Tween sewing

Several years ago I made my eldest girl a Sophie Tunic from Sisboom as a sun/beach cover-up. She's loved it and worn it to death but for a while now it's been way too small and she's been asking for an update. So when we were in a fabric store together recently I asked her to pick out a new fabric. She chose this lovely Cloud 9 printed cotton (proud mother moment ;-)

I think this is a great style for kids, not too cutesy or fussy and easy to wear. The fabric was lovely to work with and the top came together well and easily. If anything I find the Sisboom patterns a bit over-explained but then I guess that makes sure newbie sewers are covered.

The only change I made was to add sleeve tabs.  The tab pattern is from my Make it Perfect Shearwater Kaftan pattern, which is like a grown-up version of the Sophie tunic. Make it Perfect now also have a little girl 'mini' version of the Shearwater, but as I already had the Sisboom pattern I thought I'd better save my pennies and re-use it. Don't you love kids patterns with a large range of sizes!

I also made her some new shorts, which happen to go reasonably well with the shirt. The pattern is Dana from Madeit's Shorts pattern, which is a great basic, especially for someone with a few kids to clothe - the sizing goes from 12 months to 10 years and Dana includes lots of tutorials for variations on her website/ It's one of those patterns where I wondered whether I should draft them myself, but really, for $8 you get all of those sizes already drafted, and who doesn't like to support the lovely indie designers. This is the 4th pair of shorts I've made from this pattern and I'm sure there will be many more.

For these I used a piece of black linen with some stretch my my stash, redesigned the front to add sewn in pockets (easy to do if you've sewn pockets before) and added 2 large decorative buttons.

She likes the whole outfit so we're both happy :-)

Cali Faye Collection Racer Back Flare dress

Hi all! I hope you had a good Easter/holiday.

Looking around the blogs lately I've realised I'm not alone in being on a Cali Faye Collection fad :-) So far I have 3 of their patterns and am trying to hold myself back from buying the Voila blouse and Cadette Coat. One thing I like about them is that they work for both my 6 year old and 9 year old - they're simple and stylish without being fussy, and the size goes up to age 10 (though my girls are on the smaller side so I think I'll get even longer out of them).



I fell in love with this little dress pattern, the Racer Back Flare, late last year and thought it would be perfect for my little girl's 6th birthday.

I made it up from a piece of a doona (duvet) cover that I found in my favourite charity shop. I really like reusing old sheets, covers, pillowcases etc, often the fabric is still in great condition and offers something a bit different. It's also often made of 100% cotton or linen and is comfortable to wear.




There's so much to love about this dress. Chiefly it's just a really great shape, with a perfect amount of flare and really well shaped neckline and armholes. The bodice is lined and the opening closes with a button, so no tricky zips or fastenings.



It's the perfect dress for twirling...



And even though she wasn't feeling well on the day of these pics she loves her dress and has worn it many times since her birthday last December. As the weather's cooler now she's can layer it with tshirts and leggings so it's really quite versatile. I also made her sister one in a totally different fabric. Now if I could just get around to photographing it!

I'd thoroughly recommend this pattern to anyone looking for a cute girls dress which is quick to sew and fun to wear.

Cali Faye Collection Perri Pullover

This post comes to you tonight courtesy of my procrastination on the task I'd mentally assigned myself earlier in the day: making cushions (or 'pillows')...

You see we have friends coming for lunch over Easter and I really wanted to get my act together and fix the woeful cushion issue in our living room. I know that my friend probably won't even notice them, but I will feel better if there's something new and fresh, know what I mean? And it will get them off the blasted 'to do' list!!

But I've procrastinated to the point where I now know what I haven't admitted to myself before... I loathe making cushions. I suspect this is down to the boring nature of the project. Plus I resent the fact that I could be working on my Asymmetric jacket or fulfilling one of the many sewing requests from the kids ;-)

Oh dear, I think I'll have to bribe myself tomorrow night with a big block of chocolate or something!But for now I'll continue to procrastinate and show you the Cali Faye Perri Pullover I made for my big girl's recent 9th birthday...



