kcw summer 2014: happy food and stripe-y shorts

July 21st, 2014

happy food and stripe-y shorts on elsie marley

It’s day one of Kid’s Clothes Week! I started super early this KCW. Mostly because all my kids needed summer clothes. The problem with starting early is that one project turns into 4 more that I want to make. See I work like a crazy person. I don’t start one thing and then work on it until it’s done. No, I start something then get an idea for something else, abandon my first project and start on the new one right away. Then I get discouraged, or bored, or get an idea for yet another project and start that.

happy food and stripe-y shorts on elsie marley

I end up with a huge pile of half-finished garments. It used to be that Kid’s Clothes Week was a way for me to actually sit down and sew some clothes. Now it just makes me finish things I started!

happy food and stripe-y shorts on elsie marley

What did I finish? Well, a lot of things for my daughter. I try to sew an outfit for each of my kids during KCW, but this time my daughter ended up making out like a bandit. The theme this season is KID ART. I didn’t go all out with the theme like I did last time, but my daughter is such a prolific artist I couldn’t skip it all together. She’s been drawing a lot of happy food lately:

happy food!

 

I scanned her drawings and then traced them in Inkscape. There are so many more adorable things she drew that I am still working on tracing: happy broccoli, toast popping out of a happy toaster (and saying, “Yay!”), dancing marshmallows, DJ candy (I kid you not!). I think we are just going to have to make some happy food fabric on Spoonflower. For now, she’ll have to be happy with her happy food shirt.

happy food shirt on elsie marley

 

I used Lesley Riley’s Transfer Artist Paper (affiliate link) like I did last time. It’s really great stuff, but that sucker needs to be super hot when you peel it off. Like it would even help to have one iron-er on-er and one peel-er off-er. Everything else you need to know about using this transfer paper, you can learn in the world’s cutest tutorial ever.

stripe-y shorts on elsie marley

The striped shorts I drafted myself. They are super simple racing shorts with a separate waistband and a little curved front pocket. The striped fabric I got in Montreal when Celina took me fabric shopping! It’s a stretchy cotton that’s soft and comfy. The bias tape is Nani Iro. It sort of looks like scribbles, which is another nod to the kcw KID ART theme. Double gauze bias tape might seem a little luxurious and it is. The bias tape was sitting out on my cutting table when I was making these shorts. Had it not been, I might have hoarded it forever, but it looked so perfect with the stripe I just went for it.

happy food and stripe-y shorts on elsie marley

You can see all my KCW projects here. Happy KCW!

 

 

11 Responses to kcw summer 2014: happy food and stripe-y shorts

  1. The illustration on the shirt is BOSS. Cute outfit.

  2. So awesome! I think this is one of my favorites you’ve ever made. Might have to whip up some of those shorts for myself!

  3. Tara says:

    This outfit is the shit! Love her drawings. The bias tape with the stripe is perfect too. It’s 80’s in a very fun way

  4. That shirt is awesome!

  5. Julie says:

    The drawings are awesome! Great shirt! :)

  6. eva maria says:

    I lóve the drawing on the shirt! And my, these racer shorts are super cute… I had the same shorts in mind as PJ shorts for my daughter and now that I’ve seen yours I’ll be making them for sure!

  7. Ohh my gosh, this whole outfit is amazing. The drawing on the T-shirt is super cute and cool at the same time. You have a talent on your hands :-)
    Thanks ;-)

  8. kristin says:

    every time i see a new drawing of your daughter’s it makes me excited for E’s potential future drawings – they’re just so creative and fun! happy food = excellent. love the shorts too.

  9. Tasha says:

    Seriously. Can’t get enough– I wish I could draw that well. Ha!

  10. popping up out of my chair and shouting “yay!”
    great outfit and such a brilliant drawing