Kwik Sew 3125 - matchy matchy

When I was growing up the thing I hated with a passion was being dressed the same as my sister. Now that I have kids of my own I can sort of understand why, because in the interests of peace and any semblance of quiet you must treat each equally because inevitably what one has the other will want. But at the time I hated it, especially since my sister was 3 years younger than me. I wish I could find the photo of us wearing matching strawberry shortcake short and tshirt set, but you'll just have to take my word for it that it was way too much matching and way too much sickly pink and just plain wrong!

Having kids of different genders has made it easier, but I've gone out of my way not to make them matching clothes (fabrics or styles) or matching with me either. So you can imagine my surprise when Anna demanded a jumper (sweater) to match the one I had just made her little brother. Deep from the stash I made a simple raglan sleeved jumper for Toby from Kwik Sew 3150 in a grey marle fleece with a Dalmatian and fire truck print that I picked up in a garage sale eons ago:

I made Toby's version with a red ribbing also from the stash for the cuffs, neckband and waistband. I used size T1, but I find that it's very snug and he probably won't be able to wear it for much longer - wasn't I just ranting recently how big the commercial sewing patterns sizing is? Well it appears Kwik Sew is different.....

 

 

I had a bit of fabric left over that I was going to make a second jumper for Toby in a bigger size but Anna demanded one too, so using the same pattern but in size T4 I made her the same jumper, just without the rib hem band:

Ordinarily I wouldn't sew something like tracksuits when they are so cheap to buy and kids destroy them or grow out of them before you know it. Plus fleece fabric is surprisingly expensive given that you're not making it into something high end out of it. But since I do have the fabrics in the stash and they don't take that long to make it's silly not to make them - it's not like the fabric is worth holding onto forever.

 



 

I only wish I had enough fabric to make their dad a matching jumper too. Trying to embarrass him is fast becoming my favourite pastime!

 

 

 

Happy Halloween

Celebrating Halloween isn't really a big thing here in Australia.  Growing up on a steady diet of American sitcoms and movies, I was insanely jealous that kids got to dress up, roam the streets at night and get bucketloads of lollies.  My dad is a Type 1 insulin dependent diabetic, so the only lollies in our house were for emergencies and not for us kids - probably why I have such a sweet tooth now!

Retailers here are trying their best to get us into the Halloween tradition, but each year the predictable laments start about the Americanisation of our culture, which is quite funny given that Halloween is based on a pagan tradition from ye olde Europe.  Anna is too young to go trick or treating so it's not something I have to take a stand on just yet, but when her daycare decided to have a spooky dress up day I started to think up some cool costume ideas - Wednesday Addams, Pippi Longstocking or the like but Anna was pretty set on being a plain old witch.  Sure I could've gone and bought an outfit so plasticky it might spontaneously combust, but as an overachieving crafty mum I was loving the opportunity to make something instead.

And I just happened to have a costume pattern purchased not long after Anna was born just waiting for the day when I could start making dress up costumes:

Because it's pretty hot here, I made her witchy dress from a lightweight cotton voile and polyester organza both out of the stash, with short sleeves and a mid calf length so she wouldn't trip over:

Accessorised with a store bought hat she pilfered from her aunt (saved me messing around with boning and fabric to make a pointy hat), and some cardboard buckles she looks quite cute, if understated.  My favourite bit are the red stripey socks and black pointy shoes:

It seems the witchcraft community has undergone the feminist revolution too, and the broom has been left at home with the other cleaning implements.  The modern witch gets about town these days on a zooming scooter:

Little brother wasn't to be left out either.  I was given a Tigger outfit as a gift that so far has been too big, but is perfect for a Halloween dress up:

And the best bit about this diversion is that it's given me more time to think about what fabric to use for the cowl neck dress.  You all gave me so many good reasons to go in many directions that I'm still mulling over the comments - thanks everyone, I knew you'd all have some good ideas.  I just didn't realise there'd be so many good ideas. 

The too late for school photos dress: Simplicity 2907

Thank you all for your suggestions and helpful comments on the fit issues of the green dress - I knew that I'd get some great suggestions on how to fix it.  I agree that the hemline could be raised, in fact I haven't even hemmed the dress, only lazily overlocked the bottom and left it at that so I can easily raise it from dowdy to knockout (ha ha).  I will also try taking in the centre front dress panel too, in order to get a snugger fit across the midriff below the bust, although that is going to take some serious unpicking first and I despise unpicking stitches on knit fabrics.  So stay tuned......  Oh yeah, and thanks Caroline for pointing out the bullseye on the right hand side - I can't believe I didn't place the print better! Oh well, nothing too exciting to see there these days because as Summer Flies pointed out those maternity bras give horrendous shape.

