typewriter heart pillow

April 22, 2014April 22, 201412 Comments

my little niece turned 3 recently, and a couple weeks before her birthday my sis asked me if i could sew a quilted pillow to go in her “big girl room.” she gave me a sham from the bedding set she had ordered to coordinate with, and set me loose design-wise. her new bedding was inspired by the balloon dress i made that she seems to be wearing every time i see her lately – it sure does make you feel good to sew a gift that is so well loved, ya know? i was actually going to sew her another dress until this request came in. 😉

i decided to make a simple log cabin pillow showcasing some special fabric. i wanted it to have enough contrast to stand out against the pink/cream balloon bedding my sis had bought (see below) didn’t want it to be too serious – it had to have whimsy! and i happen to think typewriters typing hearts with gold polka dots is pretty darn whimsical.

my friend ~~Kelly~~ (nope, Kelly says not her – probably Jess but she can’t remember) had given me a fat quarter of this super special Ruby Star Rising typewriter fabric (Melody Miller for Kokka – couldn’t find the typewriters online but Superbuzzy and Miss Matatabi have some Ruby Star Rising left). it was so generous of her – i’d never owned any of Melody’s fabric but always admired it, and i’m ridiculously excited about cotton + steel, too!

it pained me to do it, but i trimmed off a few inches on each side, then added a 1” border of dear stella confetti sparkle and then a 1.5” border of kona charcoal.

i backed it with more confetti sparkle and a scrap of kokka polka dots from this coat. i ended up super happy with this fabric combination…it just made me smile when i brought it all together.

the quilting is a diagonal grid 2” apart – consulted Jess for quilting advice and whether to add the second boarder, sometimes I have trouble with quilting vision and she has it in spades. it’s hard to show in photos but i love how the darker border splits up the polka dots and makes the front look like it’s floating in a frame.

i also made a little raw edged heart pillow with scraps from Em’s hide-and-seek dress. it’s got a little Liberty pocket for secret treasures (or maybe baby teeth, when it’s time for her to lose some!). Em stuffed it for me!

i felt like it needed a special (wonkily) hand stitched touch, so i stitched around the bottom right typewriter heart with embroidery thread. the pillow closes with an invisible zipper and there’s a down pillow inside (from IKEA).

the little gal seemed to be a fan and it went really well in her room! these photos were actually taken in Em’s new room (she switched with the boys before C’s birth but i can’t do a proper tour for ya until i sew her some curtains, sorry).

quilted pillows are such a fun gift to give!

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.

springtime hide-and-seek dress

March 25, 2014March 24, 201428 Comments

new favorite dress.

i think i mentioned in my garden party dress post that when i saw that pattern in the lineup of the new Oliver + S designs, it seemed so much like Em’s style i gravitated toward it first. but then, i started seeing more versions of the hide-and-seek dress popping up (Gail’s, and Delia’s, and Sarvi’s, and Sanae’s) and they were all so different and great, it made me wanna give the hide-and-seek a whirl.

so i gave it a whirl, and i’m really glad i did. this dress makes me so happy!

without realizing it, i used the exact same main fabric that Gail did, just in a different color! it’s andover chambray in eggplant, i love it! it’s really nice stuff – the perfect weight for apparel and so versatile. i think the eggplant looks great with Em’s coloring.

it was a rare online fabric purchase for me – i bought the chambray from LiMa Sews, one of Gail’s sponsors and a local gal with an online shop. you should check her out, there’s some great stuff in there! oh and the yoke? yeah it’s actually super special Liberty Tana Lawn (in Wiltshire). my good buddy Jess sent a few fat quarters to me as a very generous thank you for “Tim Gunning her” as she won Project Run & Play a couple years ago, and i’ve been hoarding it until just the right moment. that moment was NOW.

a fat quarter was the perfect amount for yoke and lining the pockets – i have only the tiniest scraps left! for a pretty little extra detail, i added a bit of scalloped trim to the front yoke in a subtle nod to the fringe Allison used on her adorable pattern cover version.

i made a 4T and added an inch to the skirt length for extra longevity. otherwise, this is view A with no mods. i can’t stop thinking the 4T is going to be too big on Em, but she has grown and it’s definitely her size now!

we had some beautiful weather last weekend, perfect “go take photos in the park then play at the playground” weather, eh?

i actually had trouble visualizing this dress before i made it – i just picked pretty fabrics and hoped it all came together in a nice way. i was surprised that it ended up with a sweet and lovely French vibe (i’d imagine anyway – i’ve never actually been to France).

it’s cool to me that Liesl has the vision to design so many different dress shapes – it’s impressive! the way this dress comes together is interesting, with tons of room to change it up using different fabrics in different places. i realized as i made it that the seaming is sort of like the school photo dress, though they don’t look that similar at first glance.

springtime hide and seek dress

i love the cuffed sleeves, the neckline notch, the (easy to construct i promise) welt pockets (which Em didn’t take her hands out of during the whole shoot!). it’s an easy and comfortable dress for her to wear – she looked too fancy to be climbing on the play structure and spinning on the tire swing after these photos, but it’s actually a practical (washable) playtime dress!

lately i haven’t been rushing my sewing – i’ve been choosing projects where i can relax and enjoy the process. and though it may seem like i’m blogging/sewing quite a bit, this dress sat all cut out and not sewn for nearly a week because i just couldn’t get to it. sewing and blogging took another few days even though i was excited about it. i just have to spread out my process right now and that’s fine!

