mustard stripe sailboat top

August 13, 2013August 13, 201314 Comments

HI! so i decided to take a little summer blog break last week, but now i’m back. not much summer left, you guys!!

i’m excited about this post today because it was a gift that i sewed sort of last minute before i gave it and didn’t get photos, so i didn’t think i’d be able to blog it…but now i get to!

this is Miles. i’ve made him quite a few things in in his 3 years (look how much he’s grown since his cars backpack!). we’re good friends with his folks, who live out of town, but we get to see them every few months. i made this Oliver + S Sailboat Top for his birthday, but didn’t get photos of him wearing it back during their last visit in June (don’t worry, we got the kid some hot wheels and a pretty sweet track too – honestly this shirt was more for his mother’s benefit).

they came to visit again last weekend, and brought the shirt along so i could get photos of him wearing it! yay!

the fabric is a men’s long sleeve shirt from the old navy sale rack. it’s a heavy jersey knit, a nice layering weight and easy to sew with. i made a 3T and i was surprised it fit him PERFECTLY…i was hoping for a bit more growing room actually, but it still fits great a couple months after original gifting, so phew. the Sailboat Top remains my all-time favorite garment to sew for boys. to me it’s the perfect balance of style/boyishness and with neck and hem facings, it’s a quick one. if you sew it in knit, don’t forget to interface under those buttonholes! pretty sure i sewed this shirt using my walking foot, too.

Miles is constantly on the go and not used to posing for blog photos, but he’ll happily follow Em up a lilac bush or jump around the yard. holding still…not so much his fave.

i kinda love his smolder here though…even if he does look a tad fed up with our 30 second photoshoot. 😉

parsley shorts

July 30, 2013July 29, 20139 Comments

i started these little shorts from parsley pants as a gift for a friend’s kid, but it went horribly wrong, so i wrapped them up during a recent afternoon of finishing unfinished things.

i cut them them before Rae posted her “how to turn parsley pants into shorts” tute, which would’ve been VERY helpful since i “did it wrong” and the shorts ended up uneven and then i had to chop more length off to make them even and then they would’ve been too short to give to the intended recipient…so O got them!

they’re made from robert kaufman yarn dyed black linen with echino bus pockets (i got it from Bolt long ago, my lovely sponsor Drygoods Design has green bikes and black buses in laminated cotton if you’re looking for similar!).

i think i cut out a 3T so they’re nice and roomy on O, and i love the linen for summertime.

plus in true boy fashion, he likes transportation. his shirt is car-inspired, his shorts have buses on them!

gratuitious belly shot!

kcw summer 2013:: daddypants shorts

July 20, 2013July 20, 201313 Comments

took a little mid-week break from kids clothes week, but i’m back with some shorts for the boy with a fresh haircut.

i used Dana’s KID shorts pattern, same pattern i used for his sister’s earlier this week, only this time i made the 2T boy length version with a full gathered waistband.

and, like the shorts i made his sister, i LOVE the fit of these on him. i was worried that they looked a bit boring and “British schoolboy” when they were done, but when worn, they don’t look that way. just a good basic pair of shorts.

the fabric is from a pair of my husband’s old chinos, a heavy navy twill. i used a larger needle (14 i think), double stitched the hem, and added a little twill tape tab as an ode to Dana. 😉

my kids are both on the slender side for their ages (like 10th percentile weight or less, in Em’s case) so be aware of that if you’re making these shorts – they fit MY kids perfectly but my kids are kinda little – a 2T might be large on him in many pattern brands. however, for me this is the perfect shorts pattern and i think it’s totally worth the $6 price tag. they fit him great now… and it’s summertime now!

i also appreciate that for a kid this age, i don’t NEED fancy zip flies or welt pockets or anything to make them “pass” as storebought – the heavier fabric is enough. kinda nice!

i might have one more KCW project in me, we’ll see. it’s all cut out at least!

kcw summer 2013 :: ampersandwich tee

July 17, 2013July 17, 201320 Comments

kid’s clothes week project two is approximately my 543rd flashback skinny tee. it’s just kind of the perfect pattern for so many things that i want to make. little guy grows faster than his sister and is messier too, so today’s necessity project is for him.

this shirt used to be mine. my husband got it for me a few years ago and it’s really cool, buuuuut….it’s an american apparel shirt, which means it’s TINY. like uncomfortably small even though the size fits me in every other brand. so finally, rather than sitting in my drawer unworn, this very soft (feels vintage but it’s not) tee turned into a comfy little shirt for O.

it’s an ampersandwich. get it?

he calls it a “hangaburger.”

i sewed it in a 3T, a size up from his normal, because i made it short sleeved and wanted it to fit more loosely. i saved the factory hems on the sleeves (tips on that here) but hemmed the bottom with my twin needle/walking foot. something skipped while i sewed and it got slightly wonky, but probably not too noticeable.

he likes it. this boy lurves his ironic tees.

you can find all of my KCW projects here.

film petit: napoleon dynamite

June 13, 2013June 13, 201349 Comments

it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy as…

Napoleon Dynamite, GOSH!