I wanted a casual top for her that wasn't too young, something stretchy and comfy, and I think this pattern fits the bill.



It came together well, using a medium weight interlock I found at Spotlight. I was going to make her some leggings to go with it but couldn't find any 2 way stretch fabric I liked, so picked up these RTW tights for her, they have a cute metallic thread running through them, but they're a bit tight and I also think either the pullover needs to be a little longer on her or worn with leggings of jeans/trousers.



I enjoyed adding the little touches of the pocket lining and matching tag at the neck (idea pinched from Kelly, thanks Kelly!).



(Apologies for the wrinkly shot above) I really like this top and am now struggling not to go and buy the grown-up version for me ;-)

So how about you - do you have anything you really don't like sewing?

Ruffle top - Happy Homemade Kids Vol 2

Hello and happy new year! I'm hoping to do a bit of a review of the past years craft, but in the meantime I wanted to try to get through the backlog of things that I have made but haven't blogged...



This sweet little top, made for my little girl (middle child) is another pattern from my copy of the Japanese pattern book Happy Homemade Kids Vol 2. It's the third pattern I've made from this book (others here and here) and I do like the style of the book, though I think you need a reasonable amount of sewing experience to use it as the descriptions are brief and assume a certain amount of knowledge.



My girl chose the fabric herself on a trip to Spotlight with me and her sister. I had to have a little laugh to myself at how reflective of their personalities both my girls choices of fabric were :-) This little firecracker of a kid chose this unusual bright teal coloured fabric shot with silver metallic threads, while her sister chose a sedate floral cotton :-).



It was a strange fabric to sew with as when it was ironed the metallic threads sort of kink with the heat then need to be straightened out again. It behaved unpredictably but ended up quite sweet and full of personality... hmm!

I'm considering adding another tier to the top though as it's a bit short, but she loves it. And I'm strangely looking forward to seeing what her next choice of fabric will be...

KCW Japanese top and bubble shorts

I've been wanting to make my big girl a short sleeved blouse for summer, and have had my eye on Figgy's Ayashe top but decided to use my Japanese pattern book instead (the shorts she's wearing here are from the same book).



She chose this apple print cotton and it sewed up nicely but I got a feeling making it that it was going to be too small... and it was, so I did some alterations to save it, mainly making the armholes and neckline larger. I'd used the largest size in the book, size 8, which would usually be her size, but I guess Japanese children are smaller.





And on checking the Ayashe pattern details it only goes up to size 8/9 too. In any case it made me realise that she's entering that stage when she's getting too big for children's sizes but not big enough for adult sizes.



I also finally finished the bubble shorts for one of her best friends that I'd promised ages ago. The poor girl had resorted to very timidly asking my girl how they were going - oh the shame, letting a little girl down! I think I'll wrap them up nicely and add something special to say sorry.

Do you have that problem with the sizes? Find it hard to buy appropriate patterns/clothing for your almost tween?

Little girl merino wool cardigans

I've realised lately that some of my sewing endevours seem to be emotionally driven. A recent example: my big girl was due to go on a sleepover party. I'm happy for her that she enjoys going to sleepovers, but I have to admit that I don't much like having her away from me overnight... it just makes me feel slightly anxious. I know that one day the ties will need to be cut, but for now stretching them can be a little hard for a sook like me.  So... with just hours until she left I decided that my girl might get cold and that she definitely needed a new cardigan to take with her. It was a race against time, but I thought I might just be able to do it. Of course what I was doing was distracting myself and also making something from me for her to take with her.


I'd recently bought a metre of beautiful fuchsia coloured merino wool from The Fabric Store to make myself another Briar, and as it was very wide I figured I could also get a cardigan for my girl from it. The wool would be super warm (she feels the cold) but lightweight and easy to stow away in her bag when not in use.

When I'd finished it she loved the cardigan, the sewing had distracted me and I'd got to use more of the merino wool. Win! Of course her little sister then wanted one :-) Luckily I happened to have a small amount of another merino wool in the stash, this one a deep orange colour. This time around I was not under so much time pressure and got to do a better job.


