Today the Small Fry Skinny Jean pattern tour is stopping here at elsie marley. I didn’t make hot pink pants or harlequin pants or floral skinnies for the tour. I just made plain old gray pants. Well they might look like plain old gray pants, but to me they are a bit of a masterpiece.

I think I’ve made my fair share of pants at this point, but I learned so many new things making these pants! I sewed belt loops for the first time, I made a little coin pocket (you know that little tiny pocket on your jeans), and a full on half fly.

(more…)

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’m not sure if I like this pillow or not. It’s definitely the goofiest one yet and the most labor intensive–if you can call making pompoms labor.  The first time I made pompoms I thought it was messy and ridiculous and a pain in the butt, but this time the more I made the more I enjoyed the process. If you slap the words “as meditation” after any activity it immediately becomes less annoying and oddly spiritual: pompom making as meditation, washing dishes as meditation, folding laundry as meditation, (look! my whole day is one long zen retreat).

I’ve been dreaming about all the christmas decorations I can make with pompoms (while I was mediating), so there will be more here I’m sure. If you don’t know how to make them, or forgot, there is a nice little tutorial on bella dia for making pompoms with your fingers.

And hey, look at all the awesome pillows from pillow week on flickr. I’m in love with this one.

You get two for one today. That is, if you are not sick of looking at pillows yet. You probably think I’m crazy for making all these, but I had been thinking about making a bunch of pillows for ages. It’s amazing how much time I can waste just staring at fabric. This week was a nice kick in the pants to just decide already, they are only pillows you know.

To answer a few questions:

• yes, I’m using pillow forms.
• yes, zippers are really easy. I used this zipper tutorial, but erin has a fancy dancy video tutorial that will talk you through each step.
• yes, I’d love a cup of coffee, thank you.

Sorry, little behind schedule today because I went out with my wonderful husband to celebrate our anniversary last night, but I’m up an caffeinated now, and the winners of the big butt baby pants and the toddler back pack patterns have been announced!

Sometimes you don’t need anything fancy you just need a plain old pair of pants. These are made with some nice, heavy wide wale corduroy and I used the same pattern as these shorts I made, only longer. Of course they are too long and too big all over really, but the boy grows like a weed, so they might fit at the end of the winter. Still, he loves them (hence all the wrinkles) and now says gray is his favorite color–wonder who he got that from?

For today’s giveaway Liesl from Oliver + S has kindly offered their new Music Box Jumper pattern! I think everyone who sews children’s clothes is crazy for Oliver + S patterns. And how could you not be? They are beautifully designed, well written, and come with their own paper doll!  The purl bee recently showed off a version of the Music Box Jumper in corduroy (liberty corduroy!) and it couldn’t be more perfect.

To enter the giveaway today, I’d love it if you tell us something about an Oliver + S project you’ve worked on or a story you have about working with patterns or even what has caught your eye in the flickr group so far. Good Luck!

****************************************************

The winner IS

#42: UK lass in US

Congratulations!

*****************************************************