cloudypants

Oscar seems perfectly happy with those star knee patch pants I made for him (at least someone likes their new clothes!), so I decided to add another pair into the rotation. I’m a sucker for clouds and thought they might make cute little patches, so I went with that.

The crosshatch fabric is from the Architextures line, and I machine stitched around each cloud twice with silver metallic thread to give them “silver linings” – kinda cheesy and hardly noticeable, but it made me happy. Silver thread should get more use, if you ask me.

I actually made two pairs of these – the first pair came out looking like pajama bottoms to me….which, admittedly, isn’t such a big deal for a six month old, but since they take all of 45 minutes to make, I decided to try again with the black Carolina chambray. Here’s the blue pajama/hospital scrub version, which I think is destined to be given away:

The pattern for both pairs is the same as the star pants – Rae’s free Basic Newborn Pant pattern, with 1.25 inches of added length. I added a contrast cuff to these, and a fold-over cuff to the gray pair, which increased the overall length by another inch or so.

So yeah, I like adding knee patches to stuff. Boy sewing isn’t so bad after all.

I couldn’t get him to crack a smile for any of these photos, so I’m settling on this one in case anyone was hoping for a face shot. Kind of a serious, just-woke-up look, but at least he’s sitting still and not complaining that he hates his new pants. Good boy.

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swingset skirts with sprinkles

Sewing for Lila has been a total crapshoot for awhile now. Remember the Beachy Boatneck I was so sure she was going to love? She’s worn it zero times, and has assured me that she never will. Apparently she does not like 3/4 sleeves, and the sequins were too scratchy when the shirt came off over her head. Luckily it’s big, so I’m hanging onto it in hopes that she may develop into a reasonable human being sometime in the near future.

But in the meantime I’m sticking with skirts, and from patterns she’s already tested and accepted. I made two Oliver + S Swingset skirts last fall, and she has worn them non-stop for the last eight months. In fact, I may become physically ill if I have to see her in either one of those skirts again. So out with the old, in with the new.

Even though I’d kinda like to burn those first two, I really do love the Swingset pattern. It has a nice full, swing-y shape, and I like the look of the skinny elastic rows at the waistband. And the lining makes it feel substantial. I’ve lined all four swingset skirts and my Roller Skate dress with Robert Kaufman Savannah batiste – it’s super soft and lightweight and makes perfect lining fabric.

This time I left out the drawstring – it’s a lovely addition, but the bow is forever coming untied on those first two skirts I made. And since there were no buttonholes, I threaded the elastic between the lining and the skirt exterior, same as the Roller Skate dress.

The fabric for the polka dot skirt is Dear Stella’s Sprinkles from the Piper collection. And skirt #2 is Essex yarn dyed linen in denim, which has recently surpassed Essex yarn-dyed linen in black as the fabric I want to use for everything. In fact I made this very skirt for the Handmade Kids Clothing Swap.

I added rows of running stitches along the bottom like Lila’s rainbow sprinkles skirt from two years ago, which is long outgrown (along with those red shoes, which have been replaced by pink). The colors don’t pop as much on this version of the skirt, but I think the denim will be a little more practical than the white, considering all the tire time her skirt hems see. Then again, the polka dot skirt is pretty much white (now with a black hem). Maybe a pair of shorts should be next on the list.

Here’s a little Mother’s Day flower for everyone….have a happy weekend!

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pattern testing :: the super tote

There’s a new Noodlehead pattern on the scene!

Anna just released her Super Tote pattern, and let me be the first to tell you, this thing really is super. It’s a roomy tote bag with a recessed zipper, big front pocket, elasticized interior pockets, and space for just about everything. And like all her patterns, it’s superbly designed and full of professional details.

I love that Anna lets me test her patterns because it means I have an excuse to do some selfish sewing, which would never happen otherwise. And as I mentioned in my Instagram feed, there was no way I was wasting this gorgeous fabric on my kid.

And about this fabric – I fell in love with Anna Maria Horner’s Ghost Wing linen the moment I saw it online, but when I actually went to purchase it at Bolt, it was even more beautiful than I could’ve imagined. Seriously, photos don’t do this stuff justice. The colors are divine and the linen has a gorgeous drape (not all that relevant when you’re interfacing the hell out it for a bag, but still, it’s amazing). I think it might be one of my all time favorite fabrics to date.