I used the popular Flashback Skinny Tee pattern as a base shape to adapt. First I slashed the front pattern piece down the centre, then rounded the corners off. I wanted a clean, simple look so bound the edges in the same fabric. I had intended to add a button closure but as they sat so well I didn't bother.


These were such a satisfying sew (aside from the emotional stuff ;-), pretty easy to sew and quite quick too. And I can't rave enough about merino wool and how much I love to use it: it cuts well, sews well, is warm and soft and lovely to wear.



Here's my little girl wearing her cardigan on Mothers Day, doing some dance moves for the camera ;-)

KCW bubble shorts

On Sunday night I ended my sewing for KCW by finishing a pair of shorts for each of my girls.

One of my favourite things about KCW is discovering new patterns. I'd been looking for a shorts pattern for the girls over summer, something practical but pretty, with a little detail but not too complicated... but couldn't find anything I really liked. Then the other day I noticed popping up on the Flickr feed Bubble Shorts by Elegance & Elephants (find the pattern here), and it looked perfect :-) It was also available as a downloadable PDF, which I like, and it arrived in a flash - yay!

* After our talk about 'modelling' for pics this week this is what they gave me, hee hee :-) *

Even though we are in autumn and heading for cool weather I thought the girls could wear these year round with the addition of leggings or tights. I love the layered look. Not sure if I could get away with it myself, though I do have the Sewaholic Thurlow pattern sitting in my stash and may investigate ;-)

Once again I used linen from my stash (I seem to have been subconsciously hoarding linen!). I think the pattern lends itself to the unstructured (ie: crumpled) look of linen. I'm also thinking of making some for big girl in a light flannel for winter. I think big girl wasn't convinced about the chocolate brown when I first showed her the fabric. I tried to explain that it is a great base for wearing with other colours and luckily she was happy when they were finished. I think my point about it being more 'grown-up' helped too, as this is obviously a desirable thing when you're 8!!

* photo bombing her sister's pic. Please excuse the school holidays unbrushed hair and general scruffiness :-)

Phew, well with KCW over again for now I enjoyed a bit of time away from the sewing machine last night, but I do have lots of other things I'd love to make for the kids. The poor boy missed out this time and desperately needs pjs, so that should probably by on my list next!

If you were in on KCW I hope you had a good time too. Looking forward to the next one already :-)

 

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KCWC prep

It's Kids Clothing Week time again - yay! And there's now a dedicated blog. Fancy!

I think this may be the third (or fourth?) time I've participated. It seems to come around so quickly, and sometimes it's a good timing for me whilst other times it's not. This time is not so great in that it's school holidays and so the kids are going to bed late, I'm extra tired each day and there's often prep to do for the next day's activities. But... the kids could do with some autumn clothes and I do love being part of the KCWC community - so much inspiration and fun!

So, here's my wish list to date. I'm sure it will change but gotta start somewhere:

* Pull-over parka for the big girl from this Japanese pattern book: Happy Handmade Home vol 2

* maybe another little cap for my boy after the one I made him last year went missing :-( Don't you hate that!

* Leggings for both girls

* Pyjamas for all 3

Phew! Well that all won't happen, but here's hoping that at least some of them materialise.

I would also love to sew the Sugar City Village Frock while my littlest girl is still small enough, but she is notorious for not wearing clothes that I have spent many hours labouring over, and this looks like a lot of work!

Are you doing KCW? Do you plan or just go with the flow?

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Girls harem pants

My lovely friend K showed me some gorgeous harem pants that she'd bought for one of her daughters just before Christmas. I was pretty impressed with them as a great summer alternative to skirts for girls, so when K suggested we take a pattern from them I jumped at the chance.

I made a pair for each of my girls for Christmas, these ones (for little girl) were the most successful. The fabric is a soft cotton poly mix from Spotlight. I thought the retro print would suit my little firecracker :-) who just happens to be starting school tomorrow!

Some little details I enjoyed adding were some little faux ties at the front which I added little bells onto for some jingle, and also the little tag at the back - simple but somehow pleasing!

She's had a lot of wear from these already. Apparently they are good for a bit of boogying, hee hee!

