Modern Half-Square Triangle Quilt-a-Long Block 6

Welcome! If you are just joining us, information about materials can be found here, and here are the previous blocks: Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, Block 4, Block 5. 

Materials:
8 3.5" squares of Color A
8 3.5" squares of Color B

*note* these are the essential materials for each block, so you can cut several blocks worth of fabric at once to save time!

Create your blocks, following the same procedure as last week. If you need help making your blocks, please see this post. You should end up with 16 2.5" squares. Ready to lay out your block? Here we go!

ROW 1

ROW 2

ROW 3

ROW 4

After you have sewn your squares into rows, press your seams. I like to press odd numbered rows to the left, and even to the right. It helps to use a small piece of paper to number your rows. I like the tiny post-it notes. 

After pressing, you are ready to sew your rows together! Pin, if necessary, but I find that these short rows don't require pinning. 

Press one final time, and voila! Another finished block! Only 66 to go! Pat yourself on the back! Remember to add your blocks to our flickr group!

KCWC Day 6 and Wrap Up

I had finished all of my 'list' items by yesterday, but I knew Ellie needed some more leggings, to go with her new dresses! At $5/pop at Target, I knew I could make some more cheaply. I have been hanging onto my old shirts hoping to repurpose them into something. And here was my answer! I made 5 pairs of cute leggings, using some colored elastic I found at JoAnn's and pre-kiddo shirts from Banana Republic, Gap and Ann Taylor!



I plan to do a quick tutorial on how to make your own on Tuesday, so check back for that!

I would say that this was a very successful KCWC for me! According to my calculations, I made 6 shirts, 5 pairs of leggings, 9 pairs of pants, 1 pair of overalls, and 9 dresses. It broke down to 5 dresses, and 5 pairs of leggings Ellie, 4 dresses, and 3 shirts for Samantha, 7 pairs of pants, 3 shirts and 1 pair of overalls for Ben, and pants for Ben and Ellie's Halloween costumes. Whew! I'll be taking a break from clothes for a bit, but only to finish some quilts and then it's on to the rest of the Halloween costumes for everyone - even me!

KCWC Day 5

Well, if I thought yesterday was bad, today was worse! First of all, my kids seemed to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and were cranky monsters all morning. No sneaky sewing for mommy today! Instead, I cut out fabric for three shirts for Ben.



I used the Envelope Tee pattern from Growing Up Sew Liberated. I used this pattern previously this summer, and didn't find it too difficult. However, today it made me want to tear my hair out. But it was all my fault - I forgot to switch to my ballpoint needle, and realized it was I was finishing sewing the last shirt. Won't make that mistake again!



Both animal prints are leftovers and long-stashed fabrics that I used for the kids' lovies. I think the green one is a bit 'babyish,' so it may become jammies. (but I'm not sure it was worth the hair pulling for jammies!).



This grey is some jersey I grabbed out of the remnant bin yesterday on a whim. It is SO soft. Hubby asked if I would make him a shirt out of it! It is really nice, and I will be grabbing some in other colors!



I decided that I needed to make Ben another pair of pants, and I thought the Treasure Pocket Pants from Sewing for Boys were so cute. I wanted to make him some pants with corduroy to 'go' with the girls dresses, and I had a remnant (are you really surprised by now?) of some brown corduroy in the stash that I had just enough of. For my panel and facing fabric I used a bit of cute Riley Blake fabric I had in the stash that I didn't have enough to make Quick Change Trousers out of.

I had a DEVIL of a time with this pattern. I didn't check for errata first, so I found out the hard way that there is a mis-sized pattern piece and had to cut fabric again (I'm really glad I had enough!). I also had a difficult time understanding the directions for sewing the pocket pieces together, and I should have just trusted my instincts, because I would have done it correctly the first time! I used some stashed vintage orange bias tape for the pocket elastic casings, and I like the pop of color there!

If I thought the directions for the pocket were confusing, the directions for the faux fly were almost unintelligible. I completely did not understand what part I was sewing/basting/pressing/etc. I had to google 'how to sew a faux fly' to get some pictures of what I was doing. Then it all made sense. My main criticism of the book is that there are not enough pictures in the directions!

I mistakenly sewed the hem facings together to make the elastic waist casing, and didn't realize it until I got to the hem facing part of the directions and didn't have any pieces! My hem facings were a bit too small, so I have some small puckers on the hem, but they are not super visible (thanks to the corduroy!). And because my waist casing wasn't as all as it was supposed to be I didn't thread two pieces of elastic, I just used one. I think it looks fine.

