I had planned for this post to be a little more colorful, with some nice bright tees and crazy socks, but the boys insisted on being perfectly matchy-matchy (their words) right down to matching bare feet.  This’ll be yur summertime business casual for boys.

the pattern: This is a new pants pattern for me. I wanted to try it because it was a slimmer cut than my beloved pattern from Happy Homemade Vol. 2 and it had a back yoke (you know that sort of V-shaped part in the back of your jeans). The pattern is from a japanese sewing book called Polka Drops, or rather maybe the series is called polka drops and this specific book is called something else entirely. I know absolutely no Japanese, so your guess is as good as mine. If you follow the link, you’ll see the pants on the front cover.

the fabric: The fabric is the same dyed ikea curtain I used for my daughter’s skirt. I also used the same fabric for the purple pockets that I used in her skirt and for her Ayashe blouse too.

the sewing: The actual sewing of the pants went really well. There were pockets and flat felled seams and it all went swimmingly. The fit though, the fit is crap. They are a nice width–not wide leg, not skinny–but they are way too big in the crotch (it is an awful word, I know, but there isn’t any other that works). If I hike them up old man style, then they fit right, but eventually the crotch gets all saggy again. I don’t really know how to adjust the fit so it’s better. Maybe next time I’ll lob off some of the top on the pattern. If you have any suggestions I’m all ears. Even though my boys do like them (and love that they match) and they will get worn, every time they do wear them the phrase saggy crotch will go through my head. Not pleasant!

Here are some amazing clothes that will have you thinking only lovely things when you see them:

1. gingham dress

2. taming the beast

3. beetlebroek

4. knot shorts upside down 

There isn’t room here on the blog to show off all the super fantastic garments in the flickr pool, so I’ve been featuring some on facebook throughout the day too.

Yesterday’s outfit was very subdued, but today we’re going color block crazy! I am very happy with how this whole outfit turned out. I didn’t imagine the skirt and the top going together when I made them, but they do! Michael Kors would say it’s very on trend (then Nina Garcia would tear it apart) and I suppose it is, but it’s still little kid too.

the pattern: ayashe blouse pattern by figgy’s

the fabric: vintage sheet

the sewing: For as complicated as this shirt looks, it wasn’t all that difficult. I did have to wrestle with the collar a bit, but it turned out well enough. My fabric cutting can get kind of sloppy and the collar’s measurements need to be exactly right to work. Next time I’ll pay a bit more attention when I’m cutting it out. There will be a next time, because really this was supposed to be a muslin. I made the 6/7 size for my 6 1/2 girl and it just fits, but I’m guessing it won’t by the end of the summer. The only thing I changed was to finish the sleeves in bias tape. Oh and I skipped the elastic at the bottom too.

the pattern: I didn’t really use a pattern, but kind of used this skirt as a guide.

the fabric: The top part is from an old shirt, the orange is some weird, slinky, cottony stuff I picked up at the thrift store, and the pockets are quilting cotton. Every bit came from my scrap bin.

the sewing: I saw this photo of a color block dress a while back on pinterest and immediately wanted to make a similar skirt or dress for my daughter. I picked through my scrap bin and came across the orange and light blue, which I loved together, but had very little of either. I pieced them together like a quilt and slapped some pretty aqua pockets on top. I fussed with the ratio of light blue to orange for far too long. Finally I said screw it, sewed elastic in, and called it done.

If you follow me on twitter or facebook you know already, but this is the biggest kcwc yet!  With 640 participants, not only is it the biggest kcwc, but it is almost twice as big as any we’ve ever had! When I ask you get to get the word out, wow! you really get the word out there!  You guys are awesome. The flickr pool is starting to fill up and any minute now it’s going to explode with amazing kid clothes. Here are today’s beauties:

1. me so crazy vintage twirl skirt

2. figgy’s sunki tunic

3. cars board shorts

4. houndstooth cardigan

edited to add: oops, just check the flickr pool and it already exploded.

Welcome to the first day of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge! I am so happy you are sewing along with me and 550 others. If you are new here I want you to know that even though the challenge is to sew for one hour a day, each day, for a week, not everyone sticks exactly to the plan. There are some that work a little bit on one garment all week and others who try to finish a garment every day! It doesn’t matter how many successful garments come out of this week; all that matters is that you sewed, or cut fabric, or traced patterns a little bit every day.

I try to use the challenge to have something finished to show you each day. That means of course I’ve been sewing for a few weeks  (and I’m not nearly done).  Don’t think I’m some magically motivated blogger who just sews happily into the night. No, I was very much dragging my feet at the beginning, but slowly I started getting more excited about what I was sewing and then started to think up new things I could make. And in the end I cut out way more patterns than I could ever finish. That’s the beauty of kcwc: just a little bit each day and suddenly this creative energy comes out of nowhere.

