Sewing: Casual TShirts and Shorts for Summer

Our summer of reading is being fueled by weekly trips to the library to stock up on books. Granted we aren't very far into summer, but so-far-so-good. The girls are loving it.

I don't always coordinate their outfits, but today I nudged and they were happy to oblige because who wouldn't want to wear new, super soft t-shirts and shorts?  Audrey's and Scarlett's fishy raglan t-shirts are sewn with the Field Trip Shirt pattern from OliverandS, which I converted to short sleeves. The colorful fish cotton jersey was purchased here on Etsy. Their shorts are sewn with Dana's Kids Shorts pattern, which is so quick and versatile. I made Audrey the racer shorts style (cut somewhere between the boys' and girls' lengths) and Scarlett the basic shorts, and made them both flat front. I purchased the striped linen from Jo-Ann. Pretty fun combo. Audrey has worn hers a few times already.

And what about Miss Tess? She is sporting her own knit skirt with a new Nessie Top (pattern by CINO) sewn with a very lightweight floral knit purchased last year at Girl Charlee. Very lightweight knits are not my favorite to work with but I worked it out. In fact, I made a duplicate for Scarlett, which may appear here soon.

Sewing casual clothes seems to be a good strategy if the idea is to make things my girls will wear. In fact, a couple of the dresses may soon be worn out! How great is that? Only probably is, I'm feeling rather compulsive about the whole thing so other summer projects haven't quite launched... Oh well, that's how it goes in summer.

Sewing: Bateau Neck Top and Bateau Neck Dress in Stripes

If we were lucky enough to have our three girls, and a boy besides, this is what it might look like...

This is Tess and her cousin, and during a vacation at the end of the summer I got to pretend they were siblings. These two are a riot together. Sometimes loving, and sometimes hitting--usually one trying to hug and one trying to hit! Copying each other. Stealing each other's toys. You know, the typical toddler stuff.

I can't seem to help myself from making coordinating outfits for my girls (got some in the works right now in fact) and I can only imagine what it might be like if I had a boy in the mix too. So much fun!

Luckily there are a few boys in the extended family.

Since we were headed to the beach together I squeezed in this little project for my nephew before leaving: The Classic Bateau Neck Top in a navy and off-white stripe. It's the perfect seaside shirt in my opinion.

The fabric is a really great soft sweatshirt jersey I purchased here (it's the navy version of the fabric I used for this top). And for Tess to coordinate, I sewed a Bateau Neck Elastic Waist Dress (using my new pattern extension) with a contrasting ruffled neck and faux tie.

I love this little dress! I know I seem to fall in love with everything I make (if not, it really wouldn't be worth it, right?) but this is really fun I think. Maybe it's the stripes. And the classic three-quarter length sleeves.

I'm a sucker for the nautical look. But it also seems like the perfect dress for back-to-school. Such an easy way to pull it together in the morning in one step and get out the door looking, well, pulled together. That's a lot for a mother of little kids.

It's comfy too. Perfect for a field trip (with classmates or siblings.)

Now that Labor Day has come and gone I guess it's time to get a bit more serious. Hope your return to the more structured life is going well! I'm getting ready to learn a lot--seems like every year brings a new curve!

Sewing: Fourth of July Madras Dresses

 

Hello, Friends! I'm still here. Busy working on some left-brained stuff (my old marketing life revisiting for a bit) and busy working on some fun right-brained stuff: new patterns and pattern updates. I have been learning new programs so I can create computer graded and drafted patterns. It's slowed me down quite a bit but I'm really excited about being able to share patterns of this quality. The first is in testing so it's close! Stay tuned.

 

 

Oh, and of course I've been busy with these three! Enjoying summer things such as swimming and hiking and field trips to local attractions. And gathering with friends and family. We celebrated Independence Day with just such a gathering. If you were celebrating on the 4th too I hope yours was a great one.

