Shop Update and 20% off in December

I have just added some more items to my etsy shop and wanted to share with anyone that reads this that I am offering a 20% discount for the entire month of December!  Just type HAPPYCHRISTMAS as the promo code and enjoy some handmade goodness!

KCWC Day Three: Sailboat Top

     This shirt better be glad that it turned out cute because I was   t h i s   close to tossing it into the trash can!!  Everything was smooth sailing (no pun intended) until the VERY last step.  I was trying to turn the hem facing and topstitch it in place...after the second attempt I broke down and used fusible light-weight hem tape.  I think I made a new best friend.

     The fabric is %100 Rayon Challis.  It is very soft but also very slinky.  The only difficultly that I ran across was getting my hems to look nice.  If I make anymore of this pattern I will definitely make a size three-- size two fits but won't fit for very long.  

     I used some vintage red glass buttons that my mom got at an estate sale.  I really like the little bit of interest to break up that rose pink.  I wish I had waited on the button holes and gone out to get matching thread.  From far away that white thread doesn't stand out too badly but up close it drives me a little crazy!

     It is so much fun to make her clothes and for the time being she really loves to wear them!  I will be sad if/when that changes.  

     This last picture is so blurry but I just love how she is totally trying to be funny in this picture!  She is 23 months old and her little personality is just starting to really come out.

KCWC Day Two: Flashback Skinny Tee Dress

This little dress marks a bit of a milestone for me.  I haven't really embarked on the path of changing patterns very much.  Although this is a very simple change--I have to admit I am rather amazed that the image that was in my head is now a physical reality.  Pretty cool.

I wanted one of those super cool American Apparel dresses that are like $20 for a simple knit dress.  I love the way this turned out and it probably cost less than $5 to make.  I simply added two rectangles to the bottom of a shortened bodice.  I used the ever popular shirring technique to gather the skirt and give it lots of stretch for comfort.  The neckband probably needs to be redone as it didn't turn out quite right.  

I am excited to see just how many other types of garment I can make out of the Flashback Skinny Tee pattern!
  

I am working on a Sailboat Top by Oliver + S right now and it is almost done.  More on that later!

KCWC Day One

Woo Hoo KCWC has begun!!  This weekend I made a Flashback Skinny Tee in size 3T.  I ordered some fabric from GirlCharlee that arrived on Friday and I could not wait to cut into it.  

Rae's pattern has several options for hemming/finishing.  I have done a 2 inch cuff (using my husbands old orange target t-shirt).

For the neck I did a bound neckband and love the way that it looks.  I think that it may decrease the amount the neckband stretches so I had to add an inch to the suggested length in order for it to fit my daughter.  

Overall I really like the result.  The pattern is so simple to follow with lots of options to choose from.  The shirt isn't perfect but I think it will get lots of wear this fall/winter.  

This may be a two post day--I used the Flashback Skinny Tee to make a knit dress for Lydia as well!!

KCWC

This go around I am actually hoping to take some pictures of the things I make for KCWC!
I have some gray corduroy for a pair of skinny cords and just ordered some cute jersey knits from girl charlee fabrics for a few flashback skinny tees!  I made a few out of some thrifted women's shirts and I just love how practical and cute they turned out.  My poor daughter has been wearing them constantly since I made them.
okay so far my list is :

• skinny cords via running with scissors
• 2-3 flashback skinny tees 

We will see how it goes and hopefully I will finish this as well as a few more things!

Birthday Sewing, more lists and a little visit

Ever since I have learned to sew I have really tried to make my gifts.  I find that men can be harder to make gifts for.  I have four nieces and they are very easy to make gifts for.  Recently one of my nieces (who lives in California) turned 5 years old.
She is the sweetest, brightest little girl.  I made her a pencil case and filled it with fun things she can take to school (she started kindergarten like a big girl in August).

This is a pretty lousy picture but you get the point.  I was in a hurry to package her present and take it to California!

I have made so many things recently and have been so bad at taking pictures.
The list for the last few weeks includes:

• 2 x Flaskback Skinny Tees in size 3t for my 22 month old 
• 1 Buttercup Bag + 1 zippered coin purse for my mother-in-laws birthday
• 1 Double Layered Simple Skirt with Lazy Days Skirt ribbon hem
• 1 Almost finished purple chambray Class Picnic Blouse size 2t
• Finished my first quilt
• lots of bibs, pacifier clips, burp cloths, and a few baby shoes for my etsy shop

list for the next few weeks:

• Mustard Linen Skirt using noodlehead's flat front skirt tutorial
• Finish Picnic Blouse
• Skinny cords via running with scissors tutorial
• Flashback Skinny Tee Cardigan inspired by True Bias 

We are visiting my family in Pennsylvania.  This is my grandma--she is 93 and nearly blind but the coolest lady I have ever known.  I miss her when I am gone.  

p.s. that is a crappy shot but that is what the double layered simple skirt 

looks like (the one on Lydia not me)

...i love how it turned out! Promise it isn't that scandalous in real life.

Been a long time.

