Spring is here and my kids have no clothes to wear. Well not really, but definitely not enough cute, springtime ones. KCWC to the rescue! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that is completely understandable. KCWC stands for Kids Clothes Week Challenge. It’s one week (I’m sure you figured that out) where we commit to sew one hour a day for 7 days. Sewing clothes, of course, for our kids!  Or other people’s kids, but not your inner child and absolutely not your canine child.

Sound good? Want to make a big pile of little skirts and dresses and shorts and bow ties? Because a lot can happen in a week if you put in a little time each day. And with hundreds of people sewing along with you and cheering you on, well, you can’t help but make great stuff! So leave a comment on this post to tell me you are in! Then grab a button and post it on your blog (if you’ve got one) to spread the word. You can even head over to the elsiemarley flickr group to check out past KCWC and join so you can post for this one.

If you’d like to know a little more about KCWC, hop on over to the FAQ page. Then hop back here and sign up!

kcwc buttons:

(copy and paste the code under the buttons)

<a href="http://www.elsiemarley.com/kids-clothes-week-spring-2011.html">
   <img src="http://d1yops4utenhgf.cloudfront.net/kcwc_spring_2011_button1.jpg">
</a>

<a href="http://www.elsiemarley.com/kids-clothes-week-spring-2011.html">
    <img src="http://d1yops4utenhgf.cloudfront.net/kcwc_spring_2011_button2.jpg">
</a>

1. capelet . left, 2. bus dress – finally finished, 3. Fall jumper for Clementine, 4. Fall, 5. Lion Hanging, 6. kcwc day 5 – alligator hoodie one, 7. Quilted Vest, Part 2, 8. jacket progress, after day 1, 9. pant cuffs

Wow. I mean really: wow! You guys blow me away with the beautiful clothes you can make in a week. I mean really: a week! Some of you made a whole wardrobe and others worked a little each day on one piece and got it totally done by the end of the week. Even if you slacked off by midweek, I don’t want to think you failed (not to sound too pollyanna). All this challenge is meant to do is put you in front of your sewing machine and get you to sew a little, then maybe a little more. This momentum feeds your creativity: the more you make, the more ideas you have, the more you want to make.

1. Orange Jacket, 2. close up of fleece sweater, 3. windy!, 4. Baby Animal Hats 03, 5. STRETCH TERRY TUNIQUE I, 6. insulated kids’ vest, 7. IMG_5871, 8. IMG_1265, 9. Bragitas I

There were a few comments that summed up the week nicely (and I hope the readers don’t mind if I quote them here):

i did it. i totally participated in every hour (and then some of the challenge. and it’s been a blast! not only did it get me back on my sewing horse, it reminded me how much i love to sew – and sew with others! i also learned that at least one hour a night to do something that i love fuels my soul and makes me a better person. and mama. and partner.

-nina

and

Pfew, what a fun & whirlwind week of sewing this has been!
I was able to sew for at least one hour for 5 days out of 7 …which is more than I have done before!

The most important thing that this week taught me was that yes, I *can* muster the energy to sew for 1 to 2 hours after the kids are in bed, and finally see all those plans in my head come to life under my sewing machine needle. A wonderful feeling of accomplishment! ;-)

–sabine

So thank you to all the mothers and grandmothers and aunts and talented sewers who sat down in front of their machines and made beautiful clothes for some fantastic kids.  And thank you to the kids who patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) stood and sat and stopped leaning and turned around while we took pictures of them. And thank you candy for helping.

I’m have to apologize for the unfinished (can’t find the buttons), wrinkled (I can’t find my iron either) shirt and the model’s obviously slept in braids. It’s Sunday morning and we are all a bit lazy.

I wanted to make this shirt (from Happy Homemade vol.2 again) because I remembered I had picked up some awesome vintage trim that would be perfect for the little tab in the middle. So I bought the pretty blue corduroy and sewed the shirt up, then tore my studio up trying to find the trim (maybe the shirt has the power to hide things). I gave up, decided I must have given it away and used an old plaid shirt instead.  Last night I started on an old crochet project and there in my bag full of yarn was the ribbon.

I still haven’t found the buttons, but maybe they are hiding with the iron in the refridgerator.

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Today is the last day of the kids clothes week challenge and I hope you had a good time. The flickr group is full of amazing things, I’ve found some new and fantastic blogs and you’ve pointed me to some new children’s pattern designers. Thank you so much for playing along!

The last giveaway is from one of my favorite bloggers, Kayanna from junecraft. She has kindly offered a $20 dollar gift certificate for her etsy shop to the winner! She makes beautiful prints, calendars, funny little plush, tote bags and they are all modern and stylish and cute as all get out.

To enter tell us what you thought of the week (whether you participated or not), or what you like best from the junecraft shop, or how you take your coffee. Good luck!

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The winner is

#54: Claire from Moth and Sparrow!

Congratulations!

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Nothing fancy today, just some laze around the house pants for a chilly Saturday. Cashmere pants. I wish I had some. The baby hasn’t benefited much from kcwc this time around–not that he’s noticed.  I’ve got a stack of pants sewn up for him that still need elastic, but they’re just pants. These are the best of the bunch and even they aren’t that exciting. I stopped buying sweaters to felt a while ago because it was getting a little hoard-y, but now I’m thinking he might need some sweater overalls for this winter.  Maybe we’ll take a little family trip to the thrift store this afternoon.

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Today’s giveaway is from Chez Beeper Bebe. Holly makes clever and cute things at an amazing pace. Every time I look at her blog she’s got some new, fantastic idea made plush. She has kindly offered one of her baby on a stick toys to the winner of this giveaway! My kids always ended up hitting themselves in the face with their wooden rattles (hey, no jokes) so these soft, easy to grasp, crazy cute rattles would have been just right for them. Also, who can resist a name like baby on a stick?

To enter you can tell us about your favorite little softie, plushy, cuddly thing when you were little, or a soft toy you’ve made for you kids, or what you are going to do today.  Good luck!

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The winner is

#23: Wendy!

Congratulations!

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I cut out this skirt for kcwc in the spring, but then the pockets and the piping started to looking very difficult and it found it’s way to the bottom of the pile. Well, it turns out the piping wasn’t hard at all–a little fiddly maybe, but it turned out.

The pockets on the other hand are now in the garbage. You can’t see the back pockets the pattern picture, but they are cute little curved things with piping around the bottom, and a horizontal buttonhole on the top hem, oh and they are top stitched too. I have no idea how you are supposed to make buttonholes look good on knit fabric or top stitching for that matter. Whatever, maybe I’ll have to courage to try again in the spring.

Or if my daughter demands it, because she’s pretty peeved that the pockets in the front are fake. And really I was kind of annoyed too, when I figured out what the diagrams were telling me to do. This is another pattern from Everyday Bottoms; it seems like I’m having a japanese kids clothes week, but the patterns are so damn stylish I can’t not make them.

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Today’s giveaway is a new book, called Sew Tina!, by fabric and pattern designer Tina Givens. The book doesn’t even hit the shelves until October, so this is a super special sneak peek! It is filled ideas and patterns for children’s clothes, accessories and things for their rooms. I haven’t seen the book yet, but if that cute little dress is any indication, it is sure to be fantastic.

To enter this giveaway tell us if you are a work from patterns or dive right in without a plan kinda sewer, or if you have read some extra good craft books lately or what you had for breakfast. Good Luck!

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The winner is

#114: Carolyn!

Congratulations!

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