there’s a new player in the kid clothes pattern game, and i’m very excited that she asked me to help get the word out!  it’s Megan Nielsen – a previously adult-ladies-only designer who is known for her darling ranges dress, her briar tee, and her fantastic maternity patterns.  but this week, she released three patterns for children, and i get to show you my take on two of them today!

or rather, my little rock star does…

this is E at her coolest.  she just can’t help it when she puts this outfit on, she immediately grabs a mic and starts singing/posing.  she and O even have a band name – “The Rockin’ Beatles” – and they’ve composed some original tunes.  🙂  i love it.

her top is the mini briar sweater and tee, which has lots of really cool options to sew it over and over for all seasons and with a different look each time.  for fall/winter i sewed “Version 4” which is meant to be a sweater, with long sleeves and cuffs (E’s is a bit too big and fits her more like a sweater dress for now).

you can sew the mini briar cropped or longer, with short or long sleeves, with a couple elbow patch options, neckline bindings, and appliqués…and it’s all really cool.  i love the aesthetic of the options and am excited to keep sewing these up for her!  both of the patterns i’m talking about today are quick sews and if you’ve sewn a knit top and/or leggings before, the construction will be familiar.  the cut and options are what make the briar fun and special.

Megan included kitty shaped elbow patches (there are also hearts and ovals) which i ended up using as knee patches on her leggings.  to tie that kitty theme back to the briar sweater, i made a giant kitty appliqué to mimic the patches and painted a gold face on there with fabric paint.  this kid loves cats, so she’s psyched.

the fabric for the briar is ivory Pendleton french terry which i bought locally.  it is SO soft and squishy but it has almost no recovery (it stretches but doesn’t snap back), so i used some oatmeal ribbing for the neckline and cuffs.  the size 6/7 is large on her, especially with this sort of fabric, but she can definitely grow into it!  i finished the hem with my coverstitch machine, which was totally painless.

the leggings, omigosh, are pleather from JoAnn.  yep, stretchy black pleather.  buying that fabric totally cracked me up.  the pattern is the mini virginia leggings, also sewn in a 6/7, which again are a bit big on her but i didn’t want to risk making them too tight – the pleather had stretch but not THAT much!  i used the mini briar’s cat elbow patches as knee patches, just cut out of another piece of pleather and topstitched in place.  i used steam-a-seam to stick them on while i stitched.

it’s the best to get such fun reactions from her when i sew up something a little new/different.  even though these are everyday wear, she just can’t help but be rad.

and yet graceful!  haha.

i think Megan’s designs translate really well to kid clothes, don’t you?  i’d love to see her release more (i’m hoping she does a mini darling ranges someday, remember mon petite Amelie?).

you can get the mini briar sweater + tee, mini virginia leggings, and mini tania culottes separately, or as a pack!  they all come in either print or PDF versions.  for more inspiration, check out more options in the lookbook here.  thanks so much to Megan for sending me the print versions of these two patterns; i loved sewing them!

*i received the mini briar and mini virginia patterns for free in exchange for a blog post, which was awesome because i’d been anxiously awaiting their release!