1. capelet . left, 2. bus dress - finally finished, 3. Fall jumper for Clementine, 4. Fall, 5. Lion Hanging, 6. kcwc day 5 - alligator hoodie one, 7. Quilted Vest, Part 2, 8. jacket progress, after day 1, 9. pant cuffs

Wow. I mean really: wow! You guys blow me away with the beautiful clothes you can make in a week. I mean really: a week! Some of you made a whole wardrobe and others worked a little each day on one piece and got it totally done by the end of the week. Even if you slacked off by midweek, I don't want to think you failed (not to sound too pollyanna). All this challenge is meant to do is put you in front of your sewing machine and get you to sew a little, then maybe a little more. This momentum feeds your creativity: the more you make, the more ideas you have, the more you want to make.

1. Orange Jacket, 2. close up of fleece sweater, 3. windy!, 4. Baby Animal Hats 03, 5. STRETCH TERRY TUNIQUE I, 6. insulated kids' vest, 7. IMG_5871, 8. IMG_1265, 9. Bragitas I

There were a few comments that summed up the week nicely (and I hope the readers don't mind if I quote them here):

i did it. i totally participated in every hour (and then some of the challenge. and it’s been a blast! not only did it get me back on my sewing horse, it reminded me how much i love to sew – and sew with others! i also learned that at least one hour a night to do something that i love fuels my soul and makes me a better person. and mama. and partner.

-nina

and

Pfew, what a fun & whirlwind week of sewing this has been!
I was able to sew for at least one hour for 5 days out of 7 ...which is more than I have done before!

The most important thing that this week taught me was that yes, I *can* muster the energy to sew for 1 to 2 hours after the kids are in bed, and finally see all those plans in my head come to life under my sewing machine needle. A wonderful feeling of accomplishment! ;-)

-sabine

So thank you to all the mothers and grandmothers and aunts and talented sewers who sat down in front of their machines and made beautiful clothes for some fantastic kids.  And thank you to the kids who patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) stood and sat and stopped leaning and turned around while we took pictures of them. And thank you candy for helping.

I'm have to apologize for the unfinished (can't find the buttons), wrinkled (I can't find my iron either) shirt and the model's obviously slept in braids. It's Sunday morning and we are all a bit lazy.

I wanted to make this shirt (from Happy Homemade vol.2 again) because I remembered I had picked up some awesome vintage trim that would be perfect for the little tab in the middle. So I bought the pretty blue corduroy and sewed the shirt up, then tore my studio up trying to find the trim (maybe the shirt has the power to hide things). I gave up, decided I must have given it away and used an old plaid shirt instead.  Last night I started on an old crochet project and there in my bag full of yarn was the ribbon.

I still haven't found the buttons, but maybe they are hiding with the iron in the refridgerator.

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Today is the last day of the kids clothes week challenge and I hope you had a good time. The flickr group is full of amazing things, I've found some new and fantastic blogs and you've pointed me to some new children's pattern designers. Thank you so much for playing along!

The last giveaway is from one of my favorite bloggers, Kayanna from junecraft. She has kindly offered a $20 dollar gift certificate for her etsy shop to the winner! She makes beautiful prints, calendars, funny little plush, tote bags and they are all modern and stylish and cute as all get out.

To enter tell us what you thought of the week (whether you participated or not), or what you like best from the junecraft shop, or how you take your coffee. Good luck!

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The winner is

#54: Claire from Moth and Sparrow!

Congratulations!

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Nothing fancy today, just some laze around the house pants for a chilly Saturday. Cashmere pants. I wish I had some. The baby hasn't benefited much from kcwc this time around--not that he's noticed.  I've got a stack of pants sewn up for him that still need elastic, but they're just pants. These are the best of the bunch and even they aren't that exciting. I stopped buying sweaters to felt a while ago because it was getting a little hoard-y, but now I'm thinking he might need some sweater overalls for this winter.  Maybe we'll take a little family trip to the thrift store this afternoon.

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Today's giveaway is from Chez Beeper Bebe. Holly makes clever and cute things at an amazing pace. Every time I look at her blog she's got some new, fantastic idea made plush. She has kindly offered one of her baby on a stick toys to the winner of this giveaway! My kids always ended up hitting themselves in the face with their wooden rattles (hey, no jokes) so these soft, easy to grasp, crazy cute rattles would have been just right for them. Also, who can resist a name like baby on a stick?

To enter you can tell us about your favorite little softie, plushy, cuddly thing when you were little, or a soft toy you've made for you kids, or what you are going to do today.  Good luck!

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The winner is

#23: Wendy!

Congratulations!

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I cut out this skirt for kcwc in the spring, but then the pockets and the piping started to looking very difficult and it found it's way to the bottom of the pile. Well, it turns out the piping wasn't hard at all--a little fiddly maybe, but it turned out.

The pockets on the other hand are now in the garbage. You can't see the back pockets the pattern picture, but they are cute little curved things with piping around the bottom, and a horizontal buttonhole on the top hem, oh and they are top stitched too. I have no idea how you are supposed to make buttonholes look good on knit fabric or top stitching for that matter. Whatever, maybe I'll have to courage to try again in the spring.

