kcw :: robot trousers

It’s Kid Clothes Week again, and while I haven’t actually done any sewing, I thought I’d share these pants I made for Oscar’s third birthday. You know, back in November. They sorta go with this season’s toy theme though, so I’m seizing this opportunity.

I’ve made him a pair of Oliver + S Art Museum trousers for every birthday thus far, and it’s one of my favorite boy patterns out there. I love the details – back welt pockets, side pockets, faux fly, flat front, belt loops…these are sophisticated pants. A three year old could hardly ask for more.

 

These have obviously been washed and worn at this point, although honestly not all that much. Turns out pants covered in robots don’t exactly go with everything. And yes, they look a little like pajama pants, which is a risk when you use a print like this. But the fabric (it’s this Echino print) is a heavier weight cotton, which helps bring them back into the daytime realm…and pajamas don’t generally have welt pockets, right?

So anyway, it’s only Tuesday…there’s still a chance for me to do some actual KCW sewing. I’m going to try, but lately the TV calls. I hope the rest of you are more productive than I am!

 

 

 

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a striped sailboat top + some halloween photos

Happy middle of November! Oscar has a leaf to show you. And a new Sailboat top. The Oliver + S Sailboat top is one of the little boy patterns I was most excited about making for him, but I could never seem to find the right fabric for the job. I’ve long admired Kristin’s striped versions and I’ve been on the lookout for a heavier-weight striped knit since Oscar was a wee lad. Which, clearly, he is no longer.

When he asked to be a pirate for Halloween I decided this shirt would make a decent base for the costume – something I actually wanted to sew and something he could wear afterwards. I found this striped French terry at Mill End – it’s thick and sturdy and easy to sew with, and made for a nice comfortable sweatshirt-like top.

The pattern was great, no surprise there. The neck and hem are finished with facings, so only the sleeves require hemming, and the whole thing was quick and easy to sew. I made a size 3 and added an inch to the length, though I should’ve added two inches, and maybe an inch to the sleeves as well. It just fits. I wish it were bigger. No, I wish he were smaller. But anyway.

Here it is with the rest of the pirate get-up. I ripped off a big square of Essex linen to serve as a bandana, and I made him a little pirate vest based on this MADE post, using Dana’s free Frontier Vest pattern. With gold bias tape and a felt skull-and-crossbones patch to show he meant real pirate business.

And since we’re on the subject of Halloween, Lila requested a black cat costume this year.

The actual sewing was minimal. I added felt pads to a pair of black gloves for the paw effect, and I used black velveteen and a pink silk/cotton blend to make the the Oliver + S Cozy Winter Hood from Little Things to Sew. The cat ears were sewn on after constructing the hood so they wouldn’t lay sideways in the seams.

But the shirt, pants, gloves, and tail all came from Target (as did Oscar’s pants and accessories), and I must say, this was the perfect amount of Halloween sewing for me this year!

 

 

 

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spring kcw :: dino sketchbook shirt

Kids Clothes Week spring edition is officially over, but I’m back with one more project I finished last week.

I knew I must have something on my shelf to go with this KCW’s Wild Things theme, and it turned out to be these dinosaurs. After a couple nights work, they became a little Sketchbook shirt.

I made this shirt in the smallest size when Oscar was 7 months old – I was so excited for him to wear it, but it never really fit right. This one is better, but not perfect. I made a size 2 (lengthened to 3), and I’m wondering if I should’ve slimmed it down to 18-24 months, because it’s a bit too wide in the shoulders. And there’s something not quite right about the sleeves, I had trouble getting them to lay flat in the shoulder seams.

But it’s still a decent little shirt, all in all, and the dinosaurs are pretty cute…even if that red one on the sleeve happens to be breathing fire. (?)

Maybe I just need to play around with this one a little more, but are there other button down shirt patterns people like to sew with? If you know of one with a great fit, I’d love to hear. I do love a little boy in a button down…

 

 

 

 

 

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spring kcw :: stripey blue sailboat pants

We had a short bout (now over) of beautiful summer weather, during which I learned two things: Oscar is low on warm weather clothes, and he looks awfully cute in his sister’s old elephant pants.

