Category: kcwc

guest posting at elsie marley!

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listen.  i’ve only been blogging for 6.5 months.  when i get comments, it’s super exciting.  when i get emails from bloggers that i have been inspired by for years asking ME to guest post or pattern test for them, it completely blows my mind!

my mind is STILL blown by the fact that meg of elsie marley asked me to contribute to her weeklong leadup to her fall kids clothes week challenge (KCWC) with a tutorial for fun details to add to kids’ clothes.  meg was one of the first people to feature something i had sewn on her blog (my christmas party dress), and it was around then that i realized what an amazing little community sewing bloggers are.  so supportive of each other!  anyway, my post is up TODAY!  i made an oliver + s sailboat top for O from another of my husband’s oh-so-soft cotton knit j.crew sweaters, and added little elbow patches in herringbone flannel.  the cozy fall hoodie i made for Em was my first try at this elbow patch endeavor, as you now may have guessed.

KCWC is really fun, and it’s a great way to find new blogs and make some new internet friends, too!  won’t you come visit me at elsie marley?

oh who am i kidding, i’m sure 99% of my visitors today are visiting from THERE!  welcome, take a look around, and feel free to stay awhile!  🙂

kcwc spring 2011: days 6 & 7

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final post for the kid’s clothes week challenge.  due to a couple of ill-timed nap strikes by the little fella below, this is all i could muster.  i finished it yesterday evening, under the wire.  i have a couple of other items that i haven’t quite completed, but i’m ready to move on with other bloggie topics (like em’s 3rd birthday party!) and i’ll come back to my sewing posts in due time.

this last project, another boy applique, is a “meeting people is easy” onesie that i’m really excited about.

my husband and i are big radiohead fans, and all through college i would doodle these two little business guys from the cover of the documentary.  see them in the bottom left corner?

i love to applique onesies for my little guy, but sometimes have trouble with inspiration.  this idea just hit me one day, and i had to make it happen.
it looks like he’s sort of doing an “ok” sign with his right hand there, sooo appropriate since the documentary follows the band while they’re on tour for ok computer, right?
(baby smiling in backseat)

kcwc spring 2011: days 4 & 5

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i fizzled out on sewing after getting home late yesterday.  a skirt is cut and partially sewn, but not finished.  then both kids went on a bit of a nap strike today (friday the 13th!), and we have out-of-town friends on their way to stay with us as i write, so i probably won’t sew again until sunday afternoon.

HOWEVER!  we  had a little photoshoot this morning, coupled with an alice-in-wonderland-backyard-breakfast-tea party-picnic.  the tea was actually cocoa.  she loved it.  please enjoy these natural light photos of the bucket hat and ruffle dress, which is a hit, by the way…


there, now i feel better.

kcwc spring 2011: day 3

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ooooo, i’m excited about this one.  sometimes i pick out fabrics and i think they’ll probably work, but when the garment is actually sewn, the fabric takes on a life of its own and turns out much better than i expected.  this is one of those cases.  i had been on the hunt for about a year to find the perfect stripe to mimic the pattern in the book, and i finally found this one (yes, at bolt again).  it’s skinny lines in misty gray by sweetwater for moda.  the book shows white lining, and but i only had this light blue batiste.  i got a little worried, because my daughter sometimes revolts against muted colors, but then i realized IT LOOKS KIND OF LIKE ALICE IN WONDERLAND!  she is on a major disney movie kick, so i think this is my selling point.

a little bit, right?  a modern interpretation.  haha.

the pattern is the dress with ruffle trim in “carefree clothes for girls” by junko okawa, my first project from that book, which i’ve had for a long time.  i’ve sewn other japanese patterns here and here (actually written in japanese, which i don’t speak), and i love them.  they’re simple, but look so nice.  i always learn new techniques too.

this one challenged me because all of the edges are left unfinished.  i tend to finish my seams more than i need to sometimes (love a french seam), so it was hard to leave them as is.  but i really like the juxtaposition of the clean bias-bound neckline and arm holes with the raw ruffle.

this is one i almost woke my daughter up to try on tonight…can’t wait for tomorrow morning!

UPDATE: i forgot to mention that i shortened the dress by 1″ and didn’t add side or shoulder seam allowances to adapt it to a 3T instead of a 4T.  she tried it on today and it is still a bit big on her, but wearable, and i bet by the summer it’ll fit pretty well.  she’s also buying it as an “alice” dress, and couldn’t wait to show grandma today (“grandma will love it!”).  calling it a success.

kcwc spring 2011: day 2

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well, i tackled the ruffle dress i’ve been wanting to make for over a year (from “carefree clothes for girls”), but it’s not quite done yet.  turns out i probably should head to bed earlier then midnight when there’s a chance that my 5-month-old may decide to give me a 4:45am “i’m hungry mama!” wake up call like he did this morning.  i’m getting a little blinky and i don’t want to make dumb mistakes,  so i’m calling it a night.  sneak peek:

to be continued tomorrow…