Or if my daughter demands it, because she's pretty peeved that the pockets in the front are fake. And really I was kind of annoyed too, when I figured out what the diagrams were telling me to do. This is another pattern from Everyday Bottoms; it seems like I'm having a japanese kids clothes week, but the patterns are so damn stylish I can't not make them.

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Today's giveaway is a new book, called Sew Tina!, by fabric and pattern designer Tina Givens. The book doesn't even hit the shelves until October, so this is a super special sneak peek! It is filled ideas and patterns for children's clothes, accessories and things for their rooms. I haven't seen the book yet, but if that cute little dress is any indication, it is sure to be fantastic.

To enter this giveaway tell us if you are a work from patterns or dive right in without a plan kinda sewer, or if you have read some extra good craft books lately or what you had for breakfast. Good Luck!

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The winner is

#114: Carolyn!

Congratulations!

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I made these cute hoodies from the japanese pattern book, Happy Homemade vol. 2. The one of the left is made from this super soft blue plaid flannel (that frays like crazy!) and the one on the right is made out of a piece of vintage fabric I had been saving for ages--there was only a little over a yard, but I eeked it out somehow. They are the same size, because I was lazy and didn't want to trace another pattern, so my son's is a little big, but I think it looks fine.

I never really figured out how they wanted me to do the elastic at the neckline--those pictures aren't always so easy to follow--so I sewed and ripped and sewed and ripped and it still isn't quite right. I think my elastic was old too and I'm guessing it looses some stretch as it ages (ha! don't we all). But I'm still pretty happy with them and I'm sure they will be made again, next time maybe lined.

Hannah from Lily and Thistle very generously offered her Ultimate Paper Doll Package for today's giveaway! If don't win, but fall in love with the paper dolls (how could you not?) and purchase one of the packages (ultimate, standard or print-it-yourself) she will throw in a free line of fall outfits-- you just need to type ELSIE in the note to seller on the paypal page at checkout. Dana did a lovely write up when she and her daughter got their own mini me paper dolls, if you aren't familiar with Hannah's work.  They are not only beautifully drawn, but well packaged and designed for little hands--you can use a special adhesive strip instead of the paper tabs if you choose. I was very excited to see she is doing a line of boy dolls now too!

To enter tell us if you played with paper dolls (remember Dolly Dingle?) or tell me a joke or what you are working on today for KCWC. Good luck! And check out all the awesome clothes in the flickr group so far. Wow!

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The winner is

#6: katy from no big dill

Congratulations!

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Sorry, little behind schedule today because I went out with my wonderful husband to celebrate our anniversary last night, but I'm up an caffeinated now, and the winners of the big butt baby pants and the toddler back pack patterns have been announced!

Sometimes you don't need anything fancy you just need a plain old pair of pants. These are made with some nice, heavy wide wale corduroy and I used the same pattern as these shorts I made, only longer. Of course they are too long and too big all over really, but the boy grows like a weed, so they might fit at the end of the winter. Still, he loves them (hence all the wrinkles) and now says gray is his favorite color--wonder who he got that from?

For today's giveaway Liesl from Oliver + S has kindly offered their new Music Box Jumper pattern! I think everyone who sews children's clothes is crazy for Oliver + S patterns. And how could you not be? They are beautifully designed, well written, and come with their own paper doll!  The purl bee recently showed off a version of the Music Box Jumper in corduroy (liberty corduroy!) and it couldn't be more perfect.

To enter the giveaway today, I'd love it if you tell us something about an Oliver + S project you've worked on or a story you have about working with patterns or even what has caught your eye in the flickr group so far. Good Luck!

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The winner IS

#42: UK lass in US

Congratulations!

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I got these two pairs of PINK! and YELLOW! cords at the gap this summer for 3 bucks each and knew right away I wanted to turn them into pants for my kids. Last year I made pants for them out of my husband's old jeans (sort of like this) but the rise was too low and they never wore them--my son called them, without any malice, his "falling down pants."

I wanted to get the fit right this time, but the stinkers were sleeping when I made these so I got all fancy with the pockets while I waited. There are two patch pockets on the back of each pair and a little pocket in front--a star for my son and a heart for my daughter.  When they tried them on they both complained that the pocket was too small. Wouldn't you be excited to have a star pocket on your pants? Whatever. They fit.

I used a pretty bit of printed corduroy for the elastic casing on the pink ones and this crazy awesome vintage scrap I had for the yellow pair. This is a super easy way to make use of those jeans you never wear, but can't get rid of for some weird reason. Cute recycling. My friend Mary Jo over at Five Green Acres put a little upcycling twist to kids clothes week; check it out if you are making big clothes into small clothes this week.

Made by Rae Giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from the fabulous Rae from Made by Rae. She is hilarious and down to earth and a damn fine seamstress. She kindly offered up two patterns for kids clothes week: the big butt baby pants and the toddler backpack. Both patterns are PDFs, so you could even add them to your list for this week (ha!). Just tell me which one you would rather have in the comments and I'll choose two winners! The toddler backpack is full of nice details: pockets and piping and padded straps and little loops for hanging. And the big butt baby pants, while also being extremely fun to say, are versatile and useful and super cute. Decisions, decisions.