Okay enough already, what about the skirt up there?

the pattern: ayasha skirt pattern by Figgys

the fabric: I used an old linen curtain from ikea that I dyed gray. I dyed it about a year ago meaning to use it to make a summer skirt for me, but I couldn’t resist making matching spring clothes for my kids (the boys got pants).  As I was finishing up the skirt, we put on our Sound of Music record just to make the curtain-clothes-making-ridiculousness complete.

the sewing: The pattern was the just right amount of challenge for me. There were pleats, pockets, a waistband, a button placket, and buttonholes–pretty involved for a little skirt! The instructions were clear and very concise, sometimes a little too concise. There were steps I had to read 8 or 10 times to understand exactly what I need to do, but now I know how to put on a button placket! Funny, the button placket is probably the most poorly sewn bit on the skirt, but it’s the bit I’m most proud of. Everything else turned out great. Miraculously, the buttonholes even came out perfect! I didn’t really change much, except I put a bit of purple in the pockets and used buttonhole elastic in the back. The skirt fits her just right and looks like it will until the fall (if she doesn’t grow too too much).

There are a few eager beavers the have some beautifully finished garments in the flickr pool already:

1. new dress for Mila

2. kcwc day one

3. linen shorts for Amelie

4. birdwing top

What are you doing on the computer anyway? Go sew!

I only discovered Kelli’s blog, true bias,  a little while ago, but once I did I was hooked. She sews beautiful garments for herself–we’re talking handmade blazers here, people. But every so often some beautiful little clothes she made for her daughter would pop up on her blog. So I asked if she would be interested in kcwc. Lucky for us she said yes. I mean just look at what she did with a tee shirt pattern! 

I was really excited to be part of kcwc this year.  I am a bit of a selfish seamstress and love sewing for myself, so it’s good when I get a bit of an extra push to sew for my daughter.  I just got my first serger about a week ago so sewing up some knits with Rae’s Flashback Skinny Tee pattern was a perfect way to break it in.

I used the skinny tee pattern to make two boyfriend cardigans for my 2 year old daughter.  It was a really easy conversion.  I lengthened the front and back pieces by about an inch.  Otherwise the back and sleeves were left exactly the same.  I then cut the center front of the front piece and cut out a deep v at the neckline.  I added a 2 inch wide band to the bottom of the cardigan and a 1 inch band all the way from the hem, around the neckline, and back down again to the hem.  I added a few button holes and cute buttons, a little edge stitching and there you have it, a boyfriend cardigan to get us through chilly spring days.

edit to add- I asked Kristin how she sewed buttonholes on knit fabric without it turning out a disaster (like when I do it). Here’s what she said:  I found that if I put a bit of interfacing on the backside the buttonhole went much better.  Then you can just cut around the buttonhole to get rid of the excess.

I hope you will try some too.  It took me about 4 hours start to finish to make both of them on my serger.  I am super happy with the outcome.  Can’t wait to be inspired by all of you next week.  I will be sewing along as well.

Kristin hasn’t been blogging for all that long, but she quickly became the hot new blogger because wow! can she sew! She sews for her baby boy, her twirling little girl, and now herself (check out that awesome top up there).  For that daughter that never stops dancing, Kristin turned the Flashback Skinny Tee pattern into a dress with extra ruffly sleeves.  It is amazing what one pattern can do. Like Heather said yesterday, you could use this one pattern for all your kcwc sewing needs!

When Meg contacted me with her idea to have a bunch of gals sew Rae’s flashback skinny tee pattern, I immediately knew what to do – remix it into a dress!  My daughter is almost four and wants to wear a dress every day.  She considers them essential for dancing, her most favorite activity.  I like sewing dresses, especially when they’re washable, comfortable, and easy for her to play in (I’m a practical mama).  Jersey knit is the perfect material for all of that!

I made this simple flutter sleeve tank dress with an XXL Old Navy shirt from the clearance rack plus scraps of a t-shirt from another project.  I have trouble finding good knit fabric and I almost always end up using repurposed sale rack men’s shirts – as big as I can get ’em!  Extra bonus points if I can preserve the factory hem, though Rae offers great hemming tips within the pattern as well.

I extended the hemline of the 3T skinny tee pattern about 6″ (use a dress you already have as a guide), and made it A-line by using a straight edge, starting at the armpit and finishing about 3″ from the side of where the original pattern would be if it were dress length.  I trimmed the tops of the shoulder seams about 1/2″ (though I might recommend a little more), bound the armholes per Rae’s pattern instructions, and widened the neckline a bit.  I also added a little pocket for extra detail.

For the flutter sleeves, I added 5″ to each armhole measurement and cut two strips to that length, each 1.5″ wide.  I rounded the ends and gathered them along the longer edge.  I attached each sleeve to the underside of the armhole, topstitching both on the outside and inside edges of the binding to catch it securely.  I left the edges raw, since knit doesn’t fray.

The skinny tee pattern is a quick sew and so versatile, it’s great for adding your own customizations!  I first sewed a “regular” version here as practice before remixing it into a dress.

Thanks for designing such an awesome pattern, Rae, and thanks for having me, Meg!  I’m so excited to sew along and be inspired next week!  Come check out what I’m making over at skirt as top.