KCW Day 5 and Wrap Up

On Friday I managed to finish two more pairs of pants for Samantha, and two shirts for the boys!

Since I had little to no plan for the week, I decided that I should use some of the pant weight fabric I had purchased at JoAnn's last fall to finally make pants for Samantha. I used the After School Pants pattern from Oliver and S and some crazy fabric! (I figure I can only get her to wear these things for so long, right?)





I really like this pattern - easy and straightforward. The dots were a Lisette fabric from a year or two ago. They are a heavy cotton fabric.





The stars fabric just says made for JoAnn's. It feels like a twill of some sort.

I also was able to get the boys matching Sketchbook Shirts made for our family photo. I used a Michael Miller pindot in navy. It was very difficult to see any marks on the material, so I utilized the wonderful feature of tracing patterns on freezer paper - I ironed the pattern pieces onto the fabric and then cut them out!



That makes my total for KCW 4 pairs of pants, three dresses, six shirts, five skirts and one Halloween costume. Not as great as in years past, but many of these were time consuming patterns! I need to make some leggings for Ellie, but I'm taking a week off of clothes!

These were far less fussy than Samantha's Music Class blouse (post to come!), and they look so professional! I wasn't able to get a good picture of them, but they turned out great.

KCW Day 1: Family Reunion Dresses

I made two dresses yesterday, though at times it was touch and go! These dresses took a great deal of time and mental capacity, which was hindered by the sick little girl who didn't go to school yesterday. And our general lack of sleep lately didn't help either.



But I powered through and I am so pleased with the way they turned out! These are the girls' dresses for our family picture photoshoot coming up in November. I really like the print, which I was unsure of once I started making the dresses.



As always, I learn something new with every Oliver and S pattern I sew! I was stymied on the hem facing for these, until I figured out that when you fold the button placket right sides together you pull the facing out of the way. Then it fits fine, but man, that stumped me for a long time! (It didn't help that I sewed the facing to the wrong side of the dress, first, then to the wrong dress next!)

There are a lot of buttons on these dresses, but they are so cute! I love that they button all the way up the back. And the pleats/collar/facing/button placket are adorable all together and add a touch of fancy without being too much.



I'm taking a brain break today - some simple skirts and a Halloween costume on deck. I've got two more Oliver and S time consuming patterns to make hopefully this week - two Sketchbook Shirts for the boys for our family picture.

I'm planning some Treasure Pocket Pants for Ben, a Bimaa Cowl sweater for Samantha and an Ice Cream Dress as well. I've got several other things lined up if time allows -we will see!

KCW Spring 2013: Ice Cream dresses

This pattern was the first one I saw of the Oliver + S patterns when I first started getting interested in sewing clothes for the kids. (That's a poor sentence!) I thought it was just so cute - and I love the top and the dress versions. Of course, it's one of the last patterns of theirs I've made (of the ones I own!). But these came out so cute I know I'll be making more!



I used some of Sarah Jane's adorable whales/narwhals print for the body of Ellie's dress and some pink dot I had in the stash. I didn't do the v notch on the pockets because I just didn't feel like it (a little burnt out!). There is an adorable pink penguin button on the back - I couldn't resist a fun button!



For Samantha's dress I used this black gingham I picked up from the remnant basket at JoAnn's back in the fall and paired it with the cute Michael Miller giraffes. This gingham is fantastic - has a really nice feel and weight to it! I will be searching out more of it! Samantha's dress is PLENTY big, but she will comfortably wear it for probably two years.

I also made freezer paper stenciled shirts for the kids for Ben and Ellie's birthday tomorrow, but I'll share those in the party roundup post!

I made far fewer things this spring than I did in the fall, but most of that is due to having more active kiddos and a giant preggo belly.

One of my friends asked me what she thought I spent on their clothes between the cost of fabric and my time. I know it is far more expensive than most things I could buy at Target or Old Navy, but I don't count my time - I'm going to do something with my naptime (and it's not cleaning!), and I enjoy making clothes and crafting/sewing/knitting. She wondered how long I could make clothes before they started getting teased at school, which is an issue I hopefully won't have to worry about for a long time. Additionally, with the amazing prints and fabrics available today, many 'popular' looks can be replicated with handmade. And honestly, I think part of the joy for me in this is that they are not wearing the same screen-printed tv character t-shirt that all their classmates are wearing. They also use handmade lunch supplies (and real food in their lunch!), a handmade backpack, wear handknit sweaters, etc. Right now Samantha is at an age where she LOVES everything that mommy makes - and I'm no fool - I know this won't last forever. I will take it for as long as I can! I also think that in today's world there is room for individuality - I don't want my kids to be like everyone else. I want them to think for themselves, and wear what they like. It helps that right now they don't watch TV or have screen time - they are not sucked into that consumerism.

