KCWC Day 6 and 7

Baby tired of having photo taken

Last day of KCWC was yesterday and I made this little top here. It matches the pants I made the day before, but I'm not sure how often she will wear them together. This is the second time I violated my rule of not buying anything for KCWC- I purchased the pattern for this little top late in the week. It is called "The Amelia Top" and I bought it from Mama Stellato. It is very easy to make, and is a very sweet pattern- and it goes up to a size 5 so it will be good to have on hand for the next few years. It would be cute lengthened into a dress and with flutter sleeves added too for summer. (Can you hear me justify my purchase to myself!?)

The fabric for this dress was from a handmade pillow case I got for free at the Salvation Army Shop. I was getting a few things and this was not tagged, so the sweet old man just threw it in for no charge.

It has been a great week of sewing and flexing my blogger muscle for a bit too. My machine desperately needs a service as the tension is all out (it was a struggle to make this last garment), so I'd better get onto that now. And get some things to make something for Caleb!

Thanks Meg @ Elsie Marley for Kids Clothes Week Challenge! What a ride.

KCWC Day 5 and 6

Getting a good picture of a toddler is hard work, but when you are also trying to get a clear picture of what they are wearing, it is a job for the professionals! (For this post we will have to make do with me and my iPhone.) 

I wanted to make another pair of pants for Eve, and the best fabric for the job that I had on hand was brown fine-whale cord. Not the world's most inspiring of fabrics. 

Then, I came across this adorable pair of shorts in the KCWC flickr pool and loved them, and they got me thinking about combining the cord with another fabric to relieve it of its oppressive brown-ness. I was going to try and replicate the ties and pocket at the top of the shorts on Hart & Sew, but in the end remembered a little pair of cords I bought last winter for Eve that had bows on the pockets, so pulled them out to see if I could work out how they were made and gave it a go. It was fiddly to be sure, but not too hard. I'll see how they wash up. I used this tutorial to hem the pants in the contrasting fabric. 

I also used the flat front pants tutorial from MADE to adjust my pants pattern, and it was so easy with a really pleasing result. I am loving brown cord now!

I can fly!

Now to the shirt. I am inspired by folk who make their own t-shirts, but I haven't gone there yet. This is a basic tee from KMart. Eve is loving this book at the moment, so I scanned the cover, printed it on printable fabric and appliqued it on with "heat and bond lite" and a zig zag stitch. I have used this printable fabric before on a t-shirt and it does fade (not so good) and soften (good!) considerably with time, but it is fun while it lasts! My seven year old son was worried that I was violating copyright. Am I? It is purely for personal use of course, so I hope I am not, I am a rule follower at the end of the day. Please excuse the threads hanging in the photo. I wish I could be bothered photoshopping them out, but I can't. They are easier to fix up in real life.

I might take a better pic of the pants on a hanger tomorrow along with the little coordinating top I just finished sewing a minute ago. This week has been surprisingly productive. Who would have thought? 

KCWC Day 4

I am a bit behind on my blogging of the week, but I am sewing up a storm!

I really wanted to make something for Caleb and have come up with some ideas, but they all involved buying something substantial like FABRIC, or a trip to the oppy for something to refashion... and it is always risky to go to the oppy for something specific. He has such a gentle, empathetic spirit that once I explained it to him, he was OK. But I have promised to make him something for winter in the near future.

Besides, Eve really does need new clothes, even with Jemima hand me downs. I cleverly had my girls in opposing seasons, and would you believe Jemima still wears the majority of skirts I made for her as a toddler? They are getting shorter each year, but they are still working for now.

So here is a skirt for Eve made out of the same denim fabric as Jemima's and also with some white lacey trim peeking out the bottom (of a different sort.) The pockets were an idea taken from this MADE tute. 

The crocheted bow you can hardly see is something else I have made (albeit many months ago now), using the crochet bow pattern from Too Sweets Patterns. I have made over ten crocheted bows, and they all turned out cute. It's quite an easy little pattern if you have been doing some basic crochet (like granny squares) for a while.

Back to KCWC: I have spent Day 4 and 5 sewing something I am really proud of, but I will post it when I get a photo of Eve wearing it.

I must also confess I broke my rule (sorry Caleb) and bought some plain long sleeved t-shirts for Eve, one of which I have already appliqued which I will pop in my next post.

KCWC Day 3

The hour today resulted in a finished skirt that has already had its first public outing. It's not the kind of skirt that will blow anyone's mind, but I am really happy with it. It will be a good winter staple. The ruffle trim and fabric for the secret squirrel pockets were given to me, and the denim was left over from another project.

This photo is unnecessary in the context of the post, but it's a cute face!

I'm not sure what to do next... in the interests of fairness to my boy child, I would like to make something for him, but he is getting big- and I don't have any big bits of fabric in the stash. Maybe a refashion...? Perhaps tomorrow's hour will just be digging around in the old clothes pile.

KCWC Day 1 (and 2)

So I surprised myself somewhat by starting and finishing a garment in one day. These are the pants that I planned to make for Eve this week- and that was the only thing I had in mind when I signed up on Sunday. So really, anything else from here is a bonus. They did take me longer than an hour, but the kids were happy so I just kept going. Then once they were in bed, all that needed to happen was the hemming, so I thought I might as well polish them off.

Day 2: I've been working on a very simple skirt for Jemima that I have had in my head for a while. I kept changing my mind on the pocket question, and kept making hilarious mistakes, so there is nothing much to show for my hour's work today. Tomorrow perhaps.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge

At the very last minute, I have decided to sign up for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge over at Elsie Marley. 

I have nearly joined in every time since it began, and I don't have decent reasons for not doing so.

Photo by ESJAYcreative in 2010

If I get a simple pair of denim pants made for little Eve, I will be happy! I have heaps of cherry fabric left over from this dress (above) I made Jemima a few years ago now. I am thinking of doing something with that, maybe with knee patches and pockets? Better get thinking, it starts tomorrow!