summer clothes

Here’s that stuff I meant to make for KCW. Turns out all I needed was three extra weeks!

First up, Oliver + S Class Picnic Shorts.

It’s true, Oliver + S patterns are spendy, but this one has definitely been worth its price tag. I’m on my fourth pair of Class Picnic shorts now, and I plan to keep making them for as long as she’ll wear them. This pair is pretty similar to the other ones I’ve made – I love these shorts in neutral fabrics so they go with everything. I decided on a size 5 based on her waist/hip measurements, thinking I would lengthen them, but as I was tracing the pattern pieces I realized I had absolutely no idea how/where I would add length. The curves, the facings…it was too confusing. They’ll be just fine for this summer but with a little more length they could’ve maybe gone another year.

The main fabric is Andover chambray in Navy (great stuff, from LiMa Sews), and the facings are Kaufman’s cotton chambray with pin dots in Indigo. I bought the dots from Jones & Vandermeer but it looks like it’s out of stock now. It’s a great neutral (but still interesting) fabric and it’s lightweight with a nice drape. I decided to interface (with SF101 Shape-flex) all the facings pieces with the thought that the added structure would mean less ironing. The shorts haven’t been washed yet so my theory is untested, but I have high hopes. I also interfaced my main front waistband piece for a little more structure there, too.

Now on to the top: The Oliver + S Swingset Tunic, the companion to my favorite skirt pattern.

This pattern rather tragically only goes up to size 5, so I felt I had to squeeze one more in. Last year’s tunic still fits perfectly, so I just added a 1/2 inch to the length this time. The bodice construction on this one isn’t the most intuitive, and the finish inside isn’t the neatest, but you still end up with a pretty cute little top, so who cares. The triangles are Mojave in Aloe from Leah Duncan’s Morning Walk collection. Her stuff is always my favorite.

Okay then. Shorts with different top!

Top with different shorts! Braids!

Bonus hug photo!

The end.

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herringbone sketchbook shorts

I cut out these Oliver + S Sketchbook shorts for Oscar at the end of July, then realized that shorts season is rapidly coming to a close and I better sew them up. The fabric is Bradford Herringbone from Robert Kaufman (purchased locally, but it’s available at Imagine Gnats) – it’s a cotton/linen blend and has a nice weight for something like this – I might have to pick up a little more to make a pair of Art Museum trousers for the fall. Lila also got a pair of shorts from this fabric (seen in this post) but the pattern is still in the works so my lips are sealed. It’s a good one though!

I went back and forth between making an 18-24 months and a 2T – but since they only needed to fit for a couple months at most, I went with the smaller size, and they seem to fit just right.

Anyway, the Sketchbook pattern is really simple and great and all, but I managed to make things complicated and I’m going to bore you with the details. I made the same mistake as last time and cut the “pocket lining” pattern piece from a print, and the “pocket” pattern piece from the main fabric, when it should be the other way around. I mean, it had been two years since I made this particular mistake, but it sure did annoy me to have made it twice. But that was really no big deal considering the sizable hole I cut into the butt with my serger knife while finishing the final inside seam. I should have just scrapped the whole thing, but I had just enough fabric to cut one more back panel, so I picked apart three serged seams to remove the damaged piece and reattached a new one. So yeah, hardly worth it for a boring old pair of shorts, but they’re done now.

And there are some pretty cute dinosaurs hidden in the pockets. RAWR.

In other news, Oscar loves this baby doll just as much as his sister ever did. Also pretty cute.

 

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a little peacoat

I’m not sure what it is about coats and jackets, but they’re among my very favorite things to sew. I knew I wanted to make Oscar a coat as soon as he started walking – there’s something about being upright that raises the cuteness factor on a little coat like this. He’s still pretty tentative and falls down every seven steps or so, but he’s earned his big kid coat!

The pattern is the Dear My Kids Unisex Trendy Pea Coat. I don’t see this one in their Etsy shop anymore ((update: it’s available! Thanks, Ashley!!)) – I bought it over three years ago to make for Lila, after seeing this version from Adelaide Lemonade. And since then I’ve admired Tara’s coat from Girl Like the Sea, as well as the many versions sewn by Ashley of Everything Else We Do.

I was finally ready to make it myself after coming across some Robert Kaufman Chamonix Cotton Moleskin at my local Fabric Depot – this stuff feels downright amazing. It’s an unbelievably soft, sueded cotton with a very substantial weight, all of which made it seem like a good candidate for coat fabric. Plus it came in gray, which is probably what put me over the edge.

I picked up the lining from LiMa Sews – it’s from Eloise Renouf’s Bark & Branch collection for Cloud 9 Fabrics. The whole line is beautiful and I was immediately drawn to this print (Passing Clouds in Gold). You know, because of the clouds and all. This coat should go well with the weather around here – we’ll see plenty of gray and cloudy for the next six months. Hopefully it fits him that long.

Speaking of which, I made the 12 month size and added an extra 1/2 to the length, based solely on the fact that I live in constant fear of things ending up too short. I think it came out about right.

The pattern itself was good, and everything came together pretty easily – there’s a lot of great detail and information included in the directions, but it’s missing a few little things in my opinion – like notches (I can’t help it, I miss notches when they aren’t there!), and basting stitches on the sleeve caps to ease the sleeves into the armholes. No big deal if you’ve set plenty of sleeves in your day, but if it happened to be your first time, you might be a little confused.

And one thing I might change next time – it has a sort of flared, swingy shape, and I think I would cut it straighter next time, for Oscar anyway. Lila says he looks like a girl in it, but I think it’s plenty masculine for his 14 month old self. And overall I think it’s a pretty adorable coat – I love the wrist bands and the big, boxy collar, the fit is great, and the construction was really simple and straightforward. Plus, I used a pattern purchased 40 months ago. Based on that fact alone, I’m calling it a success!

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