Again, this is another pattern I will make again, because now I know all it's secrets!



Finally, I sewed up Samantha's last shirt - the Sophie Tunic from Sis Boom. Again, my fabric is from Hobby Lobby. This pattern is great. Very clear directions and pictures, and it is super cute! This is one I will make many times, since it comes in sizes 6 months - 12 years! Might have to whip one of these up for Ellie too! I highly recommend this pattern, and it was perfect to end with today after all my trying bits of the day!

I have a few more items I've added to the list to work on tomorrow, and then I'm done! I'm exhausted and I have some quilts I need to quilt before my MQG meeting next week!

KCWC Day 4

Whew! This day was a bit of a doozy! I thought everything was going to be relatively simple, but that's what you get for thinking well of yourself!



I started off with the Simple Dress from Simple Sewing for Baby. Well, what should have been very simple turned into a 'am I crazy' search of the pattern and then the internet for errata about the mark to show where to stop sewing up the back seam. There was nothing I could find, other than other's mentions that the mark was missing. I guessitmated the mark at three inches below the neckline, sewed it up and tried it on Ellie. It works just fine at that marking. After that drama, it was just a matter of sewing on the bias tape and hemming it. I think it turned out really cute! Fabric is a remnant from Hobby Lobby.



I needed something to soothe my frazzled nerves, so I sewed up a quick pair of pants for Ben to wear at Christmas time. They are from a remnant of fabric I bought last year around Christmas time at JoAnn's. I had just enough!



While I was working with holiday fabric I grabbed the girls' Christmas dresses and got to work on them. Pattern is Simplicity 6719, the same pattern I used last year. I used vintage bias tape for the neckline and armholes, and some zippers sweet Caro was destashing a while back. Fabric from Hobby Lobby.







And finally, after hours (seemingly) of bias tape application, I sat down and started working on the Class Picnic Blouse from Oliver+S. Argh. I had to rip out and rebaste and restitch the front and back yokes to the front and back blouse pieces twice. And then I had trouble getting the sleeves to come out 1/2" above the yoke, and then I managed to sew the sleeves/sides to the wrong thing. Grrr. And I really wasn't sure what I was doing with the bias facing for the elastic casing on the shoulders. I didn't give up though, and the shirt turned out pretty cute. I won't let the pattern win - I will make this again, and now I know all it's tricks! :) Fabric from Hobby Lobby again!

KCWC Day 3

I must have had some super speedy sewing juice yesterday morning, as I started and finished all of these projects! Now, all were fairly simple, but still, I'm super proud of myself!

First up: Corduroy Jumpers for the girls. I had seen a cute jumper at Hobby Lobby made up in these fabrics, (fabrics are from Hobby Lobby) and I thought it was adorable. I think they will be so cute in these!



For Ellie's dress I used Simplicity 5317, and I made a size 1. This was a simple jumper, with a facing. It came together really quickly!



For Samantha's I used Simplicity 5489 and made a size 4. Again, super simple. I did omit adding trim between the sections of fabric and I didn't cut the band on the bias (I didn't want the corduroy to slant!).



I made Ben a pair of overalls using the same pattern I used for his birthday outfit. It is McCalls 4756, and I made a size 2. I think the pants are a bit long, but the 1 would have been too small.

I used some long hoarded Debbie Mumm fabric. I love this print, and I think it is adorable as overalls!



I also made the pants for Ben and Ellie's Halloween costumes. I used the pants pattern also from McCalls 4756. Now I just need to make their shirts!

KCWC Day 2

Yesterday was a big finishing day for me! I managed to put the finishing touches on several items of clothing. It looks like I did a lot, but I started the pants on Sunday, and did most of the dresses Monday.

First up: The Poppy Bow Dress. I wanted to make a simple peasant style dress with long sleeves for the girls, and this pattern with the pockets(!) fit the bill. This pattern comes in sizes 1-8, so another one I can use for both girls.



For Samantha's dress I used some left over brown polka dot fabric I had in the stash, and leftovers from my bag. I made the size 4. I haven't had a chance to try it on her yet, but I'm pretty confident that it will fit.



For Ellie's dress I made a size 1. I used two remnants of fabric I had stashed. I was excited to find something to use the cute umbrella print for! I had stashed it away a while ago, but since it was a very small piece, it wasn't big enough for much. The pockets fit perfectly on the fabric!