Oh, and speaking of interfacing – since the fabric was lightweight, I used both types of interfacing that Anna suggests (Pellon SF 101 and Craft Fuse 808), and it came out plenty sturdy.

I have a tendency to make all my bags gray, but I loved Anna’s Melody Miller version so much that I had to use linen for the gusset. And now I can’t bring myself to use it because I don’t want it to get dirty! I knew there was a reason for all those gray bags. Oh well, for now I’m okay with just watching it hang on the wall.

And for anyone thinking of using this as a diaper bag, it would be perfect. I emptied my current one inside just to see how things fit and there’s still plenty of space to spare!

Check out Anna’s gorgeous versions of the bag and pick up your copy of the pattern here. Then try to keep your kid’s paws off your new bag!

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spring kcw :: roller skate dress

Much like the all-powerful Geranium dress, I could not resist making a Roller Skate dress.

Verdict is: yet another great Oliver + S pattern. Sooooo many possibilities with this one.

I chose the option with the neckline facing, but omitted the V after seeing Lucinda’s amazing version of the dress.

There are many things to love about this pattern, but one of my personal favorites is that I was able to cut a size 3 (with an inch of added length) out of 3/4 yards of fabric. I think the pattern calls for 1 yard, but I squeezed it in. There might be a little selvage hiding in the seam allowance, but that never hurt anyone.

Fabric :: Bloomsbury from Felicity Miller’s Charleston Farmhouse collection (which, incidentally, I think I cut upside down)

Pattern :: Oliver + S Roller Skate Dress

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spring kcw :: lazy days

I had a couple things cut out and ready to sew last night, but zero desire to start either one, so I made a tried and true Lazy Days Skirt. It’s one of the simplest, most satisfying things to sew, ever.

It’s nothing exciting, but I knew it would take me under 45 minutes, and I knew Lila would wear it. And both of those things came true!

Lila picked the fabric – it’s Michael Miller Bird Chat, left over from the curtains in her reading nook.

The weather has been insanely gorgeous here and I’m having major trouble motivating myself to sew. It might just be Lazy Days Skirts for the rest of the week…

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spring kcw :: oscarpants

Happy Kids Clothes Week!

When I planned for possible projects for the week, I decided I wanted to make a few things for Oscar. I’m trying, I really am, but I’m still struggling with the whole sewing-for-boys thing. There have been a few attempts here and there, but they’ve all left me feeling hemmed in by “boy” choices, and I just end up fantasizing about how the project might look if I were sewing for a girl.

These little pants, however, made me perfectly happy to be boy-sewing.

I started out with the Basic Newborn Pant pattern, a freebie available at Made by Rae. Kristin made Oscar two adorable pairs when he was born, and the longer pair still fits well at almost six months. So it seemed like a good pattern to play with.

The star knee patches (inspired by Mini Boden) were appliquéd with Steam-a-Seam 2, then secured with embroidery floss and a running stitch around the edges. If the patches look a little low it’s because he was asleep when I placed them, and that was my best guess. Baby proportions are elusive.

Pattern :: Rae‘s free Basic Newborn Pants (legs lengthened by a little over an inch, and waistband folded down an extra 1/2 inch to lose a little of the rise). Cuff tutorial courtesty of you & mie.

Fabric :: Essex Yarn Died Linen in Denim, and Moda Crossweave in aqua for the stars.

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beachy boatneck

I don’t know why I avoid sewing with knits. It’s never as scary as I think it’s going to be, and around these parts it has the most potential to be worn. Last week I decided I was going to make a t-shirt already, and I got the Beachy Boatneck pattern from the Go To Patterns shop. If you haven’t visited Andrea’s shop yet, it’s worth taking a look – she’s gathered together a bunch of great patterns (lots of basics and wardrobe staples, plus non-clothing patterns as well) by a group of talented and trusted pattern designers. The Beachy Boatneck is by Melissa of Blank Slate Patterns, and it was so simple and satisfying to sew. I can see myself making plenty of these shirts.

