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!

A Classic Chickadee

Here's my post from the "Flip This Pattern" over at Frances Suzanne - the voting is open now!!!

 We live in Southern California, and the weather turned COLD a few weeks ago - I think it dipped down to 50....ok, so that's not cold by most people's standard, but for the thin-blooded Californians, it was freezing....it made me realize that my daughter actually didn't have a jacket!  So there was my inspiration for my flip.

I've always loved the classic look of the little girls woolen coat with a velvet collar.  So, since the beautiful Chickadee pattern has an amazing collar feature, I figured I would make it into a jacket.

I made this with red wool from Moda from my shop.  I have never attempted sewing with wool, and after this experience, I have no idea why!  It sewed up beautifully.  I fully lined the jacket with satin - my first experience with sewing satin as well.  Suffice to say, I will NOT be starting a business making bridesmaids gowns after this - although the result was really nice, it was not that easy to sew.

I added wrist bands to make it more jacket-like, added pleats on both sides of the lower front to make it even more swing-y.  I hand-sewed a snap to close the neckline, and made a trip to the garment district in Los Angeles to get a frog closure.  I knew that would be the look I wanted to complete the "classic" look I was going for.

For the skirt, I had a perfect plaid in my stash.  I knew that my kid likes skirts that "twirl", so I decided that I would make a wrap/pleated skirt.  I lopped off the pattern pieces, and added a pleated lower skirt. 

To complete the look, I made a white t-shirt with the Made By Rae Flashback Skinny Tee pattern, and as a nod to the Clever Charlotte pattern designers, came up with the perfect creation:

I appliqued the Clever Charlotte logo onto the shirt - I was very pleased the way it came out!

Thanks SO much to the Clever Charlotte pattern designers for making such a great pattern - if you haven't sewn with them before, you should definitely try them out - the patterns are so cool, and the instructions are GREAT!  And, thank you, thank you, thank you, to Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne for asking me to participate!

A Sparkly Sunday Brunch

I cut out a bunch of stuff - mostly in sizes 3 with 4 length - at the beginning of "fall" in southern California.  Unfortunately, we really haven't had much of a fall, and my sewing got sidetracked with other commitments - like life, and holidays.  So, I realized that I'd better tackle these already cut-out projects before they get too small.

I may have been too late.

My kid has shot up lately.  I think she's about 44" tall now, which puts her at the end height-range of the size 5.  Oops. 

I tackled a Sunday Brunch jacket - one of my favorite styles from the Oliver + S patterns.  If there was an adult version, I'd definitely give it a try.

I used some fabric that I picked up in the Los Angeles garment district in a place that sells by the pound - $2.50/pound to be exact.  This fabric is definitely unknown content - it has metallic thread through it, but washed up beautifully and is very soft.  I have absolutely no clue what it could even be made of.  When Julia saw me cutting it up, she immediately loved it.

I did, however, have a heck of a time photographing it....

The buttons have some "bling" to them, and Julia loves them.  So, she loves the fabric and the buttons....perfect!

 Unfortunately, it's definitely on the small size.  This is a size 4, and I'll definitely have to make a 5 the next time.  It's like a perfect fit, but no room to grow whatsoever.  Luckily, I was smart enough to snag a paper copy of this pattern in the larger size a while ago.  At the time that I bought it, the idea of my little one being in the "big" size range seemed so far off....I'm sure I'll blink an eye and she'll be outgrowing this one altogether....WAH!!!

Stuff I've Been Working On...

Even though we're only 11 days into the New Year, I've already got 3 projects to share.

The first project was for Go To Sew.  They have a series of folks testing out the patterns that they sell - and they sell a huge variety - and showing what they've done.  Since my daughter generally hates to wear jackets, I chose the Aztec Hooded Vest by See Kate Sew.  Part of my New Year's resolutions are to challenge myself more in the sewing arena, and one of those challenges is to master the zipper.

For the project, I chose a deep purple corduroy from my stash, and lined it with some Yuwa fabric that I absolutely love - Can-Can by Anyan.  Here's a close up of the lining, as I didn't really get good pictures:

Here's a few of shots of the completed vest:

It's a nice pattern, but I definitely had some difficulty.  The pattern pieces didn't go together at all, but because I was on a deadline, I jimmied it together.  I did contact the designer - she's super nice btw - and she's going to check it out and see if the issue was the pattern or operator-error.  Either way, I'll use the pattern again, and hopefully do a better job on the zipper next time.  The pattern called for a longer zipper than the front of the jacket, and then you cut the zipper to size, and fold it over at the neck edge.  Next time, I'll order a zipper that's the actual length of the front, and won't do any cutting or folding over; I think that will make me happy.  On a very positive note, I found a great source for zippers - Zipperstop on Etsy.  I highly recommend them, and will definitely be going back.  Amazing prices and selection.

