Completed: Christmas Dress #1

You should probably prepare for the Apocalypse.

The impossible has happened, and I'm afraid it may bring about the end of the world.

It's the first week of November, and I've finished one of Eliza's Christmas dresses. (Her Easter dress was completed at 4:00 a.m. Easter morning. Her first birthday dress still isn't finished. She's 17 months old.)

I'm working on a tutorial for this style that'll be a guest post over at Project Run and Play this Thursday. I didn't actually get frisky and abandon my procrastinating ways; this was my practice dress, and I figured I'd go ahead and make it up in a holiday fabric.

This shot almost makes me forget my camera's still in the shop:

I didn't embellish this dress at all, and the one that'll appear in the tutorial isn't embellished either. The fabric was busy enough.  That's my excuse, but some piping or a tiny little bow right along the neckline would have been cute.

Check out the shoes. They are awesome. Very Christmas-y, those Chucks.

Stats:
Pattern: Heavily Modified Simplicity 4711 (lined the bodice, shortened the skirt, made the back cross over -- so basically, just kept the front bodice piece of the original pattern)
Fabric: Michael Miller Nordic Holiday; Kona cotton
Cost: $15

(Check out a couple of other similar versions of this dress here and here.)

KCWC Day Six

Last night I finished several pairs of upcycled knit pants for Eliza. I'm envisioning her wearing these under skirts or dresses. Or maybe with a sweatshirt or t-shirt for playing around the house.

Those animal print ones (from one of Mom's 80's jumpsuits) will be part of a larger outfit that's planned. Today's the last day for KCWC, so maybe I'll finish up that top tonight.

P.S. Eliza appeared on the elsie marley blog today! (Meg, elsie marley's author, created the KCWC phenomenon.)

KCWC Day Five

I've been seeing Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee all over the KCWC Flikr pool this week. I've sewn Rae's patterns before, and I know they're high quality. Still, I chose to make my own pattern rather than forking over the $10.

Next time I'll spend the money.

It turned out great, but having the pattern would have saved me half an hour in getting the neckline the right size.

This little outfit was made from some yoga pants I bought a couple of years ago. A) I don't regularly wear yoga pants and B) Ryan laughed at me every time I wore these to bed.

On a baby they look awesome. (I'm picturing mixing and matching them with other tops/bottoms.)

I also snapped a shot of the baby in one of the shirts I made earlier this week. It fits, so I won't be scrapping it after all. I love the color.

(Update: I've posted a tutorial on the envelope t-shirt by re-mixing Made by Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee.)

KCWC Day Four

A girl can never have too many white t-shirts.

This one's made from another upcycled t-shirt. It's paper thin and super soft. My serger protested, but it turned out perfectly.

When I put it on her, she rubbed her belly and smiled. That's approval in 16-month-old terms.

KCWC Day Three

Here are a few more completions for KCWC.

(I'm SO ready for my camera to return from the Nikon Abyss. The repairs are covered by warranty, so that's good, but at this point I'm getting twitchy. The iPhone is many things. Excellent camera for capturing kids, it is not.)

First up is an upcycled envelope shirt. (The sleeves look uneven in the picture, but I think it's the camera (phone) angle.) This was an old Old Navy shirt that I bought on sale and intended to make into a maternity shirt. Almost two years later it's a shirt for the baby instead.

The sleeves on this one are a little tight. For some reason I didn't give enough room at the sleeve cap. It still fits, and she didn't complain, but it might be scrapped because it doesn't look comfortable.

Next is an upcycled t-shirt that was my sister's, then mine, and now the baby's. I preserved the neckline, cut a tiny hole in the ribbing, and inserted corded elastic to gather it. I drafted/added sleeves and shortened the hem to tunic length. It's a really lightweight, soft cotton.

For the leggings, I cut up a sweater and used my go-to leggings pattern. (I had planned to make a cardigan out of the same sweater, but it was a colossal fail. The knit's gauge was too loose, and it just wouldn't sew up right for a cardigan.)

she looks mad, doesn't she? maybe it had something to do with my snatching her pacifier right before I snapped this.

Last up for today is another upcycled envelope t-shirt. I've decided I'm much better at the leggings than the shirts.

Quite honestly, this week is an experiment more than anything. Every project I'm learning more about construction and drafting, so it's good practice. She may end up with a few things to wear at the end of it.

(The completed projects in the Flikr pool are neat to look at -- lots of great ideas and variety. Three cheers for mamas making cute handmade clothes!)

KCWC Day Two

Cut and waiting to be sewn: 7 pairs of leggings, 6 t-shirts, 1 dress, and 1 cardigan.

Here's the first completed project for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. These are courtesy of a t-shirt my sister gave me. She wore it, I wore it, and now the baby girl gets to wear it. 

Completed: Two Renfrews and Three Skirts

A couple of years ago I ordered some knit fabric online - red and orange. When it arrived, it was a classic case of "Maybe I Should Order a Sample Next Time."

It wasn't just orange. It was extremely orange. 

I like orange, but this was loud, thick jersey. The weight was odd, and so it enjoyed a place at the back of the sewing cabinet.

The red was more promising, but I just wasn't feeling it. For two whole years, this HUGE chunk of knit took up a HUGE chunk of my sewing storage space.

Until now.

The fabric store down the street received a couple of bolts of "Oh Deer" Moda fabric and Robert Kauffman recently. (Wow, I see it's much cheaper on fabric.com than what I paid. Oh well. Shop local.) They matched perfectly. So I made a few skirts, and that ugly orange and uninspired red became two awesome Renfrews.