Sorry for the little 'rant' - but I am very interested to know from others what they think about making their children's clothes, especially those with older children! What do you all think?

KCW Spring 2013: Shirts and dresses

Yesterday I finished up several more shirts for Ben using my old t-shirts. I widened the neckline on these a bit more, hopefully they'll fit ok - he is cutting his 2 year molars so I haven't wanted to bug him more than necessary, so we haven't tried them on.









I also finished up two Seashore Sundresses for the girls. I was a bit confused by the pocket directions, but didn't let it win! I think these came out really cute - they wanted to wear them as soon as I finished sewing the buttons on, even though they had to wear them over long sleeves and long pants since it was only 60 degrees out!

KCW Spring 2013 Day 2: Lots o' Shorts!

Yesterday I managed to finish up several new pairs of shorts for Ben. Using my modifications from yesterday, I based these on the Quick Change Trousers pattern. I think they all turned out pretty cute! He will be stylin'!











I also sewed up two popover sundresses for the girls. I used what I had in the stash for the ties (store bought bias tape), and added a bit of ric-rac to Ellie's dress and some pink piping to Samantha's. I may add more ric-rac to the hem of both dresses, but right now I like them the way they are.





More dresses on deck for the rest of the week!

KCW Spring 2013: Day 1

Kid's Clothing Week started yesterday and I already feel behind! Last year I had lists and had everything cut well ahead of time. I did pull fabrics and patterns last week, but was feeling frustrated about matching fabric to patterns. Admittedly, part of my problem is that I buy fabrics I like and don't necessarily have a plan for what to make with them. This usually ends up meaning that I don't have enough fabric to make anything. I eventually managed to match up a few things. I'm not making nearly as many items as I did last fall, but the girls don't really need anything - several of their dresses from last spring  and summer still fit, which is nice!



Ben needs the most - as the first boy he doesn't have many hand me downs. I purchased several cute half yards of fabrics the last time I was at my LQS and I had a few stashed away. I wanted to make a short version of the Quick Change Trousers. However, I wanted it to be shorts, and not have the double thickness since it gets so hot here. So I drafted a pattern based on the pants and a pair of his shorts that fit well. I added 1.5" to the top and bottom of my pattern to allow for a hem and elastic casing (you don't hem the pants more than a 1/4" and the elastic casing is inserted between the two pairs so you don't have to allow extra fabric to fold down for a casing). I figured that if this pair didn't come out great they could be pjs! However, I think they look pretty good! I'm a little concerned that they aren't long enough through the crotch, but hopefully we'll be potty trained before the end of the summer and then he'll have plenty of room.

His shirt is the Envelope Tee from Growing Up Sew Liberated. I've made it before, but wanted to lengthen the 18-24 month size in hopes that it would fit all summer! I used this pattern before by using one of my old shirts (which I guess I didn't blog). I have several old nice quality tshirts from Banana Republic and the Gap which are too short in the torso for me. With the one last summer I was easily able to get all of the pattern pieces cut from one shirt. With a larger size shirt, I had to get creative. So I cut the sleeves off the shirt (they are all short sleeved) and used that for Ben's sleeves! Even less hemming! I also lengthened the shirt by an inch by placing the pattern piece above the hem and then not having to hem. Again, this one was a trial run - I wasn't sure if using my sleeves for his sleeves would work, but it did! I've got a stack of shirts ready to be repurposed!



I cut the pattern pieces for the Pretty as a Picture Dress from Handmade Beginnings for Ellie last fall, but decided that she didn't need any more dresses at the time and I didn't have a piece of fabric for the focus fabric that I loved. I received the sheep print in a fat 1/8"s bundle and have been saving it for something cute. I used the leftover pink floral fabric from the girl's Valentine's Dresses (also unblogged!). I think it came out pretty cute, and is just the right size! If I made it again the one thing I would do would be to serge the seam between the bodice and skirt before I sewed in the elastic - it's a bit messy.



Finally I made Samantha a new dress. I used Simplicity 2377 and made a size five. It is plenty big around and just a touch short - not too short but it probably will be before too long. I left off the ties in the back, and inserted all the elastic at the end, instead of as you go like the pattern directs. I also serged the seams between the tiers of fabric.  All the fabric is from the Alexander Henry farmdale collection. I really loved it and waited too long to buy it. My JoAnn's had these prints and the green crosshatch. I had just enough of each print to make this dress. I'd say it was a good use of fabric! It has already passed the twirling test! :)

Of course, it is too cold here today to wear summer clothes, so these will have to wait. I've got plans for more shirts for Ben, more shorts and matching Seashore Sundresses for the girls to sew up today! Maybe some popover sundresses will sneak in there too!

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!