fall kcw :: sewing with elk

It’s Kids Clothes Week again! I’ve been working on a couple things, and first up is a little knit top for Lila.

I recently got my hands on some Elk Fam in Pool, a dreamy new knit from Birch Fabrics. I love this stuff. It’s 100% organic cotton interlock, which means it’s stable and easy to work with – it keeps its shape nicely and doesn’t shift or stretch too much under your scissors or presser foot. If you’re new to knits, interlock is a great place to start, and of course this stuff is extra special – besides being organic and super buttery soft, it’s covered in elk!

There are other great prints in the Elk Grove knits line, too – poppies (like the canvas I used for Lila’s fall jacket) and chevrons. And the colors divine, especially the yellow. Oh yes, it’s the perfect shade. I picked up a little of that too, for Oscar.

I decided to try a new-to-me pattern (the top is new to me, anyway) and chose the Oliver + S Hopscotch top – the skirt is a favorite of mine and I’ve always wanted to make the top/dress part of the pattern. I like the cross-over style and the gathers, the details are nice and simple. It all came together very easily and took one night to sew (albeit a late night), including tracing and cutting out the pattern. My hems are wavier than I’d like, which is one of the reasons I don’t sew with knits much. I tried tissue paper under the presser foot with the bottom hem, and it helped, but it’s still not perfect. And don’t look too closely at the hem in my photos, because I didn’t pick out all the tissue!

Also, I made a size 3 lengthened to 4, and I only ended up turning up a 1/4 inch on the hem because it wasn’t looking long enough. The width is just right, but I like my tops longer, so I’d probably add an inch or so next time so I can give it a proper hem.

She’s wearing it here with one of her many Swingset skirts – this one was made during last fall’s KCW.

My mind has been spinning a bit with all the great things you could make with these knits. Baby things mostly – blankets, little beanie hats, sleep sacks…all those cute Ottobre outfits I’ve got pinned on my “sewing for baby” board. And kid stuff too, of course – t-shirts and leggings and dresses and all sorts of other stuff. Good knits are hard to come by, and these are really, really good knits.

I got the fabric from Linh at LiMa Sews – she has the whole line of Elk Grove knits in stock if you’re looking, as well as lots more from Birch, including the new Eiko line. So much good stuff, I tell you, and lots of great new arrivals coming in all the time. I can’t wait for Birch to release the Flight print in knits this Decemeber, and I think I saw a preview of a beautiful stack of Birch organic fleece on Instagram (please order that stuff too, Linh!).

So the only bad news about this cute little top is that Lila says the yoke seam is itchy, and she kept complaining and tugging at it. I wonder if I could bind it with something soft…rabbit fur, or marshmallows maybe. I’ll be working on that.