Lee was my photographer. 

This one's a little short, but it's not tacky. At least I don't think so.  

"Got it Mommy!" he said. He didn't think my head was necessary.

She scored some red leggings out of the deal. 

Luuuuuurve my double needle.

Shirts
Pattern: Sewaholic Renfrew
Fabric: cotton jersey - very stable

Skirts:
Pattern: none - cut two big rectangles, sewed and serged side seams, serged top and bottom, folded up hem and stitched, folded down casing and stitched, inserted elastic, closed casing. Voila.
Fabric: Robert Kauffman (bottom), Moda Oh Deer! by MoMo (top two)

Thoughts
Man, I love that Renfrew pattern. The first time I did it, I used a lightweight knit -- not the stable knit Tasia recommends. This time I widened the shoulders but cut the same size. Because my knits were more stable (thicker with less stretch and heavier weight), I should have gone up a size.** Especially on the orange one. You can see the under-wire outline of my bra. (Mom and I agreed that's an "It Might Be Too Tight" indicator.)

Next time I'll know. And there WILL be a next time.

The skirts are great. I'll pair them with my boots or ballet flats, find some wild-colored tights, and be good to go. The fun colors will distract people from my non-matching stripes. (The fabric was too expensive to buy extra for matching.)

WHY oh WHY did I not add pockets?

Another thing for next time.

I'm convinced the reason I keep sewing is to get it right "next time."

** In a case of perfect timing, Tasia (Sewaholic's designer extraordinaire) has an excellent post published today titled, "What's a Stable Knit Fabric?"

Completed: Bias Skirt Remix (PR&P Week 1)

This week's challenge over at Project Run and Play was to re-mix the "A Very Biased Skirt" tutorial from Katy at No Big Dill.

Here's what I came up with.

When I first read the challenge and started thinking about working with bias strips, I immediately thought of weaving them. I played around with the idea of a peplum, but in the end settled on a short-bodiced dress with leggings. 

The woven bias strips continue all around the bodice.

Here's my favorite detail -- the crossover back. It buttons, but I only had clear buttons in the right size. (All the materials for this project came from my stash.)

Here's a close-up of the woven bodice.

For the leggings I used this tutorial from Make It Love It. It only takes two pattern pieces, which I drafted using another pair of Eliza's leggings. Ashley enthusiastically supports using a double needle for knits and even has a nifty tip for attaching the extra thread spool to your machine if there's not a place built in. (My machine doesn't have a place for a second spool, so I used toothpicks taped to the machine to hold the extra thread. Worked like a charm!)

The double needle is my new best friend, and Eliza will have lots more of these leggings this winter.

There are a few things I'd change if I did it over again, but overall I'm pleased with how it turned out. I learned several new techniques -- making my own bias tape, practice with drafting my own patterns, and using a double needle.

Seriously, head on over to the Project Run & Play Flikr group. (I've linked it correctly this time.) I want these moms to adopt me and start sewing my clothes!

(The pictures are from our visit to Sky Top Orchard today. Lovely backdrop. It's apple season in the mountains, which means it's almost leaf season. That makes me very happy.)

Completed: Comfy Banded Shorts #3

For these shorts, I started with an X-Large cotton shirt from Dollar Store.  The waistband was made with coordinating knit from my stash.

Here's the result.  The plaids don't match up, but they didn't match on the shirt.  (Matching plaid takes more material, and with cheap shirts from the Dollar Store you can bet they use as little fabric as possible.)

They fit even better than the last pair.  I used my own shorts pattern again.

those mis-matched plaids are killing me!

Lee wore them all afternoon.  They were filthy at the end of the day, which made me very happy.

Completed: Denim Shorts with Comfort Waistband

Shorts for Lee have been on my to-do list for a while, and I finally got around to a pair.  I started with some old Hollister jeans that were mine.  Apparently I didn't know that Hollister = teenage brand = low rise enough to see crack

So, I cut them, keeping the outside leg seams for simplicity's sake.

Then I used an existing pair of shorts to figure out a pattern.  I added a waistband made from a fleece pullover I've had since 10th grade.  (You know how I know it's that old?  Angela and I bought matching ones from American Eagle before anyone shopped at American Eagle.  I remember wearing my XL gray pullover to work at O'Charley's.)

I sewed up the crotch and legs, threaded some elastic through the waistband, serged it all together, hemmed them up, and called it shorts.

Lee liked them, and the fit was close to perfect.  These were my test pair.  I've got plans for more with some tweaks like a faux fly, adjusted elastic placement (to the center of the waistband), pockets, and a faux drawstring.  If I'm feeling frisky, it may turn into my very first  tutorial.

Eliza's (Plan B) Birthday Outfit

The smocked bishop I'd planned for Eliza's birthday still isn't finished.  The geometric smocking is complete, but I'm stuck on the flowers.  No matter how many times I read, watch videos, and try, I just can't get it right.  (There's a definite downside to being self-taught.)

So, on her birthday I had to improvise.

I tea stained a onesie to make it match the ecru in the fabric.  Then I whipped up a tiny skirt with elastic waistband to match.  Finally I appliqued her initials onto the onesie and hand stitched around the letters.  It came together quickly, and the baby got to wear something handmade for her 1st birthday.

(Are you noticing a theme with the rocking chair and the picket fence?  I'm going to have to get more creative with our poses.)