I am just under the wire with this post. Today is (was) the last day of the kids clothes week challenge and I am all challenged out. With the little bit of sewing mojo I had left,  I managed to finish–well almost finish–this tank top for my son today. I’m not totally on board with the whole sewing with knits thing yet, but I picked up a bit of the softest blue striped knit at the thrift store and I had to at least try. So I faked it and pretty much made it.

A matching one for his little brother is in the works. The shorts I eeked out from some random thrift store yardage as well. I had to use some scraps for the pocket, but it’s kind of a cool detail I think. They are from the same pattern I’ve been using all week and I think I could sew it in my sleep at this point.

It was a stripey kind of day in the flickr pool. I want to eat that little shiso baby up, she’s so cute. Check out all the matching outfits Mimi made for the whole shiso family!

1. fashion show sunday 2. flat from shorts 3. sailboat top 4. linen pants

It’s been a pretty damn fantastic week, I have to say. But there will be much reminiscing and showing off and patting each other on the back this week, and maybe even a prize or two. Did you have a good time? Or do you never want to look at your sewing machine again?

This is going to be a short and sweet post. Hey, like these shorts. They actually started long, but then looked weird long. So they have cuffs thanks to this fantastic little tutorial, but now I’m thinking maybe they would look better without them. I don’t know anymore. I do know I rocked some serious topstiching action on these suckers (With orange thread, somehow it looks red in the photos). Oh and these are for my daughter. I think my son could rock the purple shorts, but he asked for orange.

1. 015 2. elephant hats 3. damage control 4. bellies are cuter

A little nuttiness from the pool today: elephant hats and dino hoodies! So many amazing handmade clothes on flickr! You guys rock.

This is to let you know it’s not all wine and roses and finished garments in these parts. The photo is from a couple days ago, but I am well on my way to recreating it today. And tomorrow and the next day. Kids clothes week is a full week, not a work week, don’t ya know.   If you can take more than an hour on the weekend, fantastic, if you can only just squeeze out an hour each day that’s fine too. But you’ve got lots of hemming to do, I bet, so plan accordingly! Nothing like finding a beautiful pair of homemade pants jammed back behind stacks of fabric because you never got to hemming them–not like I would ever do that :)

1. playdate dress 2. dancing pants 3. new lined pants 4. reedreeder

You guys are a lot less lazy than me when it comes to actually finishing the garment, I mean look at these lovely pieces! Those pants in the bottom corner make me want to go to the thrift store and pick up some grandpa pants to size down for my son. What about you? Do you sew something start to finish or in fits and starts? Have you completed one garment this week or there a bunch lying around waiting to be finished?

One last bit of goodness from the kcwc flickr pool. Jean made these beautiful wings for her daughter, based on these gorgeous pictures and this tutorial. I love how her daughter is practically in flight! Jean said she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give her children wings. You can read all about it in her post about making them on her blog, The Artful Parent.

Just some simple board shorts today. Though now that I look at them, they look more like old timey golfing slacks. Am I subconsciously trying to get my son on the course before he’s even held a golf club? He can rock the style without playing the game, right?

The pattern is from Happy Homemade vol. 2 again. Lots more of them cut out and ready to sew up, too. I told you you were going to get sick of this pattern. It’s got simple, easy to put together slash pockets and a totally useless, but awesome fake fly. Seriously, I love the fake fly. Makes the pants look a little more pulled together, a little less becky homecky.

1.garden party frock 2. sun hat 3. skirt that swings 4. smocked sundress

oops! I realized as I was putting this collection up that it’s all girl clothes today, but there are some fantastic boy clothes in the flickr mix too. Like this slammin red parachute jacket and these stylish jeans and this adorable baby sweater. I find that boys are a bit harder to sew for the in the summer. Maybe it’s because all those easy, summery dresses are calling to me to sew them up. What about you? Are you sewing frilly dresses or twenty pairs of boy shorts?

I forget it’s not always making the clothes that’s hard, because sometimes the sewing goes swimmingly, but it’s the taking a picture that is the trying part. Oh if you could see my daughter’s crabby face in this picture, well actually better you can’t.  How are my children going to turn out, growing up thinking it’s normal to take pictures of pants (and feet, and cupcakes, and anything else random and bloggy)?

Anyway, the skirt. I wanted to do it in a dark shirting fabric (sort of like my dress), but the fabric store was cleaned out when I went. So I used this cotton seersuckery stripe. The pattern is from another Japanese pattern book I love, Everyday Bottoms.

I added the secret shorts. Figuring out which sides should face each other when I was sewing the two together made my brain break out into a sweat, but it worked out in the end. After I was done I remembered Ellen has a quick little tutorial on a skirt with built in shorts (a skort?). So no brain sweat for you. Turns out the skirt is actually a little long to require shorts underneath, but hey, now I know how to do it. And it’s not hard!

1.leah tunic 2. strong-man 3. elephant pants 4. top and trousers

Look at the amazing stuff that you are making! Check out the flickr group for even more good stuff. I have to admit the laundry is starting to take over the house, but I have plans for more pants and short and I traced a button up shirt pattern, which I think might be going a little too far. How about you? Are you still going strong ?