kcwc fall 2012: day two

October 9th, 2012

kcwc: day two

1. faux fur vest 2. kcwc dress  3. stripe leggings 4. gingham shirt

Welcome to day two of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge! I hope you found an hour (or more) yesterday. The sewing momentum is starting to build, I can feel it. Have you seen the flickr pool yet? Some amazing handmade clothes are popping up there (and even some tutorials)!

To keep the momentum going into next week–and beyond–Liesl, of Oliver + S fame, has offered you, my lovely readers and kcwc sewers, 20% off all their paper patterns! The offer ends right after kcwc ends (midnight ET on October 15), so if there is some pattern you’ve been eyeing, now’s the time to snatch it up! The coupon code is KCWC20–just type it in when you check out!

colorblocked striped top and gingham pants

Okay, what did I sew? An upcycled shirt and some basic lined pants for my five year old boy. I really didn’t intend for these two things to be worn together when I sewed them, but my son had other plans. Let’s start with the shirt…

striped top with multi-colored ribbing

pattern: Flashback Skinny Tee by Made by Rae

fabric: I sized down an old shirt of mine that never fit quite right.

sewing: The t-shirt material is the super thin jersey. I love wearing it (and so does my son) but I get nervous sewing with it. There were a few incidents where my sewing machine  decided to eat the fabric rather than sew it, but it worked out in the end. I loved choosing all the different colored ribbing to finish the shirt. Boy’s clothes you see in stores can be so serious (gray, blue, gray, blue), so it’s nice to make something silly and happy–like little boys!

lined pants

pattern: My go-to pants pattern from Happy Homemade vol. 2. I’ve made it so often I just drafted a combination of the boy’s shorts pattern (i) with the girl’s pants pattern (o) for each size.

fabric: Big gingham on the outside and olive jersey on the inside!

sewing: I can sew this pattern in my sleep, which is what must of what happened because I ending up with two left legs when I sewed the lining. I didn’t mark the right side of the jersey fabric and it is hard to tell right from wrong on solid jersey. Whatever, no one is going to see it, right? Trying to get the lining to sit right in the pants was super fiddily, but now that they are sewn up you can’t tell the pants have two left legs (I hope).

woohoo!

He can’t at least!

 

 

29 Responses to kcwc fall 2012: day two

  1. jacq says:

    Love this tee!
    Did you use rib knit for the yellow cuff also?
    Love the pop of color.

    • meg says:

      good eye!
      I couldn’t find yellow rib, so I just used interlock. Because of that I should have cut the band a little shorter, but oh well. I could fix it, because the tee is a tad long, but I’m guessing laziness will win out.

  2. Sarah Ross says:

    Super cute! The colorful ribbing on that tee is so fun and happy, I love it!

  3. love the buffalo plaid with the stripes! and how great to have the discount on the patterns!

    You may already know this, but after sewing knit a while I barely came across this tip that has helped so much.
    When sewing thin fabric like knits or chiffon, if you put a little piece of masking tape on your plate over the hole where the needle goes down into the bobbin, the needle will punch just a tiny hole to do its job and the tape really helped prevent the fabric getting sucked down in for me, especially at the beginning of a seam when I’d backstitch.

    • meg says:

      That is awesome! Also, I just realized (after having my machine for 7 years) that I can adjust the presser foot pressure, which helps a bunch for sewing with knits.

  4. I always sew the pant legs wrong at least once! I think I have it right, then sew and then go…oops!
    I’m making pants for my 5 year old son today as well. I hope they turn out.
    I love both the shirt and pants you made, they’re so cute!

  5. Jill says:

    I love the colorful ribbing. I remember when you pinned something similar, and it has been on my mind ever since.

  6. kristin says:

    ooooh i love the colorful ribbing! your son’s acrobatics always crack me up, what a fun little guy. and okay, i just made a gray-on-gray boy shirt but i kinda love it…i guess it has more interest than your run-of-the-mill gray heather tee. ;)

    • meg says:

      oops ;) but you know what I mean, it’s like something gray and maroon died in the boy’s department. Your shirt is adorable, of course.

      • kristin says:

        haha no i get it. no offense taken. we can always add more detail when we sew versus when we buy in stores, unless we’re spending an arm and a leg. the boy section is usually totally boring!

  7. Jamie Lee says:

    I did it! I sewed my daughter a Pink Poodle Bows dress out of Halloween fabric. She is going to wear it as a witch, but I also thought it would be a nice dress to wear around all October. I am making some custom flowers to go on her witch’s hat, so when I’ve got it all put together I’ll share.

  8. dana says:

    sweet photo! btw, what brand are those shoes?? I see kids wearing them and NEED.
    Loving the momentum KCWC has. So many are doing it! Go MEG! You’re changing the world :).

  9. dana says:

    oh and that fur vest? too die for. So cool

  10. Meghan says:

    Love the pants and the shirt! I just sewed my first pair of pants for my little guy yesterday. I still need to hem them – would have had them done yesterday but I sewed the front of the pant to the back of the pant wrong :( I had to take out two rows of stitches (my straight stitch and zigzag stitch) Oh well! Really enjoying KCWC!

  11. Carla says:

    I really like how the stripes look with the gingham. Very cute “big boy” outfit. I just adore this event, I always end up with so much inspiration, at this rate I’ll be sewing all winter! And that fur vest?!? So much win!

  12. […] 2012 by | 0 comments How many of you are participating in KCWC (Kids Clothing Week Challenge) by Meg at  the Elsie Marley blog?  If you’re not familiar with the sew-a-long, twice a year Meg invites readers to commit to […]

  13. Those different colored cuffs really make it pop!

  14. […] day here…rainy, grey and wet. but, I did muster the energy to walk upright and get some kcwc sewing done. this is the fourth time I’ve done the kcwc and each time I’m reminded how […]

  15. Laura says:

    Another really stylish outfit. Love the action shot and the different colour ribbing you used. I’ve really got to get a move on – all I’ve done so far is cut up an old T-shirt to refashion. A day off work and without the kids tomorrow though so should be more productive.

  16. Upstatemamma says:

    It’s funny how many posts are about repurposing. The funniest part is that you all totally get to me. I pretty much never repurpose old clothes (we tend to wear stuff until its good and dead). But during kcwc I do end up repurposing something. I made my baby girl the cutest pair of jeans from repurposed maternity jeans yesterday. I love the shirt. It’s very fun.

  17. louise says:

    I love the different colored edges! I wasplanning out my pants for tonight. Black with grey adn white seersucker trim. Then I saw this and I think there’s going to be color instead of the seersucker….

  18. LOVE the tee. I might make one for myself…

  19. […] and soft, so it was a bit tricky to work with (the machine tried to eat it several times, just like Meg’s!), but it worked out OK in the end.  And the finished shirt is really comfy – Yuki […]

  20. Jennifer says:

    Great job, Meg! I love the whole outfit! Can I ask about lining the pants? I just sewed my first pair from that same pattern. I have never lined pants before or sewn with knit, but that’s what KCWC is all about, right? I don’t have a serger. Do you think I need one for the knit lining? Do you suspect I could just sew them regularly (straight seam, then zigzag)? I think some lined pants are definitely the way to go around here! Tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

  21. christina says:

    I actually love how they look worn together!

  22. Ooooooh that gorgeous fluffy vest at the top is delicious!