My latest finished project is a dress for Anna who got quite cranky that I had made myself a dress and am halfway through another for me (how dare I!) with nothing on the cutting table for her, so I let her pick some fabric and a pattern out of the stash.  Also with her school photos being done last week I wanted her to have a new handmade dress to wear as I have made for her for the last two years.  Unfortunately I got the dates wrong, I was a day too late and the seamstresses daughter wore a RTW dress for school photos!

Anna chose Simplicity 2907, a drop waisted shirt dress with a full skirt which I made from some cotton poplin bought from Spotlight at some sale or other last year.

The sleeve has a short piece of elastic sewn on to give it some fullness without having a puffy sleeve cap, which is a nice touch.  I left off the two breast pockets because I didn't think they would be noticeable with this fabric anyway.  Overall, I think this dress looks cute and it was easy to sew but seems rather unpractical. For little ones that sit cross legged on the ground and climb, run, skip and do the usual three year old type activities it seems a bit restrictive to have the flared part of the dress start below the hips. Mind you what would I know - it doesn't stop the twirliness of the dress, which is paramount of course!

So now hopefully I can get on with my own dress without too much complaining from my little fashion obsessive.  I'm halfway through my August Burda challenge garment, and since the October issue arrived at my place yesterday I need to get moving on it.  Although I suspect nothing will stop this little once from expecting too much - she seems to think I can just walk in my sewing room and walk straight out with something for her!

skirting the issue: Burda 1/2009 #138

Ever had a case of the blahs when it comes to writing something, anything, on your blog?  That's me at the moment - I have a few projects to share but can hardly think of a blog title let alone some interesting and intelligent sentences.  I think the zombie stage of new motherhood has finally claimed me because I'm feeling quite tired and weary at the moment.  Unbelievably Toby seems to be growing some teeth and he has been so grumpy during the day that I end up holding him all day long, which is quite an effort since he weighs so much.  Thankfully he still sleeps well at night, only waking once or twice but his sister, who used to be a terror at night has now started having night terrors so she's also waking once or twice a night too which makes for a tiring night. It's still not as bad as the days when Anna was sleeping badly, so really you'd think I'd be able to handle this stage better......

Soldiering on though, I've been making a few more skirts for Anna because her favourite skirt, a purple tiered ruffle skirt bought from Target last year is just too short now but she won't let it go because apparently it twirls the best.  All those dirndl skirts I made for Anna thinking I was so clever for using up largish fabric scraps are apparently 'broken' because they don't twirl enough!  So I've been searching for a full, twirly skirt without resorting to a full circle skirt since they use a fair bit of fabric and too much mathematics for my tired brain at the moment.

I even let Anna into my sewing room and let her pick out some fabric to increase the chances of it becoming her favourite.  This was probably a mistake because now she thinks all the fabric in there is going to become something for her - "what are you going to make for me from this fabric mummy?" is what she keeps asking.  Little does she know that my stash is so huge that she'll probably be making things for herself from that fabric for the rest her life as well as mine!

I used Burda 1/2009 #138, which is a simple double layer gathered full skirt with a waist yoke.  Anna picked out a black and pink butterfly printed linen that was bought on sale and has been in the stash for ages waiting for the right use, and I used a bright pink cotton poplin for the underskirt to make this:

And it meets with approval, if you measure happiness by the width of the smile:

It's probably a tad bit too long, sitting just below her knees but she is growing so tall so quickly that it won't take too long before it's just right.  And it doesn't stop her engaging in her usual whirlwind of activity either:

And now I need to get back to my Burda challenge projects, I'm so excited that I've nearly caught up with it.  The May project is done and just needs to be photographed, the June project only needs a zipper, and the July project is almost done as well.  This may just be a self imposed challenge that I actually stick with (unlike many other good resolutions I've had over the years).

zero waste sewing

I've been quite intrigued by the zero waste sewing movement, given my frugal nature, my distaste for waste and the huge bags of fabric scraps I already own.  Basically zero waste sewing is, as the name suggest, generating little to no leftover fabric through careful placement of the pattern pieces on the fabric.  Personally I can't see how it could be achieved fully in most designs unless you ignore grain lines and directional prints or the nap of fabric.  But I like the philosophy behind the movement and instead like many others I try to use my larger fabric scraps in a useful manner rather than just chucking them in the bin, especially since I work in the environment sector and know the resources and energy that are used when producing textiles (even the cheap and nasty ones).

