guest posting at oliver + s

October 16, 2012October 16, 201217 Comments

i don’t think it’s any secret that i love oliver + s patterns. i showed a partial stack of my patterns and explained that love in this guest post. since then, my pattern repertoire has grown by two (i now own and have sewn the school photo dress and the field trip raglan)!

though my mom can sew anything, i didn’t have much of an interest in sewing myself until i got fed up spending more than i wanted to on the simplest cotton toddler skirts and asked for a sewing machine in 2009. at that point, i was married with a daughter of my own and no longer lived at my folks’ house to learn from my mom directly (bummer!). i started sewing in our basement during Em’s 4 hour monster naps, when i was stuck at home but couldn’t make much noise. i credit oliver + s patterns and the online sewing community with teaching me how to sew, building my confidence and skill, and making me fall in love with handmade. i think it was always in my blood, i just hadn’t discovered my passion for it yet.

here’s my first sewing/oliver + s project! Em was just 15 months old.

today i’m guest posting on the oliver + s blog, and i’m over the moon about it! when i took two hours to sew that first little lazy days skirt three years ago, there was no way i imagined it leading to something like this – that the designer of the pattern would notice my work and comment, that she’d notice and link to other things i’ve made with her patterns over the past couple years, and now that she’d approach me to write a post for the company’s blog. i still can’t really believe it, frankly.

check out my post for the oliver + s blog here!

i rounded up some of my own projects and mixed them up with a bunch of lovely autumnal inspiration from the ever-bustling flickr group, to show how even the more summery oliver + s patterns can be easily adapted to fall sewing.

thanks for reading, guys.

PS – for even more fall sewing inspiration, caila has a really wonderful series going on this week with some of my favorite bloggers sharing their favorite fall patterns – you can find that right here!

kcwc fall 2012: day 5: neon dinosweater

October 14, 2012October 14, 201234 Comments

sew off challenge: make a catalogue-inspired garment

i feel like i’m late to the mini-boden party. i’ve heard the name, knew people loved it, but hadn’t REALLY browsed through the catalogue until gail posted her awesome hedgehog pants in meg’s weeklong KCWC lead up. that same day, i think, we got our mini-boden catalogue, i browsed, and i was inspired.

neon dinosweater

i was inspired by a neon dinosaur t-shirt!

so i made one – only mine’s a sweatshirt…and a different dino.

there were a few things i really wanted to do with my final project for KCWC and the sew off – sew for O again (really loving making clothes for him these days, it’s a fun challenge to push my aesthetic with fun details like jess says, but still keep it boyish), use the new oliver + s field trip raglan pattern that i won in a giveaway from sewn studio (thanks ladies!), and knock down some of my upcycle stash once again.

oh and i’ve also been wanting to use a touch of neon on something.

the gray sweatshirt material is my husband’s old j.crew sweater, a soft, heavy interlock. i used the existing neckband and sewed it all on my serger, preserving the existing hems (my tips for how to do that here). i folded the sleeves and bottoms of the pattern up 1″ to allow for the lack of hemming.

i decided i wanted to put a “nice dinosaur” on his shirt, since he’s so little…an herbivore, perhaps. i found my template by googling “brachiosaurus line art” and browsing images until i found the one i liked best. printed it, traced it onto steam-a-seam lite, reversed it. including tracing and cutting the pattern and appliqué, this whole sweater took about an hour and fifteen minutes to make. really not too shabby at all.

the acid green was a shirt of mine from H&M; i got it thinking it’d be fun as a pop of color in my wardrobe but it was just too bright for me. as an accent against gray, though, it’s perfect.

i cut the notch a little too deeply in the back, so added a bit of twill ribbon to cover it up (and to help keep the neck binding from flipping out). i like the extra detail. i sized the sweater up to a 2T instead of 18-24 months, since he’ll be wearing it over another shirt. the fit is great, it was a quick and satisfying sew, and i KNOW i’ll be making more of these as t-shirts, sweaters, maybe even extended to dresses! i’d been on the hunt for the perfect raglan pattern and i think i found it in the field trip raglan.

that’s it for our sew off; this catalogue item was sort of a “bonus” to me when we nailed down the challenges, and i’m not sure if Rae has a project coming…we’re only humans with tiny humans to take care of and normal lives to live and jobs to do and sleep to get, right? i only got this done because it was fast and easy and i really like crossing things off lists. really, though, i’ve got to get cracking on some other pressing projects (film petit, halloween costume, flower girl dress…fun stuff)!

anyway, though, thanks so much for getting me through my KCWC block, Rae! i had a really fun time and i loved pushing myself more than i would’ve without the sew off. it was also fun to see that Rae’s “mental to do list” was just as long as (or longer than) my own!

i’ll leave you with O putting on some gloves with eyes, wearing boots with eyes, as tigger watches:

very fun KCWC guys! thanks for hosting, Meg!!! great things always come from KCWC.

kcwc fall 2012: day 4:: shirred bird pierrot

October 12, 2012October 12, 201218 Comments

sew off challenge: shirred pierrot

next up in the sew off, a shirred bird dress from rae’s pierrot tunic pattern!

i made it in the sooooo soft and wonderful valori wells wren voile in mandolin, which i actually won during Rae’s spring top week (though the shop i actually ordered it from is now out of business, sadly).