Sailboat pants appear to be the only usable hand-me-down among the our stacks of outgrown handmade clothes – he’s now worn the elephants and these (from 2011!), and since it’s Kids Clothes Week and all, I thought it might be nice for him to have a pair of his very own.

The striped chambray (from Kaufman House of Denim) had been earmarked for several different projects, but I decided to just use it already – it’s neutral and plain, which is normally how I like my Sailboat pants. I did turn the stripes sideways for the side panels though, to keep things interesting. And anchor buttons, because obviously.

It’s been almost three years since I’ve sewn a pair of these, and I had forgotten how much I love this pattern – the construction is smart and simple, and they’re surprisingly quick to sew. There are some nice little details, too, like the side vents and the button panel, and they’re easy to get on and off with the elasticized back waistband. Plus: cute. And unisex! When people ask which Oliver + S pattern to start with, I usually recommend this one.

I will mention though – I made a size 3, and the placement dots for the bottom buttons seemed way off to me (which I think I faintly remember from last time) – my advice would be to make your buttonholes (as marked), then stick a pin through the hole to mark where you want to sew on your buttons. And if you happen to have a paper copy of the pattern, check the errata on the website – there are a few (fairly obvious) little things that need correction.

Anyway, that wraps up my first days of KCW. The theme this time around is Wild Things, and while there’s certainly nothing wild about these pants, I’m hoping to sew another warm weather item for Oscar that might fit with the theme a little better. We shall see. Happy sewing!

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winter kcw :: nature walk pullover

Well, I sewed one thing for this round of KCW. It felt like a major accomplishment! I must be getting lazy in my old age. Here it is, a new-to-me pattern, the Oliver + S Nature Walk Pullover.

I never really gave this pattern much consideration, but over the summer I fell in love with this version from the Flickr pool and became obsessed with making it for Oscar. It never ceases to amaze me how one person’s interpretation of a pattern can have that effect. Anyway, I immediately traced the size 2 but didn’t get around to it until now, so, tragically, I had to retrace the whole thing in a size 3. Maybe I could’ve gotten away with lengthening the 2, but bigger is my rule of thumb for this kid.

I can’t say I love the fit. The arms are too long and the shoulders are big, and it’s a little hard to get on and off unless his arms are straight up over his head, which was same problem I had with Lila’s first Jump Rope dress. Is that just the nature of a garment with an opening like this?

But on to the fabric – I really wanted to make mine exactly like Audrey’s, I loved it so much. The sleeves are designed to be made with two different fabrics, but I joined those two pattern pieces and cut each sleeve as one piece, like she did. My plan was to use chambray, but then I found this Kaufman Shetland flannel in Denim – it’s textured and looks like chambray, and it’s the softest flannel I’ve ever felt. So I used that, and for the neck and pocket facings I cut into my precious half yard of Heather Ross moons. I wasn’t sure how much they’d show, and in the pocket facings they really don’t. But because the V opening is so low, they show plenty there. I top stitched everything in a heavy weight gold thread.

I took a couple of days making this, but the sewing was straightforward and easy, and everything was textbook Oliver + S, a.k.a a total pleasure. And despite the fit issues, Oscar likes it and I like it and sewing for boys is fun. The end.

Oh, and the winner of the Sewing to Sell giveaway was Lori! Thanks to all who entered 🙂

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charley harper pajama pants

These were made (patterns traced, fabric cut, pants sewn) with lightning speed, in assembly-line style, on the 23rd of December. If you’ve left your Christmas Eve pjs to the last minute, this pattern is your friend. Inseam, Inseam, cuff, cuff, rise, waistband. Done! I bought both kids $4 Old Navy t-shirts and just left them as-is this time (except for the addition of some running stitches on Lila’s pocket) – bare bones, people. PANTS ONLY.