Since I'm not a quilter (and nor do I think I would ever have the patience to be one), I'm lucky to have a small child to sew for as well the odd crafty item here and there to use up my fabric scraps.  And this would be an excellent example of both.

The blue and white stripe knit fabric I used for the bodice of the dress in the last post was from an odd shaped piece of fabric I picked up from the op shop and had been in my stash a while.  So to begin with I was using up someone else's scrap but being oddly shaped I couldn't have made much more from it than the bodice top that I did.  But I also managed to eek out this tshirt for Anna since they are little bitty pattern pieces for such a little tshirt:

The pattern I used is Kwik Sew 3424 which I've used before and is such simple construction it's not worth talking about.  I made a red cotton yo yo flower (also scrap fabric!) with a button from the stash to jazz it.

I also managed to cut out a simple rectangular gathered skirt with a elasticised waistband from the solid blue knit also from my dress, using up the last of the biggish area of the fabric:

By this stage there were only random small bits of fabric left, but I still wasn't done with it.  I  made an even smaller matching t-shirt for Anna's cabbage patch doll.  Unfortunately Anna wasn't being cooperative and refused to let me take a photo of her wearing these clothes, but the cabbage patch doll was a far more willing model!

So I think I've done my best to avoid adding precious resources to limited landfill deposits.  Rest assured though that Anna, the cabbage patch doll and I will NOT be seen in public together wearing our matching fabrics......

Speaking of the cabbage patch dolls, one of my very lovely readers, Renata, who is a fellow Sydneysider, sent me an awesome package shortly after christmas:

Unbelievably Renata gifted me these very cute and hard to come by cabbage patch dolls patterns from her own pattern stash.  So thank you again Renata, although I'll probably be cursing you when I'm up to my eyeballs in fiddly teeny tiny dolls clothes!

Little miss three

We've finally returned home from our annual Christmas visit to the inlaws / holiday.  It is so nice to sleep in your own bed and be in your own space - parents reading this will nod in agreement when I say that a holiday with a small child is actually a misnomer, it's just parenting in a different location with the added challenge of being out of routine and in unfamiliar places! Add to that being six months pregnant in stifling Queensland heat it just adds up to it being harder than staying at home.....

While we were away Anna turned 3 and in the tradition I started for her I made her another birthday dress (2nd birthday dress here and 1st birthday dress here).  It was tough work to get her to put it on because her favourite dress at the moment is a Dora the Explorer dress given to her as a hand me down that she wears practically every day unless she's been naughty and I make her take it off to wear some shorts and a tshirt as punishment!

I made a vintage pattern, Butterick 2194, which is undated but I think is circa 1950s possibly early 60s. 

I made it from some cotton plisse in a pale purple white polka dot fabric, with contrasting white cotton collar and cuffs.  I think it is very cute even though it has a touch of school uniform about it, especially since I made her pose in front of my inlaws house as though it were the first day of school:

It has buttons down the back of bodice, and is heavily gathered around the sides and the back so it passes the twirl test nicely:

Sadly all that enthusiastic twirling resulted in a a big fall, so we had to bribe her with some jelly while we patched her up:

Check out that pouty face - she has certainly turned into a little drama queen!

Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing holiday season.  I have a few days left before going back to work next week and with Anna back at daycare this week my real holiday is just starting....

little red dresses: Kwik Sew 3665 & New Look 6960

Whilst I still had red thread in my overlocker I decided to quickly make Anna some little dresses now that the weather is really heating up around here.  In the space of one child free afternoon I managed not only to make these two really cute dresses, but also gave my sewing room a much needed clean up - such a productive afternoon!

First up I made this red dress from some stretch linen leftover ironically from a maternity dress I made for myself when I was pregnant with Anna, and some red polka dot fabric for a contrast ruffle:

I used Kwik Sew 3665, from which I've made the top several times before and it turns out the dress is just as quick and easy.  A simple raglan sleeved, elastic drawn neckline and sleeves means that it just comes together so quickly.

