.  I decided to do a black lab version of the Popover Sundress - more for my benefit than anyone else's.  (If you'd like to see photos of Luther in his heyday, you can check my photo website here:  http://www.harrisdigitalpix.com/galleries/animals/7/ - Luther is the black lab mix.)

For this version, I used some more fabric from my shop (yes, more shameless promotion!!) - a ponte de roma double knit.  Seriously great fabric, seriously great to work with.  Since the Kokka top turned out big, I sized down to a size 4 with 6 length.  This one worked perfectly.  Until......the kid put it on and FREAKED OUT about the ties at the shoulders.  No, those are NOT going to work for her.  After the photos, I cut off the ends of the ties.  She seems to be ok with it.

Last, but certainly not least, I made a basic black dress from more ponte de roma double knit with some very nice organic lace from Organic Cotton Plus at the bodice.  Really, this dress can go anywhere. For this version, I used a wider foldover elastic - much better.

Julia wore this black dress out to dinner tonight - at the restaurant, she told me that she wants more dresses like this - oh yeah, success!

Thanks to Ashley and Emily for asking me to participate - such great inspiration from a bunch of very talented bloggers!

Perfect Pattern Parcel #2 - The September Tunic and Hosh Pants

The days of the Perfect Pattern Parcel are winding down - only 3 more days to purchase this collection if you're interested...

Next up on my sewing list was the September Tunic and the Nosh Pants.  These are two patterns that I had never attempted, so I was eager to give them both a go.

The September Tunic is a pattern by toosweetpatterns on Etsy.  I had actually never heard of nor seen this pattern sewed up.  When I got the Pattern Parcel, however, I was pretty sure that this would be right up my child's alley.

I chose a Kokka double gauze fabric from the shop.  It's nautical themed, which I love, and it's in kind of muted tones - grey, and pinkish and bluish tones.  As double gauze is really soft, I knew it would give me exactly the drape I was looking for to show off the adorable bell-sleeves on the tunic.

I had never made the Hosh Pants before, although I'd seen them all over Instagram.  They're a straight leg, flat front pant with buttonhole elastic in the back.  They're made from one pattern piece for the legs, so no itchy seam on the outside.  I had to actually go shopping to find a stretch bottom weight - the pattern indicates that knits would not be among the recommended fabrics.  I found some great Robert Kaufman stretch sateen that I loved.  So much that I bought several colors.....and, then, ordered some for the shop (coming soon!)....

Some tiny changes/additions I made to the patterns:

The September Tunic - I decided not to have it button all the way down the back, and just stitched it up to the yoke at the back seam.  Less buttons, less buttonholes.  I added a bit of eyelet lace to the sleeves and bottom.  I'm not really an "eyelet" person, but I think it works.  The kid liked it.

The Hosh Pants - I unfortunately couldn't find a lick of buttonhole elastic in my stash, and made a special trip to the local Joann's to find some.  They didn't have any either.  So, I just stitched in the elastic.  I may un-pick it when I find some buttonhole elastic as I think it would work better the way the waistband is constructed.  I added a couple of patch pockets on the back, with some nautical inspired embroidery from Urban Threads.  A seriously dangerous website if you have an embroidery machine.  Actually, it's not at all expensive, and they frequently have specials on designs that are $1.49.  So, expect to see more embroidery from me in the future!

Don't forget to check the "Julia's Views" page for the lowdown from the 4 year old!

KCW - Days 6 and 7 - Simply Sweet!

So, I purchased the Simply Sweet Tunic pattern on September 7, 2012.  I finally sewed one up as part of Kids Clothes Week.  Seriously, I need to do a better job of using patterns that I actually own!

I used some Kokka double gauze from my shop.  I've said it previously, but if you've never sewn with double gauze before, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.  It's such a pleasure to sew with.  It's soft like a knit, but with the stability of a woven. 

This particular print is kind of wacky, as some Japanese prints tend to be.  It's one of those prints that you can look at for a while and see new things - like the fact that there's a bear shooting a slingshot....

The tunic came together as nicely as I knew it would - the pattern designer tests her patterns thoroughly, and they're really well thought out.  This is a size 5 - I really can't believe my kid is a size 5 - I could definitely make a 4 and add length, but the fabric is super flow-y, and I'd imagine very comfortable to wear. 

In retrospect, this Kid's Clothes Week was definitely a success.  I made a dress, two tops and a pair of shorts.  Oh yeah, I also did some pattern testing for Heidi and Finn's new pattern release - I'll be showing off those photos soon!  So, if I include both versions of that, my kid ended up with 6 new pieces of clothing in just one week!

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!