Okay so after KCWC my computer power cord crapped out.  I wasn't able to post the things that I made and got really discouraged about trying to catch up on that when I finally ordered a power cord.
All that to say...
I am starting again and not going to catch up haha
I have been sewing a lot of things and trying to really get my Etsy Shop up to speed.  I have created a Facebook page and updated my shop as well.
The shoe pattern I am using is from www.ithinksew.com and I love it!!!!

They are simple and practical but easy to embellish.  I look forward to making many many more of these little beauties!

fabric choices for KCWC Spring 2012

I have some plans to make clothes next week along with KCWC and I am attempting to prep for it this week.  Everything kicks off on Monday the 23rd and I can't wait!

Obviously Lydia is very excited too!

The List:

• Sailboat pants--really unsure of the fabric.  i want chambray but the local options are not great. They need to be light weight for summer--thinking seersucker will be a little too specialized to go with everything. 

• Sailboat shirt--maybe in a knit and a woven.
• A second pair of class picnic shorts thinking i will change this to a lazy days skirt!
• ALSO...
• I'd like to add --the ruffle halter top from Oliver + S 
• At least one (maybe two) bucket hats
• maybe short sleeve 90 minute shirt?
• if i get bored after all that (ha ha yeah right) i have a simplicity dress pattern i've wanted to try

Is it possible I am already feeling a little burnt out from cutting and pasting and tracing patterns?  Two of my patterns have been online print patterns so that meant a lot of assembly up front.  Normally I would retrace the size I am going to make onto freezer paper but I just went ahead and cut these out.  

It has been surprisingly hard to not just go ahead and sew up these clothes!!!  I know I will enjoy not cutting and tracing next week but that is just not my natural tendency.  I am a total 'project starter' not always a 'finisher' (especially if there is a road bump along the way!).  I learned this when I was knitting.  Luckily I am a better 'finisher' in sewing.  And of course I am still a totally hoarder whether it be yarn or fabric. 

 Cannot            re s i s t                f   a    b    r    i     c.

UFO sited

Okay so it only took  me 2.5 months to finish this little shirt.  I cut out a 2T and really should have cut 18-24 months.  I guess just doing a chest measurement is not good enough for sizing.  The shirt fits but the neck line is very low and almost off Lydia's tiny shoulders.
Hopefully it will fit in a few months because I do love how it turned out.

I used a pale blue/grey polka dot cotton fabric by Lakehouse.  The collar and ruffle are a bleached muslin.  

I loved these little anchor buttons.  They are a bit 'cutesy' but sometimes you just gotta go with it.  I tend to over think fabric/notion purchases and these buttons were just on a whim.  

I love Oliver + S patterns but I do believe my future success will depend on my precise measurements.  I am so new to garment sewing.  I am assuming you take the measurements and you make the exact size that is suggested for that measurement.  Is there ease already added in?  Maybe that sounds stupid but I honestly have no idea.  When I cut the 2T size I am sure I was thinking that I should give her a little growing room.  

Also kids sewing is a different from adult sewing in this matter.  I want there to be growing room but I am not interested in sewing Lydia an entire wardrobe of 'tent' like shirts.  

This is a picture of Lydia wearing her shorts.  It is going to be a high of 79 degrees in Asheville today so they are more than appropriate!   

Maybe you were wondering why I am posting a 'leg' only picture...

Cute as she is these are the types of faces I get for most pictures.  Love this little girl.

Lazy Days and Class Picnics

Hello hello!  I have been on a bit of a sewing roll lately.  This skirt is a gift I made for my 6 year old niece's birthday.  It is a Lazy Days Skirt--which is a free pattern from the lovely people at Oliver + S.  If you have a little girl in your life who loves skirts and dresses like my niece, then I would highly recommend making this skirt.

I have never done ribbon hem but I loved how it turned out.  I used a natural colored cotton twill tape.

The fabric is a pink pin dot from the bargain second of the fabric store near by my house.  

Fabric: Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in Black

SHORTS!  Another first!  I think these turned out nicely.  I used the class picnic shorts pattern from Oliver + S.  I actually was planning on making these for kids clothes week challenge but I just couldn't wait.  

I love that the shorts look like old school track shorts.  I ran track for 10 years competitively so I would say track shorts hold a certain spot in my heart :)

I am a total copy cat.  I love the little tags that I've seen on probably actually.  It never even occurred to me to add tags to clothing but I love the simple twill tape, fabric and embroidered tags that she adds to her daughters clothes.  

front waist band and faux fly

i got a little lazy and didn't feel like switching thread, oh well.

I made an adjustable waistband. This called for buttonhole elastic which I really didn't want to go out and buy.  I was so glad to find a quick tutorial online on how to make your own buttonhole elastic.  It really is a no brainer.  

Love these little red buttons from my Grandmothers collection.  She has some of the most adorable buttons.  She is 93 and many of them are from the 40's and 50's.

Not sure why this picture is here..I guess I find it humorous that the shorts can stand on their own.  

Go make some shorts--super quick and fun to sew!