I’m so happy to be participating in Kid’s Clothes Week this season. I have been avoiding my sewing machine for months now. Chalk it up to a loss of sew-jo. Even if you love to sew, (or knit, or bake, or code, or run) you don’t have to love it every minute, right? You might even hate it sometimes.

I definitely did not hate making these pants. I used the Mini Hudson pattern by True Bias and I am so glad I did. The pattern is practically perfect: the directions are clear, the drawings are helpful, and WOOOHOO! there are notches. So many indie patterns forgo notches. Do they think they’re old fashioned? Well, I think they are incredibly helpful.  I say, “Bring back the notch!”

The fabric is a sweater print that I picked up a long while back for my cheetah loving boy (see this, this and this). He loved them immediately! But then I knew he would. They are soft, cozy, and cheetah. What more could you ask for?

My kids are going to have to wear uniforms this fall. If the clothes I make them are going to get worn, they have to be of the soft, stretchy variety for after school antics. I see many Mini Hudsons in my future. Do you have any other lounge-y patterns you like?

1. spring 2010 2. fall 2010 3. spring 2011 4. fall 2011 5. spring 2012 6. fall 2012

I feel a little sheepish about writing this post, but I think I should. For the first time almost 5 years, I’m not sewing along this kid’s clothes week. As I pulled together all the buttons from all the KCWs, I counted how many I’ve done. 14!  14 including the very first one where it was just me ;) (more…)

This KCW has been all about making gifts for babies. I thought it would be super quick and I could crank em out. Not so. As I’ve gotten better at sewing, I’ve gotten slower. Seems counterintuitive, I know. Yes, I can sew faster, but now when I make things I want to make them better not faster. That means slowing down and ironing a hem before I sew it–pinning it even! [just as an aside: I listened to a podcast where the interviewee, Soyna Phillip, said the same thing. It’s a good one, go listen! ] (more…)

The theme for this season’s KCW is STORYBOOK. I have a lot of favorite kids’ books, but this one is my favorite favorite. It’s fun to read, which is a must when it comes to kid’s books. I hate slogging through poorly written bleh books (I’m looking at you Berenstain Bears). But I Can Fly is wonderfully written, which is not a big surprise seeing that it’s by the great children’s book author, Ruth Krauss. She’s written some fantastic books. A Hole is to Dig is really good too: random and perfectly kid. (more…)

Hello! Sorry I haven’t been updating the old elsie marley, but I’ve been working on the new season of Kid’s Clothes Week! There is so much good stuff going on over there! This season’s theme is STORYBOOK (good, right?!). Our amazing contributors have been hard at work coming up with clever ways you can use that theme.

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