Knits are Lila’s favorite, but she’s also going through a “girly” phase and is loving skirts and pink and fancy stuff like the rest of the four year old girls out there. The jeans for these photos were my idea…she hasn’t chosen jeans in months. We had a good long run with blue, so I’m trying not to take it too hard. Anyway, I thought maybe I could sell her on this coral-striped knit with its built-in sequins (originally an XXL women’s tee on clearance from Old Navy). That’s what girls like, right? Sparkles?

I realize this is just a t-shirt and doesn’t warrant all that much excitement, but I can’t help it, I’m kind of excited about it. I think maybe because it’s knit (which, like I said, I fear!) and because it was just so fast and simple. I mean, crazy fast and simple. The neckline was faced, so no messing with bindings. And I used the existing hems of the Old Navy shirt for the sleeves and bottom, so no hemming at all. The pattern actually calls for a curved hem (lots of photos of that hem in the pattern listing), and I liked that look just fine, but I couldn’t resist stealing the shirt’s existing hems with their perfect twin needle finish.

Based on her measurements I made a size 3, and the fit is just right. I like that it’s on the long side – short shirts are my nemesis.

Oh and one of my knit fears did come true – the back neckline came out a little wavy. The jersey was pretty thin and didn’t hold its shape very well – maybe I stretched the fabric a little when I was top stitching. I don’t know, but I’ll do better next time. And the next one is already cut out and waiting to be sewn up.

Highlights the big belly nicely, too, right?

P.S. I recently became an affiliate for Go To Patterns and this post contains affiliate links for the shop. But I wouldn’t have written anything differently if it didn’t!

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handmade kids clothing swap!

I’m so excited to be a part of the Handmade Kids Clothing Swap organized by Robin of Nested in Stitches! You can read full details about the swap here, but the gist is ten sewing bloggers swapping names to secretly sew for someone else’s kid…and it’s all to be revealed today!

Meg of Elsie Marley and Kids Clothes Week fame (and basically the queen of the kids clothes sewing community!) got my name in the swap, and I’m still wrapping my mind around the fact that my daughter is walking around in handmades by Meg. I’m starstruck.

She made us four amazing garments (actually five, since the skirt is reversible!):

and even sketched them out for all posterity:

Now I’m kinda assuming she didn’t intend for all of these pieces to be worn together, at the same time, but Lila has a mind of her own about such matters, and this is how she wanted it. Stripes and checks as far as the eye can see! I don’t know about you, but I think she pulls it off just fine.

She about flipped with glee when she tried on the reversible circle skirt and realized the awesome power of its twirl. I think it might have blown her mind. She wouldn’t take it off. Or stop twirling. Or turn the skirt around to the more neutral side.

Side note: It’s funny, because An of StraightGrain recently posted about how she became the most popular mom on the planet after making her daughter a circle skirt for the first time. Well now I get it. So Meg, you are officially the most popular mom on the planet over here.

Anyway, the circle skirt is indeed fabulous, but I really flipped over the color blocked cardigan – I love this thing. I also love how Lila keeps asking me if “cardivins” are just for boys, or can girls wear them, too?

After the initial excitement of wearing everything at once, I did manage to get her to tone things down a bit with a pair of jeans. So if your eyes hurt from viewing any of the photos above, these are for you:

Stripy skinny tee:

Ruffle sleeve blouse:

Color blocked cardigan:

Reversible circle skirt (sorry, no photo of the reverse side – she was all about the gingham!):

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Now here’s Meg to tell you about her inspiration for these garments:

It was so wonderful to sew for a little girl again (my girl will no longer let me call her little). Looking through all of Gail’s pins was super fun and only enforced what I think of as probably actually style already: light, feminine, fun, and simple. The first pin that really caught my eye was a cardigan from mini boden.

I loved all the stripes and the bold color blocking. I was lucky enough to find two sweaters super on sale at H&M that I worked really well together. With those two fabrics, some knits from my stash, and Adrianna’s Greenpoint Cardigan pattern I had the makings for a pretty good sweater.

I knew I wanted to make a skirt to go with the sweater. A bubble skirt was my first thought, and Gail had pinned some good ones. But then I saw Cherie’s tutorial for a reversible circle skirt pinned on her board and changed course. Because who doesn’t love reversible clothes?