PS – i got the pattern for free from Oliver + S. and here’s a dirty little secret – i skipped the understitching and didn’t use the buttonhole guide AT ALL! *gasp*

pot o’ gold nessie top

March 17, 2014March 17, 201417 Comments

leapin’ leprechauns, it’s St. Paddy’s Day!

and this lass needed a new shirt!

Em’s school has a uniform, but for St. Patrick’s Day she could wear green. she didn’t have a top that’d work, though, and she was super excited to brainstorm the outfit together on our way home from school last week.

well actually she wanted a new dress, but i was able to convince her that she already has a skirt with SHAMROCKS ON IT so that saved me a bit of work. 😉 details about the skirt right here. we picked the fabric for the top together, and the rest of the outfit is her choice – i just set out the gold shoes which she was ecstatic about. a holiday centered around gold and rainbows is a winner in her book.

the shirt is the Nessie Top Pattern by Craftiness is not Optional. i’d previously made one for my niece and love the sweet girly shape of it. the 4T was a bit big when i tried it on Em at Christmastime, so I knew it would probably fit now after a few months of growing.

i made it with short sleeves and didn’t hem the sleeves or bottom for extra flutter. the fabric is a lightweight green slub knit that’s upcycled from an old dress of mine. the skirt of the dress was pieced so i used one of those seams down the back of the shirt, and i like the look (and drape).

i painted some ultra suede with gold fabric paint (affiliate link) and zigzagged it onto the shirt with metallic gold thread to create a little “pot o’ gold” pocket. that’s her favorite part.

this is not the first time i’ve done last minute sewing for St. Patrick’s Day.

did you make anything green for your kids/you to wear? it’s kind of a fun one to sew for since it’s only based on color, so the clothes can easily be worn later and can be as fancy/casual as you want.

my husband made her lunch – bagel and GREEN cream cheese! I can’t wait to hear what she thinks of that! I think it’s pretty cute. 🙂

meadow garden party dress

March 11, 2014March 11, 201424 Comments

the spring Oliver + S patterns are here! hooray!

there are three new patterns and they’re all pretty darn cute, as you can see in their announcement post. i was actually a pattern tester for the Lullaby Layette and i’ll post about that later, but the Garden Party Dress (available on paper or digitally) is the one that really stood out to me as being perfect for Em as soon as i saw it.

isn’t it just so pretty and springy and romantic? i love it and Em does too – in fact the photoshoot went something like “hey mom let’s pretend i’m a real princess” and then her pulling out the drama like so…

meadow garden party dress

and so…

meadow garden party dress

her version of a princess is apparently quite solemn, though she hammed up a few crazy zombie faces too at the end, haha. and yeah, we have daffodils blooming in our yard. i’m sorry to those of you still buried in snow! spring is coming, we promise.

about the Garden Party Dress! it’s got a lovely gathered bodice that, to me, looked like more work to construct than it actually was – there’s quite a bit of basting and gathering, but it still came together surprisingly fast.

i made View A (dress with cap sleeves) in a size 4 and added 1.5” to the hem length because she’s still a beanpole. i’m glad i added the length – it hits her just below the knee and should last her through the summer (hopefully maybe). the pattern calls for 1.75 yards of fabric but i think i made it in 1.5 yards or less…so if you have a perfect yard and a half in your stash, you could probably make it work with careful cutting. that’s what i’m hoping anyway, because i have quite a few cuts that size!

the neckline facing and simple single button keyhole closure in the back lead to a quick, clean finish. Em chose the red button. i made an aqua thread chain out of embroidery floss (Oliver + S has a tutorial here – i just made a loop and then tied square knots around the loop string until it was reinforced into a sort of twisty friendship bracelet from my childhood type deal).

the design gives you a chance to play with fabric choice and really change the look of the dress, which is always fun. here i wanted to really play up the garden party theme and make it in a modern floral, so i chose a print from Leah Duncan’s gorgeous new line for Art Gallery Fabrics, Meadow.

i love every print in the Meadow line (and everything Leah Duncan does, really), but this simple line drawing floral stood out and seemed so sweet for spring. it’s called “Lea’s Bloom in Clearwater” and i got it at Bolt, you can find it here online. i paired it with a royal blue kona cotton for the trim. it’s always a risk picking blue for Em, but she approved and called it beautiful, so we were good to go.

it felt great to sew a dress for Em, and dresses with sleeves are a must for her school dress code, so this is a practical addition to her wardrobe.

head over to probably actually to check out Gail’s beautiful version of this dress (in another Meadow print, coincidentally!), and over to you & mie to see Cherie’s adorable layette jacket (fantastically modern fabric combo!). and if you’re still not convinced, you can find more details on this and the other new Oliver + S patterns right here.

happy spring sewing!

p.s. i was given a copy of the garden party dress with no strings attached; my opinions are my own.