kcw: upcycled art museum khakis

March 17, 2015March 16, 201527 Comments

as of today, i’ve been blogging for four years. i’ve been “a blogger” for most of this kid’s life! kinda crazy.

i started the blog after resisting jumping into it for a while, but after Erin and Danielle both made me realize it would be way better than just posting photos on flickr, i finally went for it. blogging really has changed my life in a bunch of ways – i’ve met people around the world (and even here in town) that i never would have met, it’s pushed me to sew things i never would’ve sewn, i’ve felt encouragement and support and i’ve learned so much – it’s just been really cool.

my posting has been a bit more sporadic since kid #3 came on the scene – basically i realized sleep is really important (i’m getting better at limiting my obligations to others so i can sew/blog at my own pace), but i still love having this space, am proud of what i’ve built here, and excited to continue to share what i make because i love the give and take of it all. so hey! thanks for a great four years! let’s talk about some pants. Continue reading →

kcw spring 2014 :: cozy raglan sweater

April 12, 2014April 12, 201421 Comments

i had to skip posting yesterday to start/do our taxes (bluuuuugh), but i did have this finish i’ve been excited to share. it’s so soft you guys!

this week’s “sew my upcycle pile” theme stemmed from me sorting through and getting rid of a bunch of stuff that i knew i’d never sew with. i have a small sewing room and there was just too much STUFF in there. while i was sorting through it all, i found two banana republic sweaters of mine – they were short sleeved, crew neck sweaters that i wore a ton when i was pregnant with this little miss, but not since because they were all stretched out and not very flattering.

however, the material is great – it’s a cashmere/acrylic/other blend that is washable, super soft, and warm. i had a cream one and a purple one whose colors looked nice together….and the perfect amount of fabric for a new color blocked raglan sweater for the girlie!

the pattern once again is the Oliver + S field trip raglan (quickly becoming my most-used O+S pattern!). i made a 4T for her (cut to full length even though i used factory hems for a little extra growing room). i tend to use my t-shirt patterns a lot for O but not much for E, but i’m trying to change that because she loves picking out her own skirt/top combos these days.

i made her skirt a while ago but never blogged it – it’s just a quick no-ribbon lazy days skirt in Heather Ross’ Far Far Away iii linen/cotton blend. i was excited to spot it at Center Diamond last spring and it’s such wonderful apparel fabric. oh and did you see Heather is re-releasing Far Far Away with Windham soon?? can’t wait!!

as you may have noticed, i added a self-drafted kangaroo pocket to this sweater. Liesl talked about doing that here – i think it’s a cute addition to make it look more “sweater-like,” and kids always love pockets!

i backed the pocket with a scrap leftover from this dress – a woven so it’d be more stable to work with. i sewed around it right sides together, trimmed seam allowances and turned it through an opening i left, then topstitched the curvy hand openings. i figured out placement on the sweater and marked each point with water soluble fabric marker, then covered each of those marks with 1” squares of interfacing on the inside so the weight of the pocket wouldn’t pull and create holes in the sweater. then i topstitched it on around all but the curvy hand openings. i used my walking foot for it all since the sweater material was very stretchy and a bit thick.

this is the type of outfit that gets worn around here a lot during Portland springs/summers. our mornings start cool but afternoons are nice and warm, so we layer a lot. she has a couple cardigans in her wardrobe but no pullover sweaters, so it was a nice addition.

honestly though, i’m kinda bummed this new-and-improved version isn’t my size!!

you can see all my kids clothes week projects here.

cars pajamas by request

January 21, 2014January 20, 201431 Comments

this guy, sometimes he just wraps me right around his finger.

he’s a really good errands-runner for a 3 year old. recently i took him along to my midwife appointment, where he was very patient and quiet. when we were back in the car, i asked if he wanted to go home or go to the fabric store with me. HE SAID “I WANNA GO TO THE FABRIC STORE.” i mean seriously!

while we were there (at Bolt of course), he sat and read books at the little table they have set up for kids, then joined me to browse, went straight to this fabric, and was so excited about it, he immediately asked me if i could make him some pajamas out of it.

how am i supposed to resist, i ask you? it was impossible.

he asked for pajama bottoms and a matching shirt, and this is what i came up with. the pants are Rae’s Parsley Pants in a 3T. i knew they’d be big but i wanted them that way – i’m sick and tired of these kids growing out of stuff all the time! fabric is masquerade party by fresh designs for henry glass & co. it’s lightweight for a quilting cotton and really nice as pajamas.

the shirt is the Oliver + S Field Trip Raglan Tee, in a 2T with length added to the arms and body (NEWSFLASH: it’s now available as an individual PDF pattern, plus 25% off through Friday in their January Sale, which makes it less than $7!). i already had the 2T traced from sewing it before and time was of the essence – i sewed this set during his naptime AFTER pre-washing the fabric right when we got home. it was a 4 hour turnaround from deciding on/buying the fabric to finished product and he wore it to bed that night (plus whenever it’s been clean since then)

the raglan is two shirts from my upcycle pile, with appliqué fussy cut car patch so the tops and bottoms “match” (per his request).

this all still wasn’t quick enough for him, though. as soon as we had gotten home from Bolt, he stripped down to his undies and said he was ready to put on his pajamas! had to break it to him that i still had to actually SEW it all first. ha! sewing is magic to 3 year olds. they go to sleep, wake up, and POOF – new clothes.

once i fiiiiinally finished them, though, he was an immediate fan. O loves transportation, the color black, and comfy wear, and i love patterns that are so fast they basically sew themselves. win-win. 😉

floral pocket nightgown

August 22, 2013August 22, 201315 Comments

when i made my first two t-shirt nightgown (and tutorial!), the goal was to recreate Em’s favorite nightie and give her more options to choose from (slash allow us to be lazier about doing laundry). and as the temperature rose and she grew, an upsized, shorter sleeved version was required.

observe the girl in her natural habitat…

nose in a book about a ballerina mouse celebrating a birthday, perched on a chair in her pink room, the girl is cozy in her floral and purple summer nightgown.

her hair is braided before bed so it’s “curly” the next day, per her request…

and she is surrounded by (and wearing) flowers of pink and purple and red.

she displays her nightgown with pride.

i actually cut the bodice for this one quite a while ago, but didn’t finish it until a recent “finish up those UFOs” spree. i wasn’t sure the floral made sense with anything, but once i added pockets, it all tied together nicely. the floral rib knit was a sale rack camisole from old navy, and the purple shirt was a men’s deep v-neck (ALSO sale rack old navy, NOT poached from the husband, hehe).

as with the original two t-shirt nightgown, the bodice and sleeves are based on Rae’s flashback skinny tee. i preserved the existing hems on both the sleeves and skirt for quick and non-wonky knit finishes. the purple shirt is really lightweight and “vintage-y” soft. this nightgown is in constant rotation.

girl is happy.

>> FOOTNOTES >>

– here’s where you can get her white wallflowers (affiliate link).

– lovely wall art is by sarah jane wright (purchased pre-elephant obsession).

– paint color is devine water lily.

– you can get her book here (affiliate link).

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: