Kids Clothes Week!

*image from blog.kidsclothesweek.com*

For day two of KCW, I whipped up a shirt for Kels.  The Flashback Skinny Tee from Made By Rae.  Every pattern I have purchased from Rae has been fantastic.  Simple, easy to follow, and great results! You can buy the big kids size (6-14!) or the smaller sizes (12 months -5T).  Kelsey measured out perfect for the 5T.

The fabric is a really light weight, SOFT knit from Girl Charlee. I was nervous to work with it because I haven't been real successful sewing with knits yet.  I went REALLY slow, pinned the heck out of it, and used the stretch stitch on my machine.  And all was well in the world.

I was really happy with the length of the sleeves.  Store bought shirts seem to be the TINIEST bit short on her arms.  This pattern length worked really well for her arms.  

The length on the waist turned out well too.  She can reach up without her tummy showing.  :)  

Now onto pattern drafting for my day three project!  

Wish me luck!

A Geranium Dress

I LOVE sewing.  And I especially love sewing when I don't have a specific deadline to finish a project. (Like Christmas presents) Our neighbor JUST had a baby girl.  She came early, before her shower even!  I'm working on a little present for the shower.  I like to make something and get something off the registry.  Even if the thing off the registry is super small like a paci.  I LOVED my showers, and everything I got from them but I was always a little bummed that most the stuff I received was stuff not on my registry.  

The Geranium Dress pattern from Made By Rae is one of my go to patterns for dresses (also an option to make it a top). You have two size groups to choose from when you buy, 0-5T or 6-12!  Yep, all the way up to 12! They were the girls Easter dresses last year and they have gotten PLENTY of wear since then.  

Back on to the topic.  Baby girl!  I made her a little Geranium for summer time in size 6-12 months.  I made the version with a slight cap sleeve. 

It's one of my go to patterns because of how quick it sews up.  I usually cut the fabric out in the evening and sew up the bodice, then the next morning finish it up with the skirt and buttons.  Done and done.

One of my favorite parts of the pattern is how well the inside seams are finished.  I chose a black and white polka dot just to have some interest for the inside.  :) 

See?  No raw edges hanging out to bother sensitive little bodies.  They are all tucked into the lining.  Perfect!

I also really liked the bigger buttons.  Gives it a little extra pop of color!

It's different fabric than I would normally pick but I love how it came out.  I think I will add a little flower pin to it to help brighten it up some.  Or leave it.  I'm still up in the air about it.  :)  

My other favorite thing to make for little baby girls are these really sweet baby sun bonnets.  So that's next up on the sewing list.  It's another pattern from Rae, you can get it here.

And that's a great little handmade shower gift.  

Summer Sewing Part 1

I'm working on adding to the kids summer wardrobe with some handmade things.  So far I've made a pair of shorts for each of the girls. 

For Doodle's shorts I used Oliver and S Puppet Show Shorts pattern.  They sewed up really quick and I love how the have a vintage feel to them.  She's pretty skinny but I sewed up the size 5.  They might be a little big, but that just means she can wear them a little longer.  :)

I used a pink and white seersucker fabric from JoAnns.  Nice and light for warm summer days.

For Little Bit, I made a pattern for some simple knit shorts.  Like seriously, SIMPLE.  It took longer to cut the fabric than it did to sew it.  :)  

The hem of the shorts came out a little wonky because the knit was SO stretchy.  But that's ok!  She won't care, at this age anyway. ;)  
There are TONS of tutorials out there for how to draft your own patterns.  Basically, if you're making shorts, you grab a pair that fits, turn it inside out and trace around it.  Making sure to add a seam allowance.

 

I'm not a GREAT outliner so to make sure my seam allowance was going to be even all the way around, I attached a pen to my pencil with a rubber band and went around my pattern again.  Instant seam allowance.  :)

  

I'm hoping to find a simple shorts pattern for boys so I can sew some up for Roo too.  It's easy to find some summer patterns for girls, not so easy for boys.  But I'm not THAT confident in my sewing skills to draft patterns for my boy.  Maybe I'll stretch myself and try.  Why not, right?