Here's my little sketch in case you're interested in the construction - 2 pieces sewn together (french seams for strength) with elastic at waist and ankles.

I'd quite like some in my size now, just need to find the right fabric...

As usual my creative space is happening over here.

 

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Wrist purse

One of the items I made for the big girl's school fete recently was a pile of small purses with wrist straps. I thought they might appeal to both mums and girls so would hopefully sell well. Of course I forgot to take a photo of them (and the other things). But I do have shots of this one as I kept it for myself (sorry school! ;-)

As I was running out the door with the littlies to pick up the big girl from school one day it occurred to me that my sore shoulder could benefit from not carrying my heavy bag containing lots of stuff. And considering that the littles ride often ride their scooters these days it is a very quick trip - with me doing a jog at times to keep up with them :-). So in went my phone, keys and bandaids (plasters) for those inevitable scooter stacks.

I love the little peek of red linen when the purse is opened.

And its such a useful shape and size.



And even leaves my hands free when needed... Pulling along a scooter or two, applying bandaids or taking a turn on a scooter myself.

And the little birdie makes me smile.

Don't you love it when something you kind of haphazardly do turns out to be perfect for your needs.

 

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KCWC progress: halter top

For those of you in the northern hemisphere these pics of my big girl might make you shiver, but here in Aus we are heading for a hot summer, so I'm getting us prepared (well, that's my excuse!).

My big girl loves halter neck tops and dresses, so when I was coming up with ideas for KCWC making one was on the list.

I based the shape on Oliver & S' free ruffle halter pattern. Do you know it? I made one of these lovely tops for each of my girls early on in my blogging days (here) and they still love them. It's a really great pattern.

This was a test run before I use a more substantial fabric. And I'm glad I did the test run as there are a few things I'll change for the dress version. I tried out a circular pocket on this one to add some interest, something I'd been wanting to try for a while.

Well, I've got some shorts on the go for KCWC and something little in mind. Hopefully I'll get them done and not run out of steam before hand!

I'm playing along with my creative space again this week (belatedly!). Head on over here for more creative goodness.

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Pleated girl's skirt

Hi! Long time no post... the school holidays have kind of thrown me off routine lately, as they always seem to. And a heap of other little things have been getting in the way (that I won't bore you with) but also a not-so-boring fabric-based exciting crafty project has been sucking my time up. I'll share it with you as soon as I have some decent pics... but for now I thought I'd show you a skirt I made for my big girl a while back...


I had pinned this cute tutorial from Madame Zsa Zsa a while back, and finally decided to try it. The instructions are not in english but there's a cute little hand drawn diagram and pics, so that was enough to get by on.

Basically it's just a rectangle of fabric, measuring about 3 times the circumference of the child's waist, plus a few centimetres added on for the side zip. The length is up to you. To make it up you insert the zip, pleat the waist, finish the waist with a length of bias binding (long enough to hang over and tie into a bow). Then finish the hem however you like. I folded it under twice and hand stitched it, but you could machine stitch or use more bias binding.

I love the cute, simple styling and the lovely detail that the binding gives, and in my opinion it's a perfect little skirt for an active girl. Mine went scootering in hers after our photo shoot (not such a successful shoot though - oh well!). It could also be dressed up for a more formal look, using different fabrics and bindings.

I'm very keen to make more of these skirts. They'd be great for using up spare bits of stash fabric (a colour block panelled version might be nice). And seeing as it's KCWC time again soon - woo hoo! - I'm positive there will be more. Are you participating in KCWC this time? The timing is good for me so I'm planning to. Fingers crossed for no sick children or disasters of any kind that week!

Duck skirt

 On a trip to Spotlight a while ago my little girl stopped at a roll of corduroy printed with very bright ducks and begged me to make her a skirt with it. Even though it's not a print I'd normally buy, I figured she's a good sport when it comes to being dragged around a fabric shop (the curse of being the child of a sewing obsessed mother ;-), so I bought half a metre. But then it sat in my stash for a while as I couldn't quite get my head around just how I was going to approach those neon ducks!