To break up the two red fabrics because they weren't quite the same shades of red, I sewed some twill ribbon on:

I think it looks really cute, although it is bordering on a christmas decoration theme! I wish I had an equally cute photo of Anna wearing it, but she was being a cheeky little monkey posing in various ways and pulling silly faces, but you get the idea:

The second dress I made from some red gingham with a printed border that I picked up in a country op shop last year when I had to travel for work. 

I chose a simple pattern to make the most of the fabric, New Look 6960 which appears to be out of print now even though I only recently bought it:

Like the other dress, this is a very simple style but I really like that rounded yoke.  I made sure to use the pattern with fluttery cap sleeves (view D) because her day care centre is really strict on sun exposure and if a child comes in wearing sleeveless tops they have to stay inside and play, even though they slather them all in sunscreen. 

And look at this pose - she's obviously been watching her mum pose for photos far too closely 'cos unprompted she slid one foot forward and put her hands on her hips!

And before I overload you all with cuteness, check out this belly shot of my almost 20 week bump:

when 2.5 year olds choose their own clothes....

Long time readers of my little blog may recall when I first announced Anna's birth I titled the post: "Introducing my future fashionista".  A little tongue in cheek of course, but I was sort of referring to how I expected her to behave in her teenage years or at worst in her tween years.  But it turns out that at the grand old age of 2 and a half, Anna has very firm ideas on what clothes she will wear each day.  Like mother like daughter I guess, because she has a definite preference for skirts and dresses (with stockings) over sensible day care clothes like tracksuit pants and shorts!

She's gotten a little cranky with me lately because all of the sewing I've done has been for me, so I decided to whip out some simple and very quick elastic waist skirts for her.  Seriously, what can be simpler or quicker than a piece of rectangle fabric with a seam at the back, a hem and an elastic waist? The hardest part was picking out the fabric, but once that was done it took about 30 minutes to sew these two up:

Happily she was very excited to see these two hanging in her cupboard and insisted on putting the blue skirt on straight away.  But for a simple trip down to the supermarket this is the ensemble she insisted on wearing:

Not too bad right? Well, have a look at what she chose to wear with it:

She was the best dressed toddler in Coles that day! Look out Zsa Zsa Gabor!

getting back into the swing of things

Thank you all for the condolences and empathy regarding the situation with my uncle, I cannot believe how common it is for petty family squabbles at times like these. 

With all that has been going on I lost my sewing mojo for a little while there, and before I knew it almost a week had passed and I hadn't even stepped foot into my sewing room.  Plus we've been having confusing weather lately - some really warm days followed up by some cool days, so I've been at a loss of what to sew next.

But with a little one that is growing so fast, there is always something to sew.  The extra long pants I made for her at the beginning of the year are already becoming a bit Steve Urkel in length! Remember Steve Urkel when he looked like this?:

Source: http://coopbra.glogster.com/steve-urkel-house-party/

Well he's now all grown up and looks like this:

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaleel_White

I'm starting to feel very old now that kids from tv shows that I watched when I was kid are all adults now - even Winnie from the Wonder Years and Punky Brewster have kids of their own!

Anyway, getting back on topic, I made these cargo pants from the Spring 1/2011 Ottobre magazine:

I made these from a very bright piece of purple gabardine that had been sitting in my stash for a while that I couldn't quite picture using for anything else, but it turns out it's a perfect colour for a little girl.
 

Ordinarily I find sewing little people clothes quite easy and straightforward because there's not really the complex fitting issues and they aren't usually fiddly because kids don't particularly like fiddly clothes.  Well not these cargo pants, between the endless amount of topstitching, the front pockets, the leg pockets, the rear pockets, the ties on the leg pockets, the zipper and flyshield it all took ages.  But they look cute, I got some lovely comments on them from several people and she who now decides her own outfits was excited and agreed to wear them straight away, so they are a winner!

And they proved perfect for a day of bouncing on a jumping castle at a local school fete on the weekend:

And to keep the enthusiasm going I've already started my next project - a mesh sequined jacket to wear to a birthday party for my husband we're having this Saturday night at a local restaurant.  Lucky me I have tomorrow off work but Anna is off to school (happy happy days) so I can finish off the jacket, get a haircut, and bake a birthday cake - he turns 40 tomorrow so I should make something special and big enough to hold 40 candles!