 

 

We started off the Fourth of July with some swimming lessons. Not quite the same as going to watch a small town parade (in my mind the ideal way to start off the day) but I'm so grateful my girls have the opportunity to participate in sports and challenge their physical selves. I would sign them up for every lesson available if time allowed. I'm grateful too that girls here are free to seek an education and develop their minds for great things. I so love learning and there is nothing like seeing your children enjoy learning new things too. It inspires me all over again.

 

 

In the evening we gathered with friends for a traditional Fourth of July barbecue. There were BBQ ribs and salmon and lots of good-tasting side dishes. I brought a green salad based on this green bean, sweet corn and tomato combo. Yum! We are so lucky to have great neighbors who love us and include us in this tradition. I missed our family who weren't with us, though. I don't know if it's age or wisdom, but there's no group of people I would rather be with on a holiday, or any day.

 

 

I did a bit of patriotic sewing just in time for the holiday. This patchwork Madras seems just perfect to me--in that East coast preppy way, which is a fun throwback to my school days. Audrey's dress is one I made her a couple years ago--you might remember it from this Madras post. Still fits! Just shorter.

 

 

I sewed new dresses for Scarlett and Tess with my Ruffled Chemise pattern. Tess's version is exactly the current pattern--Scarlett's is a new ruffled placket variation I'm playing with. I found the patchwork fabric at Hobby Lobby last year (same source for Audrey's dress a couple years ago) and need to go back to see if they are stocking it this summer. I can't believe it's July already! I have so many summer sewing ideas and it seems is slipping away already...!

 

 

I love the idea of patriotic outfits for Independence Day. If you want to see some things I've sewn in the past you can check out:

 

2012 (Kangaroo Pocket Knit Skirts)

2010 (Patriotic Pillowcase Dress)

2009 (the Summer Set prototype!)

2009 (Patriotic Prairie Dresses)

Sewing: Double Breasted Easter Dress for Audrey

I gave you a peek of this dress in the giveaway post earlier this week. Nothing says Easter like blue velvet, right? The thing is, it's not quite full-blown Spring around here at Easter time. It's often chilly. And, before the grass has greened and the bulbs are blooming I can't get enough color--this fabric is about as saturated as it gets. But most importantly, this fabric (Anna Maria Horner LouLouThi Velveteen Coreopsis Marine) is gorgeous! I had to use it for a dress for Audrey.

 

I think it was the right decision. Easter Sunday the blue velvets stood out like hyacinths in a snow of pastel dresses.

The design for this dress was inspired by the Christmas dress I made Scarlett a couple years ago. But I knew Audrey wouldn't like the gored skirt. She is more tailored. So I found a pattern with inverted pleats, changed it from a back zip to a front double-breasted, drafted the new collar (love this peterpan front and sailor back!), added some length, piping, and (count them) eighteen velvet covered buttons. (Which by the way, are working better now that I'm using this tool--the shanks on the buttons are so much better than the ones I was buying in fabric stores.)

It was a bit much for my short deadline but I am happy it happened. Can't wait to share photos of the girls wearing their dresses, but I don't have the photos yet....

 

Wondering about making a pattern for this. That always seems to be the question...

 

Hope you are having a good week.

Sewing: Brown Corduroy Capris with Cabbage Roses

I couldn't resist sewing more Fall clothes for the girls once I got on the roll of KCWC (see this post and this post). So I kept going and going. I sewed all week. It was a bit nutty because I was also supposed to be getting ready for a big family trip. But in my crazy compulsive way I was thinking the sewing also accomplished the goal of identifying clothing to pack for the girls. I know...  But it does, right?

In my defense, the sewing went relatively quickly because I wasn't slowing down to document a tutorial or draft a pattern. It was such a nice change! And I was so excited to use this chocolate brown corduroy with cabbage roses out of my recently acquired Fall corduroy stash. Isn't it perfect?! I think this rich brown with red and blue is an over-the-top combination. I wish the Etsy shop had had more than the mere 1/2 yard I was able to buy. For your sakes too! Maybe they'll get it back in...