Then it hit me that I probably just need to break up the print. She's still at that age where elastic waists are pretty useful, so I thought I'd make a flat fronted, elastic backed design. Using an existing skirt that fits, I cut a basic A-line shape for the front panel, a wide rectangle for the back. Then I used a bit of scrap dark denim to cut out some large contrasting pockets and finished them off by topstitching them with a thick yellow thread to match some of the ducks on the print.


It turned out OK, I'm still not sold on the print but she likes it, and it keeps her warm in this cold weather (worn here with her jeans, being a ballet dancer ;-), so that's all that matters really I guess.

Do you ever use fabric you're not that keen on? Or do you refuse to?

- - - -

Just as an aside, I recently discovered the folk band The Unthanks (been around for years, but I've obviously been living under a rock!). And now I'm addicted to "The Testimony of Patience Kershaw", a beautiful song about a young girl working in the mines of northern England in the mid 1800's. A little reminder for me to be thankful for what I have and the times I live in, methinks.

Little girl's cowl neck dress

Still on my drive to keep my kids warm, I made this comfy dress for my little girl last week. I fell in love with the pattern (another from Heidi & Finn) when I started seeing them around blogland and it was cemented when I spied Fran's lovely versions.

It's a complete copycat version of the one on the pattern as I had a great piece of thick red fleecy fabric in my stash. It's such a quick, easy sew, with good instructions (as I've found with other H&F patterns). I used a straight stitch on the seams and my overlocker (serger) to finish them, but as knit fabrics don't tend to fray I think you could get away with not finishing the edges as long as your straight stitch is nice and strong. I love a pattern where I can trace and cut out the pattern and fabric in one evening then sew the garment the next evening, so quick and easy.

 And as well as keeping her warm, apparently it's great for splashing in puddles...

and skipping down the street :-)

Hope you had a great weekend!

My creative space - birthday dress

This week in my creative space I made my big girl a new dress for her birthday. I searched online for a while for a pattern that wasn't too young or too old, if you know what I mean. She turned 7, so not a little girl but not big either. I found the adorable Maggie Mae pattern from Shwin & Shwin. Have you seen it? I love the beautifully simple style. Even though all the pics on their Etsy shop and blog show the dress on younger girls I thought it would be a nice bridge between little girl and tween fashion.

It features a contrasting yoke and hemline, pleats in the front and back and side seam pockets. I found the pattern instructions quite simple in that their wasn't a lot of detail, but it was still very clear, which was quite refreshing. I find the big name patterns often over complicate the instructions and can make a simple step sound tricky.

Red being her favourite colour at the moment I'd hunted for some inspiration and found a lovely ikat cotton for the body and a beautiful cherry red quilting cotton for the top and bottom. The ikat is so beautiful that I'd like to make a top myself from it. We would just have to organise ourselves not to wear them on the same day ;-). I'm imagining the dress in winter with tights or leggings, cardigan and scarf, hopefully it will be that versatile.

Despite the look on her face (she was recovering from a few days of illness and mean mum wants to take her pic), she loves the dress and says it's very comfortable to wear. Of course my little girl who's 4 would like one now. It's such a cute pattern, I'll definitely use it again. I really like the linen that Shwin & Shwin have used here, and it looks great with little embellishments (though the ikat fabric has enough detail going on). There's also a Flickr group for lots of inspiration.

Lots of creative spaces to check out over here.

Little felt purses for the fete

Amongst all of the sewing I've been doing for the school fete tomorrow (tote bags, zip purses, tissue holders), these little felt purses for girls have been my favourite to make.



They're a simple little design, totally ripped off from this great tutorial I found via Pinterest.



To each one I've added little flower embellishments with more felt, buttons, embroidery and a few little beads here and there.



Wool felt is so lovely to work with, it irons well, is easy to stitch and the thicker weight is quite sturdy.



I can't make up my mind if the purses are sweet or a bit twee and naff. But no matter, judging by my girls' reactions they will hopefully sell: "pleeease can you make me one mum, pleeease!"



And hopefully the pile below will sell too... wish me luck ;-)