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.

kcw spring 2014 :: baseball raglan

April 8, 2014April 7, 201410 Comments

i think we can all pretty much agree that the best part of sewing for our kids is indulging their idiosyncrasies and obsessions, right? for instance, if your kid insists on dressing like a “sports boy” most days but thankfully doesn’t know about brands yet, you can go ahead and make him a shirt with a baseball on it and he will be one happy camper.

i upcycled my old tank top plus a maternity shirt whose blues complemented each other nicely. since this KCW has a “mini me” theme, i’ve decided to use fabric from my upcycle stash as much as possible this week.

the pattern is the Oliver + S field trip raglan tee (available with cargo pants or standalone) sewn in a 2T…but i used existing hems and still cut the shirt body to the cutline (even though i didn’t have to hem it) to gain a bit of length and make it fit more like a 3T. i also cut the sleeves to be short sleeves (the pattern comes with long sleeves) and preserved the existing hems there too.

i only had the baby’s naptime to sew and he’s an unpredictable napper, so even though i should’ve made the 3T outright, i sewed what was already traced out on my table.

aren’t those blues nice? i love that raglan tees make color blocking so fun and easy.

on the front, i freezer paper stenciled a baseball. O is quite the little t-ball player (in our backyard) and i knew he’d like it. i just sketched it super quickly onto freezer paper (after my basketball and soccer ball attempts didn’t work), drew over it with a sharpie to thicken the lines a bit, then quickly cut it out with x-acto knife. i wanted it to look a bit messy/sketchy like i’ve been seeing around the Pinterests lately.

i showed it to him and he said “oooh can i put it on right now?!”

woo!

now maybe i can clear a couple 18-24 month shirts that he still squeezes himself into out of his drawer?

the littlest fella actually napped long enough for me to start some shorts for O, too. i went into this KCW cold (nothing cut out or prepped and only vague ideas of what i want to make) so i’m just taking it as i can. if the baby sleeps in his bed for any stretch of time, i’ll sew like the dickens!!!!!

seersucker bodysuit

April 4, 2014April 3, 201416 Comments

are you ready for a generous friday serving of chubby baby legs? thought so.

those adorable gams belong to my nephew, who is once again modeling a pattern i tested for Oliver + S – the bodysuit from the Lullaby Layette Set.

the pattern recommends light to medium weight woven material (though it can also be sewn in knit too as Tara shows!). i knew i wanted it in a lightweight fabric, so i used an orange and gray plaid seersucker from Hancock Fabrics (with Jess again!) and tried to cut carefully because I still want to make a shirt for O with it too. it’s a great summerweight shirting.

i made size 3-6 months for my 4 month nephew (just like with the jacket) and it fit him pretty loosely. in my opinion the tester version’s shape was a bit too bubbly for boy babies and think it may have been slimmed down a bit in the final version, but i’m not sure. it still looks mighty cute with pants!

all the snaps (6 here, 3 on the jacket) got me pretty comfortable with those even though snaps have been a dreaded technique of mine forever. i think the fact that i sprang for these pliers (affiliate link) made a huge difference – they work way better for me than the plastic snap set you have to hit with a hammer and just feel more accurate, too.

while i always seem to take forever to sew plackets, the instructions on this one were clean and clear (of course) and the elastic casings at the legs were frustration-free too.

i think this bodysuit would be super cute sleeveless in stripes for summertime like a little old timey strong boy, or with a little peter pan collar added (for girls, obviously). also if you didn’t catch Cherie’s tutorial for adding ruffle sleeves, go check it out! so cute.

hey spring kids clothes week is next week! did you sign up yet? i can never help myself and always end up sewing for KCW, even when my sewing time is super scarce like it is these days. might just need to keep it simple again. O had a growth spurt which has made getting him dressed in the mornings a bit difficult, so he’s sort of my priority #1, though it’s always hard to resist pretty dress sewing too!!

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*

lullaby layette tiny man jacket

March 21, 2014March 21, 201411 Comments

i made this little jacket so long ago! before christmas! but now that the Lullaby Layette Pattern has been released, it’s bloggin’ time.

i was so excited to hear that Oliver + S was working on a layette pattern. most of their patterns start for slightly older babies, so it’s fun to have options for the little ones now. the pattern contains FOUR different cute little baby things to sew – a bodysuit, a shirt, pants, and this jacket. the sizing starts at 0-3 months and goes up to 24 months, so it’ll last quite a while and would make for great baby shower gift sewing, too.

i actually pattern tested the jacket and bodysuit, the first time i’ve pattern tested for Oliver + S, and it was a great experience. the reason i love pattern testing is i get to see the behind the scenes process of patternmaking, and with Oliver + S it was especially fun to get previews of the upcoming patterns, since they tend to be pretty hush hush until release. i was totally flattered to be asked and took the responsibility seriously – i know a lot of work goes into making patterns as good as theirs. the pattern was already pretty darn solid though – i didn’t have to do too much. 😉

i sewed the 3-6 month size for my (at the time) 4 month old nephew, shown here. my own baby boy was still in my belly! i wanted it to be a “manly” baby jacket, so i upcycled my husband’s khaki shorts for the body. i lined it with a pair of flannel pajama pants that were also my husband’s and added a little twill tape loop at the back neck. the jacket can be totally reversible if you want it to be, and the lining of the sleeves is very cleverly done.

please disregard the plaid mismatch – i didn’t try to match it but apparently on one side i matched it perfectly! not so on the other. drat. but i do love how the plaid peeks out when you fold up the sleeves.

i used store-bought double fold bias tape and size 16 snaps to finish the jacket (both larger than recommended by the pattern). now that i look at these photos, i want to make another for my own little guy (or see if my nephew has grown out of this one yet…).

a couple of my bloggy friends have sewn adorable versions of the Lullaby Layette jacket – you have to check out Tara’s tiny sherpa boy (that hat! Tara’s styling is always so good!) and Cherie’s awesome girl version that had me beelining it to the store for neon bias tape. both of those gals also happen to have ridiculously adorable babies, which helps matters.

i’ll show you the bodysuit in a bit! gotta do everything in small chunks of time these days.