I sewed Tess some capri length Bloomers from my Summer Set pattern (which I have been using for all sorts of Fall layering pieces) and pulled out a boiled wool top (pattern for this top here) I'd started last Spring and finished it to go with the pants. I couldn't think of a cozier set for the Fall or our ensuing trip to British Columbia!

So Tess and her new Fall outfit and the rest of us headed north to spend the better part a week sharing a house on an island with some good friends. I can't even believe the rarity of that sort of trip. What a gift! It was beautiful even though that beauty include rain and mist and cold. We had a great time. Now that we're back I'm sure our girls will miss being part of that pack of kids running around.

There was so much to do related to the coast (finding starfish, catching crab, looking for seals...) that it might have been easy to pass up the interior of the island but I'm so glad we didn't. We all described it as an enchanted forest. I couldn't get over the moss everywhere. And filtered light. And crawling things.

And there were falling leaves bigger than any I've seen. Truly! Tess, Audrey and Scarlett were fascinated. Such a great landscape for adventures!

It's so important to share adventures, don't you think? Part of the enjoyment is thinking about how we'll remember it later.

And now that we're home again there are all sorts of things waiting for us. Holidays, changing temperatures, our regular, wonderful routine... I love coming home. Can't wait to do the next thing. Not sure what it is but that's part of the fun.

Sewing: Dog Appliqued T-Shirt (Tutorial and Template)

I often stock up on plain t-shirts with the idea that I'm going to embellish them for the girls, but most of them are still sitting, unembellished. So I have to give a little cheer when I actually make one! I bought this plain white polo shirt for Audrey during the back-to-school sales with the idea of sewing on a dog applique. Anything "dog" works for Audrey.

So she approved the "sitting dog" design and the fabrics and I went to work.

It was so much fun that I decided to make one for Scarlett too.

Two doggy t-shirts.

I love the appliqued t-shirts by Mini-Boden and after making some of my own I admire them even more! It's no easy thing to pick the right combination of fabrics and prints and scale of the prints and maintain the integrity of the image you are trying to represent! I think next time I will use more solids...

Want to make one? I've got the template and the tutorial for you. Click to read more...

Sewing: Kangaroo Pocket Skirt for Girls (Tutorial)

I have such fond memories of my mother sewing for me. I loved going to the fabric store with her to pick out patterns and material. I certainly learned from her example and show my love for my own girls by sewing for them. Every girl deserves to have something sewn for her, so I think the Skirting the Issue campaign from Simple Simon and Co. is just perfect! Are you participating? I hope a hundred or more girls feel the love coming to them when they pull on their new skirts.

When I sew for my girls I seem to choose more complicated projects. I've loved sewing skirts with fun classic details, or interesting construction, or yards and yards of fabric, but this time I decided the skirt needed to be quick. I wanted to come up with something that could be done in about an hour so that those of you participating in this effort could make a few. And I wanted to be able to pull off a set of three for my own girls in time for the Independence Day holiday. And it worked!

I call this a Kangaroo Pocket Skirt, and it's something I experimented with for myself, though not as successfully as I would have liked! I love that it's a skirt-meets-hoodie, in comfortable, stretchy knit cotton and replete with drawstring and...kangaroo pocket. I even left the hem "raw." For my sporty girls I think it can take the place of shorts or jeans or even go to the beach over a swimsuit! It's nice to have plenty of stretch on these busy bodies.

I couldn't resist lining them up on the 4th of July in this fun red, white and blue against a bright red fire engine, and eating ice cream to top it off. Pretty Americana, I'd say!

My tutorial shows you how to make this in "girl" sizes 2-8. This is a nearly straight skirt so it hugs and would do best with a modification for older girls and women with hips--you could easily throw in a curve from waist to hip or use an existing slightly flared skirt as a pattern.

Ready to play?

Here we go... (click to Read More)