Napoleon Dynamite came out in 2004 and its mythical creature-obsessed title character and his funny speech patterns captured the imagination of America for a few years there (haha). really – i’d never met a kid like Napoleon…but a HS teacher friend of mine from a smaller town said yes, she’s taught kids just like him – they really exist. this movie is just a fun tale of social awkwardness, fitting in or not at all, getting standing ovations for crazy dances…and it’s a joy. it feels like real kids somewhere doing random stuff rather than “fake high school” like you normally see in movies. it celebrates being different and awkward and i love it.

film petit: napoleon dynamite

so the movie tells the story of a group of high schoolers and a few adults, and in true film petit fashion, we’ve largely split them up across the three blogs. i initially chose just Deb, but once i started sewing her outfit, i realized it wasn’t quite enough to “sell” the look. so i decided to sew Uncle Rico too, and recreate the super awkward yet hilarious “Glamour Shots by Deb” scene!

Deb, played by Tina Majorino, is a shy girl with a very strong sense of style and ambition – she’s always dressed in the height of 80s/90s fashion, she sells homemade handicrafts for college money, makes her own puffy sleeves for the school dance, runs a glamour shots studio out of her bedroom…she’s basically every sewing blogger’s former self. 😉

Just imagine you’re weightless. You’re in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by tiny seahorses.

so Em is Deb. i designed the shawl collar shirt with french sleeves which i sewed out of a thrifted pillowcase (major score!), and made her leggings out of peachy interlock knit using my Go To Leggings pattern. i realized you very rarely see Deb’s legs in the movie so i just had to guess her pant selection…but i remember my little sister wore tons of leggings all through the ’90s, so i figured that was a good bet.

the shirt was pretty funny to sew in that awful polyester, and the hot pink fanny pack was a must. i just kind of made it up on the fly, and it goes around her waist with thick elastic. and of course she rocks the side pony and multiple bracelets. here she is ensuring that her photo backdrop is perfectly set.

and who is it set for…? why, uncle rico of course!

Rico (played by Jon Gries) is the crazy uncle that comes to stay with Napoleon and his brother, Kip, while their grandma recovers from a sand dune accident. he tries all sorts of “get rich quick” schemes during his stay, and decides that he needs an official photo to put on his official name badge. he goes to Deb.

i knew this outfit would be soooo fun to sew for O, and he was totally cracking me up with his mustache (which he loved, and totally cried when i wiped it off) and chambray outfit and big ol’ brown shirt underneath and daddy’s watch (again). i mean come on!

the vest was self-designed starting with the flashback skinny tee as a basic pattern block. i was proud of figuring out how to put a fully lined vest together cleanly with no bindings, and definitely see making more of these for this little guy. the shirt underneath is blank slate patterns’ perfect polo, with the collar extended 1/2″ to add to Rico’s “stuck in the 70s” look. my mom saw a photo of the polo and thought i bought it, which is a testament to Melissa’s design!

his pants are the parsley pants i blogged here, and in his full chambray and brown outfit, he coulda been state champ.

the kids loved pretending to have a photoshoot with my Holga (which they thought was digital, as you can see above) and then Rico even turned the photoshoot around on Deb!

okay! now that our photoshoot-within-a-photoshoot is over, you MUST go check out what my partners sewed!

our guest Delia from Delia Creates went way above and beyond, sewing TWO versions of Napoleon, one Pedro Sanchez, and a different Uncle Rico too! AAAAAND she took photos at actual filming locations! AAAAAAAAAAND she designed and photographed our food plate titles at the top of this post! she’s a rockstar. visit her blog and bring chapstick, ‘cuz her lips hurt real bad! thanks so much for joining us, Delia!

my partner Jessica from a little gray picked some hilarious inspiration when she chose to sew Rex Kwon Do dojo duds for her little guy, and make her little GAL a Napoleon shirt and shorts! friggin SWEET. go check it out!

>> > > >< < < <<

here are the guidelines for film petit:

every month or so, Jessica and i (plus a guest blogger) sew an outfit (or outfits) for our kid (or kids) inspired by a movie we love.
please add any of your movie-inspired kid sewing to the film petit flickr group. if you sew along with our film petit choices, we’d love to see that too!
this is a pretty relaxed series, really the only rule is to make outfits for kids based on films you love. if you have any questions, please let either of us know.
film petit archives: the life aquatic with steve zissou, amélie, fantastic mr. fox, psycho, moonrise kingdom, ferris bueller’s day off, the big lebowski, back to the future

P.S. This post contains affiliate links which means i receive a small commission if you click through to Amazon or Go To Patterns, and I received the Perfect Polo from my lovely sponsor Blank Slate Patterns for free.

P.P.S. EAT THE FOOD!