The turquoise birds (Red Eye Vireo) are from Birch Fabric’s first Charley Harper line, and Oscar’s penguins (Murre) are from the new line, Nurture. The Birch poplin has such a nice feel and sheen to it – it’s smooth and crisp and a little more substantial than your average quilting cotton…if that makes any sense. There are so many cool prints in these two Charley Harper lines, and you really have to see them up close to fully appreciate them.

I used Moda’s Indigo Pinstripe for Oscar’s cuffs and waistband, and the green contrast on Lila’s is one of the Cotton + Steel Basics, Dottie in Picnic.

The Oliver + S pajama pants are always a hit around here, but I do feel like I’m in a bit of a rut with them. Next year maybe I’ll try knit pjs (Flashback Skinny Tee + Fancy Pants leggings like Elizabeth’s), or maybe a nightgown (did you see Rachel’s?) for Lila. Or, more likely, it’ll be these again on the eve of the 23rd.

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the year in sewing :: a 2014 recap

As I was going through my photos from the year, I realized I made not ONE SINGLE THING for myself in 2014. Terrible, I know. The truth is, I did sew a few things, just nothing worthy of sharing – I made a Wiksten Tank and the Liesl & Co Bistro Dress, and while they were both great patterns, neither was especially flattering on me. I’m still trying to figure out sewing my own clothing, and clearly it isn’t going all that well. Maybe 2015 will be my breakthrough year.

So what did I sew? Well, Lila scored a few new dresses. Fifteen to be exact.

garden party | hide-and-seek | jump rope A | franklin | jump rope B | library B | hide-and-seek | mini poppy | carousel | roller skate | first day | roller skate | little joey | library A | geranium

The dresses definitely won out in terms of sheer numbers, but there were a few other things for Lila:

swingset tunic | school bus tee | sleepover pjs | 2+2 skirt | bucket hat | swingset skirt | swingset skirt | shearwater kaftan | bunny pjs

Oscar wasn’t fully ignored:

bow tie | happy homemade hoodie | bucket hat | hawthorn sweatshirt | small fry skinny cords | sketchbook shorts | field trip raglan | bunny pjs | dmk peacoat | art museum trousers

And there was an assortment of gifts and other random things:

baby girl’s coat | lullaby layette | ice cream dress | seal pjs | square floor cushion | lap duvet | divided basket | emmeline apron | rain cloud costumes

These were my 2014 personal favorites:

I learned to use and love my serger this year (it only sat in the box until April – not half bad, right?), and I learned to love boy sewing just a little bit more. And what I already knew was reinforced: making dresses sure is fun. The truth is, I don’t have any huge goals for the new year. I just want to make pretty things and then marvel at my kids as they wear them. I know it isn’t much, but that’s what makes me happy.

So anyway, Happy 2015 from these two, my reasons for sewing.

 

 

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holiday attire

I tried to keep my December sewing to a minimum this year, which was really very nice. Christmas clothes weren’t originally on my list, but then I saw the adorable plaid Art Museum vest Elizabeth (of the lovely blog Lizzieville) made for her little boy. She mentioned in the post that her daughter asked for a dress to match, and suddenly my kids needed matching Christmas outfits, too. And so, I sewed.

Elizabeth was actually the inspiration for the dress, too – I really loved her Library Christmas dress from last year, and I also came across this beautiful corduroy/Liberty version via my Oliver + S Flickr group search. So, despite having just made a Library dress (and swearing off this view), I decided on View B in baby cord with a floral band…but then I never found a good floral. I almost scrapped the whole thing, but at the last minute I looked through the piles of fabric already on my shelf and found this striped shot cotton.

I can’t recall why I bought this fabric in the first place, but I’m pretty sure it ended up lost in the stacks because the colors reminded me too much of Christmas. So anyway, long story short, I ended up with dark gray Kaufman cord, some forgotten striped shot cotton, and flat piping in a green Modern Solid. I sewed a size 5 lengthened to a 6, and also lengthened the sleeves by an inch. Lila isn’t a big fan of 3/4 sleeves so I wanted to pass them off as long sleeves. She won’t wear them rolled up, but I do love the notched cuffs.

There wasn’t enough corduroy for the facings (I squeezed the whole dress into a wide yard of fabric with some very careful planning), so those are cut from the shot cotton. Luckily Liesl has you understitch all the facing seams, so there’s no chance they’ll be peeking out when they shouldn’t. But they do make for a nice surprise inside.

Having made both views, I think the collar must give the neckline a little more structure and hold it in place, because the neckline on this dress gapes a little more than the collared version. Nothing too serious, but I did notice a difference.

And again with all those buttons down the back. But I was happy to find these little black and green ones.

Now, on to that bow tie.

I read through just about everything the internet had to offer on the topic of making your own bow tie, but in the end I used Delia‘s free Mix and Match Bow Tie pattern and tutorial. I knew I could trust Delia. It was super simple and quick to sew – in fact, I bet I spent more time learning how to tie it than actually sewing it. But thanks to YouTube and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Lila and I must have watched this video twenty times, she thought it was hilarious), tying a bow tie is now on my list of life accomplishments.

Apparently bow ties are usually cut on the bias, but since shot cotton already has some stretch, I cut it on the grain. And I used velcro as my back closure method rather than swim suit hooks, just to make sure it was good and adjustable. It’s a little droopy (interfacing could have solved that) but I love it just the same.

Who knew I’d ever get so excited about a bow tie? And to think, I was so broken up about not having two girls to sew for…this is totally just as great. Maybe even better. Maybe. Sort of. Whatever, it’s great.

They were pretty cute together. I’m officially a fan of coordinated holiday attire.

There were also some eleventh hour semi-coordiated Christmas pajamas that I’ll share just as soon as I can get my children to cooperate for photos. Hope everyone’s holidays were happy – enjoy these last few days of the year!

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oscar turns two :: party animals + plaid trousers

 

We celebrated Oscar’s second birthday last weekend. I made tiny party hats and wrapped miniature presents for a whole slew of little animals, and I sewed a second annual pair of birthday Art Museum trousers.

First, the pants.

I still haven’t done a whole lot of boy sewing, but I think these little trousers are my favorite in that category. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but they make my heart flutter. I kinda want to write Liesl a love letter for making this pattern.

Last year I made these pants in size 6-12 months, and this year I skipped over the next two sizes and made a 2T. With Lila I always preferred that clothes fit correctly at the time I made them – it took her forever to grow out of anything. This kid is a different breed, though – nothing seems to fit for more than a couple months, so roomy is fine by me. These pants do run really long – Oscar is off the charts for his age in height, and I hemmed them up an extra half inch and still had to roll them once so he won’t trip.

I became obsessed with making this plaid version after spotting a toddler in the wild wearing a very similar pair – I knew I already had the perfect pattern to replicate them, and I’ve been on the lookout for the right fabric ever since. I ended up finding it locally at Bolt – it’s a wool/cotton blend, really soft, just what I was after.

As for the hat-wearing, gift-bearing animals, they were inspired by this Oh Happy Day post and this pin – I downloaded the tiny party hat template from here and bought a bunch of Schleich animals to do it up right.

They were a bit of an investment, but I knew they’d have great play value long after the party, so I considered them a birthday present for Oscar.

My blog idol threw a second birthday for her daughter a few weeks before Oscar’s, which led me to this amazing cake. Mine was a little sloppy, but same idea. I still swear by this chocolate cake recipe, but this year I tried Alicia’s Cloudburst Frosting recipe – it was deeeee-licious.

As you can see from the two above, I managed to get zero decent photos from Oscar’s party, which I will just blame on the weather and daylight savings – it was dark all day! Oh well. The whole animal thing was by far the most fun I’ve ever had in terms of birthday prep. And that’s saying a lot, because I do love party prep.

Happy second birthday to you, sweet Oscar. Your dance moves are second to none, and you are a complete and utter joy to have around.

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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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