i extended the 3T to dress length because Em loves comfy dresses she can dance in more than tunic tops. i figured she could also wear it as a nightgown if she wants to. i shirred the top and sleeves, and since it was seeming a little muumuu-esque, i tied a little bias tape belt around her waist for definition.

aside from the fact that there wasn’t quite enough light in our house this morning yet for photos, this was still a fun photo shoot. just imagine her making elephant trumpeting noises through the whole thing. 😉

and then she danced.

funny girl. give her a comfy dress, a pink room, and an elephant, and she’s a happy camper.

don’t forget to check out Rae’s pomegranate pierrot with rain boots (hehe!). one more challenge to go! think we can make it???

kcwc fall 2012: day 3:: far far away pjs

October 11, 2012October 11, 201226 Comments

sew off challenge: Heather Ross Pajama Pants

it’s becoming tradition for me to sew pajama pants for this kid during KCWC. i sewed polka dot flannel ones last fall, and fox ones last spring. since both were big on him when i made them, they actually still fit and are in regular rotation! i figured why not add another pair to the mix?

the pattern is the oliver + s bedtime story pajamas, which is now available digitally! it’s a fantastic and quick beginner pattern. i made them in the 18-24 month size in a little under an hour (actually stuck to the time frame this time!).

i have a funny relationship with my “special” fabric. i love having it, but i struggle with using it. frankly sometimes it’s just easier to give it away to a friend, then it doesn’t weigh on me! kinda weird, eh?

this sew off challenge was great in that it got me to use some of this far far away ii clothes on the line fabric that i’ve had squirreled away for while. it’s AMAZING stuff. it’s a cotton-linen blend, but very lightweight. it’s the kind of fabric you want your kids to wear all the time because it’s so dang soft and perfect.

the bindings are also far far away ii, golden moons. it’s a heavier linen that i first used for his bucket hat (and hey, her bucket hat was heather ross too – i guess i use it more than i think!). i kinda love that neither of the prints here are overtly “boy,” but they still look great together and on him.

obligatory pajama pants taped to wall photo:

far far away pjs

and kid being cute photo:

there’s the clincher right there. when he’s tired, he sucks his thumb and rubs his feet together. i can’t stop snuggling him!!

just two more challenges left, then i’ll likely collapse from exhaustion. Rae is one tough competitor! check out her adorable nursery versery pj pants and little C roaring like a lion – what a cutie pie. i need to track down some nursery versery, stat!

kcwc fall 2012: day 2:: mini washi dress

October 9, 2012October 10, 201268 Comments

sew off challenge: Mini Washi Dress

of all the items on Rae’s list that i narrowed down for our sew off, this is the one that jumped out as an immediate MUST MAKE. in fact, i believe i had started thinking about a mini version of her wonderful washi dress pattern around the first time i made it for myself! (here are my washis one and two)

funny how a gal like Rae can finally make the leap to selling adult patterns and people immediately want to shrink it down for littles, right? well, that’s what happens when it’s SO DARN CUTE to make things in miniature.

there is no washi pattern for kids, so i created one myself. and then i sewed it using the exact same methods detailed in rae’s adult washi pattern!

honestly i’m amazed and so proud that i got this to work. it feels like luck! i created every pattern piece that the original washi has – front bodice, sleeve, front and back facings, front skirt, and dress back. i started with the 3T flashback skinny tee pattern for the bodice, which i love to use as a basic pattern block for my slender little gal. i chopped it a bit shorter than i did for her amelie dress, since the washi is closer to empire waisted. i also curved it just slightly so it went up in the middle. obviously i omitted the darts. (!)

i laid out my adult washi pattern on the floor and used it as a reference for how to shape the front skirt (with room for pleats) and to see how it related to the bodice. then i used the bodice and skirt pieces together to draft the one-piece back. i just kind of built the pattern up bit by bit like a puzzle. it was a super fun challenge that drew on every bit of my knowledge. sewing has such an amazing learning curve!! i couldn’t have made this dress even a couple months ago.

the shirring in the back makes the front fit pretty darn well, but keeps it comfy for a little gal. the adult version has shirring too, which is one of the things i love about it – the comfy factor is off the charts!

i did have trouble getting the neckline right. my daughter’s head is proportionately large for her body. i originally made the neckline too small, and it didn’t fit over her head. i trimmed it and kept trying it on her until it fit (interrupting her afternoon leaf-painting, but she didn’t mind too much). it was scary because i wanted it to pull over her head without struggle, but it was also really important that it remain appropriate for a four year old to wear and keep the look of the original washi’s neckline.

it does gape a little bit when she lifts her arms, but hey – i got pretty close for my first go!

mini washi dress

best part is, she loves it! she really does! we’re calling it her “fireworks dress” (due to the anna maria horner shattered circus fabric). plus, who can resist a dress with pockets?

not me, and not this girl either.

have you sewn a mini washi? i’d really love to see it! karen did! if we all rally together, i bet we might be able to talk Rae into releasing a mini washi pattern for sale one day. wouldn’t that be fun? a bunch of mini me washi dresses! 😉

Rae made hers in actual washi fabric, and had a different solution for the large head small child problem. here it is!