For Ben I whipped up five pairs of Quick Change Trousers. I have been stashing away fabrics throughout the year for his new fall wardrobe, and I was so excited to get started! Be warned - lots of pictures follow!



















And finally, I made Samantha the After School Shirt from Oliver +S. This was my first 'real' Oliver+S pattern, and I was a bit intimidated. But, other than a silly mistake (I sewed my right front shoulder to my left front shoulder and my right back to my left back - duh!), it wasn't bad at all! This is the size 5 and it is too big, but she can wear it now, and will be able to for a while! I think it turned out really really cute, and I'll be making this one again!

KCWC Day 1: Sasha Jumper Dresses

Yesterday was the official first day of KCWC. Since I had 'cheated' and cut all my fabric and patterns last week, I was able to jump right into sewing at naptime yesterday. I chose something I thought would be fairly quick, so that I would have a finished project by the end of the day. I started with the Sasha Jumper Dress. I wanted to make an empire waisted dress, and I wanted to make a jumper dress for versatility, and I came across this etsy shop via Shannon's blog a few weeks ago. I favorited this pattern, and when KCWC was announced, snapped it up.



The pattern is great because it comes in sizes 12 months -8 years. The bodice is fully lined, which I like. The construction of the slit in the back of the skirt was a new technique for me. I love the pleats (and I feel like pleats are so easy now that I've made the Paper Fan Dress!). The only part of the pattern that wasn't completely clear is when she tells you to fold up and press the hem - she doesn't say that you are working on the hem! It's pretty clear if you've sewn any other skirt/dress, but she doesn't say which part of the dress to be pressing and folding.

I wish the skirt on Samantha's was a bit longer (something I can easily change when I make it again). Both girls have plenty of room in the bodice to wear long sleeves underneath. Hopefully they can wear these until the spring with a shirt underneath and then without when it warms up.



As a bonus, you can see Ellie's new fat lip in her picture! She rode her riding giraffe down the one step in our house right after breakfast this morning. And of course, she got blood on her new dress. Fingers crossed I can get it out!

As I was cutting out Ben's Quick Change Trousers, I was saddened that I hadn't used this awesome elephant fabric for a dress for Ellie (it's so cute and gender neutral!). However, I had exactly enough to make the skirt of this dress from the leftovers! The bodice fabric is from JoAnn's - purchased last summer. I've used it in a lot of things, and was glad I had a piece just big enough for her bodice.



Samantha's dress actually came from two pieces of remnant fabric from Hobby Lobby. I cannot resist the remnant bin at any fabric store. I actually purchased each piece on separate trips, and was so excited when I figured out that they matched!

Samantha was SO excited to wear her dress. The first thing she said after nap time was "Can I wear my new dress yet?" She had to try it on before it was finished. She had to help choose the buttons, and begged me to sew the buttons on at bedtime so she could wear her new dress today. I told her that so long as she was so excited to wear what mommy made, I would make her whatever she wanted! :)



Both girls' buttons came from my vintage button stash. Samantha really wanted pink buttons (which don't quite match, but oh well!), and I had no cards of pink buttons. However, we were lucky enough to find three pink buttons that matched in the bag of loose buttons. She was very excited!


(Sorry about the blurry picture, Ellie kept trying to turn around as I was trying to take a picture of her buttons!)

Ellie's buttons came on a card of three buttons - and they are perfect for her dress! I was very excited to find them in my stash!

And that's KCWC Day 1! I started another set of dresses for the girls, and I'm hoping for a super productive naptime today so I can finish them and finish some Quick Change Trousers for Ben!

Modern Half-Square Triangle Quilt-a-Long Block 5

Welcome! If you are just joining us, information about materials can be found here, and here are the previous blocks: Block 1, Block 2, Block 3. 

Materials:
8 3.5" squares of Color A
8 3.5" squares of Color B

*note* these are the essential materials for each block, so you can cut several blocks worth of fabric at once to save time!

Create your blocks, following the same procedure as last week. If you need help making your blocks, please see this post. You should end up with 16 2.5" squares. Ready to lay out your block? Here we go!

ROW 1

ROW 2

TOW 3

ROW 4

After you have sewn your squares into rows, press your seams. I like to press odd numbered rows to the left, and even to the right. It helps to use a small piece of paper to number your rows. I like the tiny post-it notes. 

After pressing, you are ready to sew your rows together! Pin, if necessary, but I find that these short rows don't require pinning. 

Press one final time, and voila! Another finished block! Only 67 to go! Pat yourself on the back! Remember to add your blocks to our flickr group!