Next on my sewing list is my "flip" of the Clever Charlotte Chickadee pattern over at Frances Suzanne.  You can read about it over there, but here's some pictures in case you didn't see them already:

Voting will start after the next couple of flips are revealed - I'm not going to hold my breath, but I'd especially like to win some more patterns from Clever Charlotte - I was SO impressed with this one -  my first attempt of their patterns.  I will 100% for sure be buying some more from them!

The last thing on my agenda was a birthday gift for a one-year old.  Even though I've known for a month that the party was today, I've been crazy-busy and didn't have time to work on a gift.  But, I knew exactly what I wanted to make - I just NEEDED to make an Oliver + S Jump Rope dress.  I felt the need to make a pattern that is tried and true; that I can sew pretty much in my sleep, that gives the most amazing, professional result.

I used some fabric I've used previously - Kokka Paris Walk.  Since the mom of the baby loves polka dots, I used some red and white polka dots for the contrast.  I cut this out Thursday night, did the placket Friday night, and finished the rest Saturday morning.  The party was at 12:00, and we ended up being about 45 minutes late - I sewed on the buttons and clipped threads in the car!

I don't know what my next project is going to be, but I did buy 1/4" foot for my machine with the idea that I might actually make a quilt - another New Year's resolution!  We'll see!!

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Back in the saddle....

I feel like I haven't made anything for such a long time....

For the past two months, I've been working a ton, and our little fabric business has been very busy.  Since I'm a person who definitely needs 8 hours of sleep, something had to give.  Unfortunately, that was my time for sewing....

But, I managed to find time this weekend to make a quick t-shirt for my kid to wear for the Christmas season.  I used the Oliver + S Field Trip raglan because I've made it previously and I know it fits perfectly.  I'm kind of a sucker for red and pink together, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to actually work in an embroidery design.

Had I given it more thought, I would have added about 3 inches in length in the hopes that she could wear this again next year.  This is a size 4, and there's plenty of room in the width, but the 4 is the exact right length now...after taking this lovely picture, we proceeded to make homemade fudge, so now the shirt is in the washer in hopes that chocolate will come off.

Next on my agenda was an outfit for another member of our family - our little terrier, Sadie.  Since the weather got freezing cold - 50's - by California standards, and it actually rained yesterday, Sadie needed a jacket.

I made her a little sweater last year, but it's no where to be found.  So, she gets a lovely pink one made from fleece remnants left over from last year's Christmas pants I made my older daughter.  The dog is less than impressed, and has spent the rest of the morning in my closet....

I finished off a skirt that I started about a month ago - a very clever pattern from Wink Designs.  It's a faux wrap as the inner skirt is all enclosed.  I made this in a size 4, and in this case, I think I'm going to re-make it in a size 3, as it's all over too big.  It's really, really clever, and I'm definitely going to make another!

Hopefully, this little bit of sewing will get me back on track!

KCW - Day 7 - Go Bold or Go Home!

So, I absolutely didn't finish all that I had planned for KCW, but I definitely consider it a success.

I made one complete outfit (hopscotch skirt and top), a volcano costume, and today, I finished up a new pattern from Oliver + S - their Playtime pattern.

So, I can't even describe how much I like this pattern.  I used some extraordinarily bold fabric - from Zen Chic's Comma line from Moda.  I loved this fabric the first time I saw in, in fact, I have a couple of requests from the men in my house wanting shirts made from this line.

This is the tunic version, which matched perfectly from some leggings that I purchased.  Yes, occasionally, I do purchase clothes, but not too often.  I made this in a size 3 with 4 length, after actually measuring my kid and realizing that she still measures within the 2 for width, but is in the size 5 length-wise.  I think this size fits perfectly.  The dress version moved up rapidly on my to-do list....

I just love the topstitched details.  Seriously love.

The cut of the tunic is perfect for the budding ballet dancer's moves....

Yes, she likes it!!