I needed a shirt to complete the outfit and loved this ruffle number by Katie Did. I tried to wing it without a pattern, but the thin jersey I used would not do what I wanted. I had to scrap the shirt entirely and because I left the shirt until last, I didn’t have time to go browsing around town for the perfect fabric. My stash yielded an aqua cotton fabric with a raised stripe pattern. I found this Japanese shirt on Gail’s board. I didn’t have that pattern book, but I found a similar pattern in Carefree Clothes for Girls.

Then I felt bad that the shirt didn’t really go with the outfit like I planned, so I made another shirt to make up for it. It’s a simple tee from Rae’s Flashback Tee pattern, with poofy sleeves. It’s made with a striped jersey from my stash and it really doesn’t go with the sweater, but oh well.

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Meg, we love it all, and Lila would beg to differ about the stripy tee not going with the sweater! You outdid yourself.

And finally, here’s a little preview of the stuff I sewed for my swap partner, Vanessa, from {lbg studio}. Her photos are amazing! I’m pretty sure I could’ve cut holes in a paper sack and she would’ve made it look like a million bucks. Click over for more photos and info on my handmades!

And when you’re finished there, go check out everyone else in the swap, too! Here’s the full list of players:

cherie from you and mie

danielle from my sparkle

delia from delia creates

heather from well-crafted

kristin from skirt as top

meg from elsie marley

robin from nested in stitches

sanae from sanae ishida

vanessa from lbg studio

Thanks for stopping by. Over and out!

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traveling changing pad

Look who’s five months old tomorrow! He’ll be celebrating by lounging on his new changing pad.

I first learned about Gingercake Patterns when my friend Trinh made 16 of these adorable Crayon Art Folios as birthday party favors a few years back. And when Lila started preschool in September I made my first Gingercake pattern, Love your Lunchbox. Both of these items get lots of use around here, so when Virginia sent me her Traveling Changing Pad pattern to try out, I was really excited to give it a whirl.

There are lots of great and unique features to this changing pad, including two pockets at the bottom – one for diapers and one for wipes. The right pocket is lined with PUL and closes with velcro, so you can refill it with wipes as you use them. Smart, eh? And you could really use the pockets for anything – diaper cream, a toy, a clean onesie, a pacifier, or whatever else might come in handy during a diaper change.

The other feature I love is how the whole thing folds up and ties together and ends up looking like a gift wrapped in fabric. Pretty lovely if you ask me.

The pattern suggests terry cloth for the pad, but I happened to have some super soft Michael Miller organic sherpa, so I used that. The peacock blue fabric is a Moda Just Wing It stripe, and the yellow dots are from Lotta Jansdotter’s Bella line.

The pattern is full of little tips and tricks to customize and simplify the changing pad to suit your needs. I must admit that I’m always a bit intimidated by projects with binding, but this pattern uses a really simple method I’d never tried before. You can always use a more traditional method if you like, but this one was really quick and easy and I’m always happy when trying a new pattern leads to learning something new.

And in conclusion, another link to the pattern, and ten little baby toes:

p.s. there have been a few questions about Oscar’s onesie – i did indeed embroider it (about 5 years ago, for my nephew!) – it’s a Sublime Stitching pattern and you can find it here!

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rainbow rice

We love a good rainbow-colored sensory activity around here, so for Lila’s birthday we made rainbow rice. I’d read about people dyeing rice with food coloring and rubbing alcohol, but it wasn’t until I saw this post about using liquid water color paint that it really appealed to me – I’ve wanted an excuse to buy the paints for awhile now, there are so many fun things to do with them. So Lila got the tropical set and some droppers for her birthday and we got to work.

First she administered a few droppers full of paint into a ziploc bag with three or four cups of rice,

then she shook it up. Serious business, as you can see.

The rice was dry almost immediately and ready to pour into the tub.

We dumped each color in separately, but I had to shoot rapid fire to get any photos of it in this state, because the urge to mix it all together was apparently very intense.

Pretty soon it looked like this:

A tub of sprinkles! Sprinkle rice, sprinkle dress.

She didn’t waste much time taking off her socks and hopping inside the tub, either.

The verdict is: Rice = fun. Rice that resembles sprinkles = even more fun.

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