Sewing: Faux Drawsting Shorts

These popsicle-printed shorts are one of the things I've been wanting to squeeze in this summer. Audrey actually picked the fabric herself ("HS Popsy" by Home Seasons--it's a home decor fabric) when we were at Joann and I love sewing something she is excited about and will hopefully wear a lot. Fingers crossed. She wore them to the pool the morning after they were finished, so we're off to a good start. (She is holding her Oilcloth School Bag from preschool. Makes a great swim bag.)

I used the Flat Front Kid Pants pattern from MADE, which I like a lot, and has been a great fit for Audrey, cut them shorter, and added some patch pockets from my Convertible Cargo pants of last year (I skipped the pocket flaps on the back though).

But I wanted a little something... So I created a faux drawstring front.

It is as easy as making two vertical button holes, about two inches apart and centered, through the front waistband. (Mind you these are the flat-front version of the pants, so there is no elastic in the front to make this more complicated.) I did this after the waistband was completely finished, but you could also do it before turning down the waistband, as I did with this Kangaroo Pocket Skirt. Then I opened the buttonholes and just threaded through some cotton twill tape, which I had finished by turning under the ends twice and zig-zagging.

Love it! It gives these shorts a little pop. (Pun intended.)

Sewing: The Summer Set in Blue

 

I am still making The Summer Set. I can't resist it! I feel a bit as if I should be thinking back-to-school but I'm in a panic about the fact that it's August and there were more things I wanted to fit in before school starts. I suppose I should get used to this--I'm guessing it's going to be an annual thing. Am I right? In any event, I'm trying to stretch out the summer!

 

 

We'll see how it goes, but I have a couple parties I'm trying to squeeze in, and a few field trips, not to mention one or two other sewing projects. But I don't want to be so busy that I don't have time to just enjoy these cute girls, because how much longer will I have to do that? They seem to be growing up so quickly already.

 

And so it goes... I was warned.

 

So here we have two of the three: Audrey in The Summer Set Bloomers and Flutter Top (this time without the ruffle) in a classically summer-y blue and white gingham, and Tess in The Summer Set Capris and a t-shirt I appliqued for her last week (view the Frayed Flower Applique tutorial here).

 

Tess is so petite these Capris turned out longer on her than I'd planned, but they're still cute, and she now has room to grown into them. I love this fabric, which coincidentally is from the Waverly Modern Essentials line I gave away a few months ago. This is "Tailspin" in "Americana," which I purchased at Joann.  I actually purchased it for Audrey, but she turned up her nose at it, so Tess wins!

The fabric is a medium weight twill and is perfect for Bloomers or Capris. With a little t-shirt I think it makes a pretty cute playset! I should make a long sleeved appliqued tee for her to wear with these Capris when it gets cooler. Maybe I'll add that to the list...

 

So here we are, soaking up the last carefree month of these bright, blown-out, summer days.

 

I'm trying to prioritize so we don't miss the best of it.

 

And, the girls just want to play, as they should.

 

I hope things are sunny with you. What's on your list for August?

 

(You can find The Summer Set sewing pattern in my Etsy shop, here.)

Cooking: Plum Apricot Kuchen (Recipe)

Nothing I've made lately has flooded me with memories as dramatically as this Plum Apricot Kuchen. I took one warm bit and thought, "ohhhh, just like my mom used to make!" 

I thought this recipe was lost to me, but my sister found a couple handwritten cards in one of my mother's recipe boxes. There were two versions of the ingredient list, but no instructions. I looked online but couldn't find the version I remembered: baked rather thin with a simple, but rich, butter crumb crust. So I gave it a go based on what I remembered. And it worked! I love it! 

You have to try it. My mother made a plum kuchen but I couldn't resist using some apricots too. (Some of these lasted long enough!) Click to view the recipe and tutorial.

Sewing: Tie-Dye Tissue Hem Skirt (Tutorial)

Where has the summer gone? I can't believe we're at the end of July already! At the same time, seeing all the back-to-school supplies stocking the aisles gives me a little flutter. I love the back-to-school season! I was wondering what happend to June because it seems a bit of a blur, and then I remembered it was packed pretty full with guest posting! So fun! If you didn't see my guest post for Delia Creates during her Color Your Summer II series (I made this Rainbow Wrap Skirt for the series last year but was hosted by Kojo Designs) I wanted to share it with you here. It's not too late to tie-dye a fun outfit for summer...

I had been happily anticipating this series for all the creativity that comes with it. It's so much fun to see what all these talented women produce to add some color to the summer. I personally cannot believe all Delia and Kirstin and contributing themselves--wow!

For me, nothing says summer like a saturated tie-dye. So relaxed, so carefree, so whither-thou-mayest. I love the classic randomly tied pattern. The result looks like sun circles or the patterns sunlight makes on water.

My girls, especially Audrey, love wearing tie-dye too. And purple, or violet, just happens to be a favorite color in our household. Not too difficult to pick that color in the ROYGBIV rainbow.

So to color our summer, we tie-dyed some cotton t-shirts and some knit cotton fabric out of which I stitched a matching tissue hem skirt.

A nice, soft outfit for lounging, or twirling, or complementing the cast Scarlett just acquired after a bit too much bouncing this summer (she thankfully had it removed a few weeks ago!).

The skirt is essentially a circle skirt without the hem cut circular. Instead the square is left intact for the "tissue" effect. I created two layers this way and stacked them so the corners of one line up with the sides of the other for more interest.

I'm sharing a tutorial for tie-dying the fabric and t-shirts and sewing the skirt. Maybe you could use a bit of color saturation and twirly-ness. Here's to summer!

Sewing: Frayed Flower Applique T-Shirt (Tutorial)

I love the look of appliqued t-shirts for kids. It must be the obvious handmade quality--so much work. Mini Boden does an especially good job I think, but the past few years as I've perused their catalogs I have thought, "I could make something like that." So instead of buying their darling t-shirts I stocked up on plain colored ones thinking I'd embellish them. It hasn't been happening. When you get right down to it, it's quite a lot of work. And if you care about the exact combination of fabrics, it could also mean extra purchases for a few scraps. I never seemed to have exactly the right selection among my leftovers. So I've gone ahead and purchased a few Mini Boden ones--love them! But I've also managed to make a few of my own: there was this first dalmatian-appliqued t-shirt (not my favorite but it scored points with Audrey at the time; she never ever wore the skirt I made with it by the way....), and the more successful dinosaur t-shirt for Audrey's birthday, and now this "Frayed Flower" for Tess.

I just happened to have all the right fabrics on hand! And it was pretty quick work too. If you'd like to make one I've got a quick tutorial and the flower template you can download free.

Click to view the tutorial.