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!

Little Ellie Dress....Pattern Testing....

I got an opportunity to test out a really cute pattern for Wink Designs.  She has a shop on Etsy with a good selection of really well thought out patterns. 

This pattern is called the "Little Ellie" dress.  There's no buttons, no zipper.  Really, how easy can that be!  The round yoke collar is put together very creatively - with great instructions - so all your edges end up finished inside.

I used a chevron from Robert Kaufman that I had been hoarding for exactly the right project.  In fact, I had no idea what to do with this fabric until this pattern.  I used linen for the collar and hem.

While constructing the dress, I was certain that I had cut the wrong size, that the collar would never fit over her head.  In fact, I was halfway through, and I seriously considered picking out the whole thing and starting over.  Well, yeah, no reason for that.  It fit fine.  Goes over her head without a tug.  I guess I overestimated the size of my kid's head....

A very cute dress....easy to make and I'm sure we will get a ton of use out of this in the warmer summer months.

A Sunflower Geranium.....Or, Too Many Geraniums?

I just completed my third Geranium.  So, how many is too many?  The pattern has been out how long - a couple of months? 

I made my first one from Aneela Hoey's Posy line...

I made the second one from some black and white seersucker - and added an applique...

For my third, and maybe final, I used some red and white polka dot fabric from Robert Kaufman that has been in my stash for at least 10 years.  I made this in the tunic length, with the pleated front.  I added a sunflower embroidery on the front.  I don't know - are the pre-school fashion police going to notice that she has three dresses out of the same pattern???

For the seersucker one and the polka dot ones, I doubled up the sleeves rather than use a single layer of fabric and zigzagging the edges...I used a contrast fabric on the tunic, and I like the way it looks.

I really, really like the tunic length - my plan is to make some natural linen shorts for the summer to go with this....how cute will that be?

My child was not really in the mood to model, so I bribed her with some chocolate morsels - yes, I did! - and these are the photos I got....

I may have to give this pattern a rest for the remainder of the season, but I just realized that I hadn't made the cap sleeve version....or the notch version.....so, maybe just one more....

And, the reason that I've made all these is that the extraordinarily picky child actually wears them!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning....

Mostly, I miss the east coast where I grew up.

Today, I love where I live now.  It was so absolutely beautiful out.  Not cold, not hot, sunny, but not too sunny.  A perfect day really.

I sewed up another Roller Skate dress for Julia, and took her to the beach for some photos to send to the grandparents.  My parents are old-school - I email them photos, and they print them on their computer.  I thought it would be nice to actually print some and send them to them by actual mail for a change....

Here's the dress - the fabric is a quilting cotton from Westminster, the designer is Jenean Morrison.  Since buying some of her fabric from her Grand Hotel line, I checked out her website (http://jeneanmorrison.net/) - her art is really cool - very much my style. 

I had to really think about how I wanted to place the fabric on this border print.  Since the bottom of the hem is curved, and the border is of course straight, I needed to leave a lot of the red at the bottom so that it didn't look like it was uneven.  I also needed to have the elastic casing in a good spot as well....I was happy with the placement, except I should have centered the pattern a bit better.  But, whatever....she's 3!

We went to the beach about 8:00 a.m. - the lighting was beautiful, the temperature was perfect.....I think I got a lot of good shots to send the grandparents....I think they'll be delighted!

 And, I don't know where she came up with the hands on the hips pose....

 This picture (above) is my favorite....the real Julia smile, as opposed to the fake picture taking smile...

  The above picture reminds me of a model face you see on runway models....

A Seersucker Geranium

I knew I'd make more dresses from the Made By Rae Geranium dress pattern after the first one I made got such good reviews from my kid.....meaning, she actually chooses to wear it voluntarily...

I bought some seersucker at Joann's - a store I typically stay away from for fabric, but it seems like every time I go there for notions, something jumps into my cart - especially with their 50% off coupons....which makes you think how much they really pay for their fabric if they can still sell it to you for 50% off and make a profit....


 I appliqued a heart in the center of the bodice, and also used red buttons on the back for some interest. 

 Shoes and jewelry chosen by Julia...obviously!

Pretty dress, and works for the playground too...

 

 I have another one - tunic length - cut out and sitting on my cutting table calling my name....

I need another pattern like.....

a hole in the head.  Or, so, that's what I thought.....

The new Oliver + S patterns came out.  I'm going to buy some for my shop - in fact, they're on order.  But, could I wait?  No.  So, I got the digital download of the new Roller Skate Dress pattern. 

When I first ordered Moda fabric, the new line from Zen Chic - Comma - just hit the right chord for me.  It's got bold patterns and colors - right up my alley!  For this project, I chose this:

I loved the colors, the print.  Everything.  Generally, I wouldn't use such nice fabric the first time I sewed a pattern, but I pretty much knew the Roller Skate pattern would be perfect from the ones I've seen popping up in the Flickr group right after the pattern release.

The pattern is a fully lined, very simple dress - with beautiful lines, an elastic waist, and a yoke overlay option.  I used some shot cotton leftover from another project to make this version:

My kid has some new orange Saltwater sandals, so we're also trying to incorporate some orange tones in the wardrobe....

The dress was simple to make, but the neckline could be a little fiddly.  Maybe that's why they rated this as a "two-scissor" pattern.  The construction - as you can always expect from O+S - was ingenious. 

I will DEFINITELY be making several more of these dresses.  This is a size 3 on my 3 year old - fit is perfect.

Post-photo shoot reward for pictures - playing with my buttons with some wooden dowels.....who needs toys!

My Fabric Stash!

I have a really huge bedroom - there's the main part of the room, then there's actually an alcove off the room.  The people who built our house were cabinet makers by trade, so we have tons of closet space, and storage space.  Before Julia came into our lives, the room was pretty empty - two computer desks, and our bed.

Now, however, I've moved all my sewing equipment into our room, and we have more toys than we ever anticipated taking up space....

I have a bunch of my fabric that I think I may make something from on cubes we bought from Target.

 

I have some more Tupperware cartons in the garage with large pieces of denim, and corduroy.  I'm pleased with how I've fit a lot of fabric into these cubes....they are semi-organized - which means that I can actually pretty much find whatever I'm looking for.

 I moved my embroidery thread, and separated all my buttons into separate jars - it certainly helps when looking for buttons to have them color coordinated - and Julia was VERY helpful with the separating.  I'm the smaller child in the picture on the left - I loved that picture - looks so old fashioned....

I bought this kind of ugly shelf at an estate sale - it's made of actual wood, and was $10.  When we finally move some big kids out of this house, and Julia gets her own room, I envision painting it and using it for her storage.  In the meantime, it works for keeping my notions and patterns in reach.  Plus, I get to put my Boston Celtics autographed basketball on top....

This is the lovely Ikea table and chair I use for my machines.  It works just fine.  There is a pile of random magazines, etc. on the left of the table that had been ignored for months.....when I went through it just now, there were two $50 Marriott gift cards and a $35 restaurant gift card in the pile. 

So, that's my personal fabric stash.....not too bad!