Ta Da! Finally, the hoodie is finished! And she even likes it! You can see lots more happy kids in their happy homemade hoodies in the flickr group.

(more…)

1. polka dot parka 2. knit hoodies 3. chambray pull over 4. green hoodie  

Are you guys excited for the Happy Homemade sew-along?! Do you have the book? If not, Cherie has a great post about where to get it. If you do (or if it’s on the way) then you are ready to start dreaming about what you are going to make. The pull-over parka (I just call it a hoodie) is a great pattern to play around with. Cherie did a post today about the changes you can make to the pattern, but you don’t have to make any changes to make a great hoodie.

(more…)

I’ve been saying I was going to do it forever and finally it’s here–a Happy Homemade vol. 2 sew-along! I’m super excited to partner with Cherie from You & Mie to bring you this sew-along. Happy Homemade vol.2 has long been my favorite pattern book. Recently it’s been translated into English and renamed Sew Chic Kids. If you’ve ever wanted to sew with Japanese patterns, but were too nervous to start this is the sew-along for you. You can jump in the deep end with the Japanese version of the book (and we’ll help you the whole way) or you can just get your toes wet using the English version. Either way, it’s going to be great!

(more…)

Mr. Muscles up there is pretty psyched about his new outfit, and honestly so am I. One super soft hoodie and one pair of crazy town pants and kcw outfit #2 is done and dusted.

First let’s talk about the pants:

PATTERN: Jacob pants pattern by Zonen 09. Obviously I love me some crazy town super flares. This pattern is just fun to make. I made a faux fly again (like yesterday) with piped patch pockets. I omitted the back pockets, because I was starting to go blind staring at this fabric.

FABRIC: the fabric is home dec-y stuff from JoAnn’s. I think it’s made by HGTV.  It had some sort of coating on it, because it was meant for outdoor use, but that seemed to have come out in the wash. Unfortunately, it faded a ton in the washer too. But I think I can safely say this print still pops.

SEWING: The sewing went super smoothly. Patterns are just twice as fast the second time around.

now for the hoodie:

PATTERN: flashback skinny tee by Rae. I made one size up (a 7 for my 6 year old) and it’s perfect. I added a hood, using Rae’s tutorial. I finished the edging around the hood and neckline in a different way and it’s eh. Okay, but just eh. Do it the way Rae wants you too. It’s a little fiddly, but looks better. I left the end of the sleeves raw, then rolled them up and tacked them with a few stitches. It’s a little half assed, but I like how it looks. I’ve noticed a few of the shirts I’ve bought lately do this. Hey they’re lazy like me!

FABRIC: oh this fabric is a dream. It’s a thin, but still cozy, sweatshirt material. It’s a beautiful dark teal color and a little loopy on the wrong side, heathered on the right. Ack! I love it. I think I got it from lowpricefabric.com, but I can’t find anything similar there now. I wish I could because I’d like to make myself something out of it.

SEWING: the sewing went well. Attaching the hood was easier than I thought, but finishing it was a lot harder. I’m not happy with how the placket turned out. Next time I think I’ll make a bias tape tube (circle?) the length of the opening and sew continuously around the placket + the hood. Would that work? I’m not great with plackets. But! But! I did sew those buttons that are on the placket with my sewing machine. WooHoo!

Outfit #2 is done, I might just be able to eek out #3.

My youngest has a thing for hoods. He would be happy if every shirt he own had one (this tutorial makes that a possibility). He was looking a little like the incredible hulk in his old hoodie, so a new one was definitely in order.

the pattern: the hoodie pattern from Happy Homemade vol. 2. I made this pattern a few years ago and my son still wears his–has it on today actually. Successful boy’s patterns for tops made from woven fabric are few and far between. That makes this hoodie pattern practically perfect.  I added a kangaroo pocket to make it actually perfect.

the fabric: yellow linen from JoAnn’s. I’ve been using a lot of linen this week. I can’t help it, it is just so perfect for summertime kids: sturdy but still soft, lightweight but still durable. Also, my youngest is crazy for the color yellow and there aren’t a whole lot of tasteful options out there for that color. This yellow was yellow enough for him, but mustard-y enough for me.

the sewing: This pattern comes together crazy fast. The elastic in the front is a little fiddly and I know it doesn’t look the greatest, but whatever. The hoods on the last hoodies I made seemed small, so I made this hood bigger. Except I made it bigger in the back and now my son looks like a conehead. I fixed the hood not so it’s not so pointy (after this photo shoot), but it’s still elf-y. An elf is cuter than a conehead, right? I think the hood pattern needs to be made bigger in the front so it covers his forehead. I already cut out another of these hoodies for my five year old son, but I may re-draft the hood before I start sewing.

Here are today’s cuties from the flickr pool:

1. kcwc 2012

2. sleeveless t-shirt

3. flat front pocket shorts

4. here fishy fishy