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The winners are

big butt baby pants: #10 Shannon

toddler backpack: #55 Stephanie from neuroses galore

Congratulations!

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The kids clothes week challenge is here! Gather up your supplies and your ambious list of things to sew and carve out an hour to work on it today. Then hop over to the flickr group and show us what you're making. Be sure to check back here because as a special treat I have lined up a giveaway for everyday this week! Lots of them have to do with sewing children's clothes, but some are just cute and I wish I could win, but I'll let you have all the fun.

I have to confess did my sewing last week so I could have some things done to show you this week. There are some smarty pants out there who did all their cutting out ahead of time, so the flickr group is already starting to fill up with cute handmade clothes. This little number is the dress version of the Tee for Two pattern from Patterns by Figgy. It's an amazing pattern for a simple raglan sleeve shirt in knit fabric, done on a plain old sewing machine, with all the seams on the outside and the hems left stylishly (and effortlessly) raw.

This means the shirt will be comfortable, itch free and definitely worn. It also means that you have to sew with WRONG sides together, which is very clearly stated in the directions, but it turns out there is some automatic mechanism in my brain that will not let me sew with wrong sides facing because I had to unpick the same seam three times before I got it right. It's not like I was tired and not paying attention either: I had coffee in my system, it was mid-morning, quiet even, but my brain kept flipping the fabric behind my back.

If you think you can sew the seams on the outside without your brain short circuting, then you should leave a comment to win this very pattern. That's right Shelley from Patterns by Figgy has generously donated the Tee for Two pattern for the first giveaway.  The shirt can be long sleeved or short sleeved, or even a dress with a little gathering at the front and flutter sleeves--super customizable and for boys and girls sizes 12mo.-6/7. So leave a comment with some ridicuous sewing desaster you've had, or your grand plans for the week, or the weather report, or just say hi. I will use the random number picker thing tomorrow and post an update on this post with the winner.

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THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

The winner is #62, Rebecca from The Prepared Family. Congratulations Rebecca!

I used random.org and if I knew how to show you the little picture of the number picker I would, but I promise it said 62.

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Kids clothes week started a few years ago when I made myself get off the couch and sew clothes for my kids one hour a night for a week.  And it worked: I got up! I made things! I screwed up some things too! Then the next year I invited others to join in and it turns out that when a bunch of people cheer each other on it's much easier to get off the couch and sit in front of the sewing machine and make cool stuff. The challenge is simple

Work on making clothes for kids one hour each day for a week.

but there are still some questions that pop up and need answering. If you have any more questions please leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them in this post. Thanks!

FAQ:

how many hours again? start with one, but you don't need to set a timer. If the hour is up and you are still going strong, go with it!

how long? every day for 7 days

do I have to sew? no, knitting and crocheting are fine, but pattern making, fabric cutting, seam ripping...they all count too.

does it have to be clothes? well it is kids clothes week, but I'm not your mother so I can't really tell you want to do, can I?

does it have to be for kids? see above.

do I have to have a blog? no, not at all

if I do have a blog, do I have to blog about it? not if you don't want to. It can get kind of crazy trying to sew and then blog about it the next day--when you probably should be sewing--but if you have the time (or can't wait) then by all means!

where can I show off all the stuff I made? Flickr! you can post all the pictures of all the awesomeness you made in the elsie marley flickr group. Join if you are not a member already, then add your handmade wonders and look around at all the other lovely things people have made.

who else is playing along? there are over 350 people signed up so far for the fall 2010 challenge! You can see all of them and their lovely blogs too in the comment section of this post.

My mother didn't care for halloween, to put it mildly, and really I don't blame her: whining for expensive costumes that last for one night, demanding different ones at the last minute, coming home with a pillowcase full of candy and then belly aches and sugar melt downs for days.  I can feel the hate for halloween in my genes, but I try to fight it. As long as I treat halloween costumes as quick and dirty projects then I'm not mad when they are rejected or ripped or ugly or whatever.  A lot of people love halloween though and thank goodness because they make awesome costumes for us to ogle.

amazing and creative handmade halloween costumes

1. Baby Woodpecker, 2. Devil(ed) Egg, 3. Jedi Robe, 4. lace crown, 5. Star wars birthday courtesy of oliver and s and ottobre, 6. angry/suprised owl, 7. Infant Elvis Costume, 8. week 9.2, 9. in lieu

This is just a small selection of the fantastic tutorials out there for kids' halloween costumes. The creativity and the construction of these costumes blows me away. If you know of any good tutorials (or have made some yourself) please leave a comment linking to it.  And get ready because the challenge starts on Monday!

hilarious halloween costume tutorials

1. strong man 2. freezer paper skeleton costume 3. sock monkey 4. pukka costume 5. care bear costume 6. frankenstein 7. happy mutant three armed baby 8. last minute kids owl costume 9. daisy costume