1. heart leggings  2. new shirt for D  3. Lala’s fall coat 4. corduroy music class skirt

I think it is only right to start with your creations, not mine. You are the ones sewing into the wee hours of the night or in the morning–all 535 of you!  Different time zones have given some of you a head start. Others (like me) started early for one reason or another. So don’t be discouraged by the finished garments in the flickr pool already. As kcwc begins, I do want to say one thing:

Have patience with yourself!

This challenge is about putting in a little time everyday doing what we love (but may have forgotten that we love it). If you sew two right legs together, or have to unpick a giant seam, or can’t understand the directions at all, don’t freak out and go for the ice cream. Put that project aside and pick up one you are more comfortable with or one you are super excited about. Then maybe revisit the other project the next day, or ask a question on flickr (the kcwc discussion is here). We are all here to help each other and motivate each other! Okay, let’s go!

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In the spring I filled out a simple form for each of my projects and it went so well I’m going to do it again. Feel free to do the same as it makes quick work of blogging–leaving more time for sewing!

the pattern: The pattern is the apron top from Carefree Clothes for Girls. It is simple, but with many details that make it just right for my little bit sweet, little bit tough, (still) little girl. Looking back in the blog, I’ve sewn up many pattern from the book for her: a princess dress, a play dress, and a winter coat.

the fabric: The main fabric I used was drop cloth from the hardware store. The suggested fabric was sail cloth and I though drop cloth was a good stand in. The bird fabric on the pocket was leftover from another simple top I made.

the sewing: The sewing was actually more involved than it might seem. The apron has so many bits to hem–not my favorite thing in the world–so that took forever, but there were other bits that were fun. The pattern called for rivets in the pocket corners and a little scrap of leather sewn onto the front. My fabric store had rather crummy looking rivets, so I used one half of a snap instead. While I was there I found some good looking jean buttons and I used one for the back closure. Have you ever used jean buttons before? They are hammered into the fabric–super cool.

Oops, I almost forgot I made the leggings too! The pattern is the Sunki leggings by Figgy’s. The fabric was some orange interlock from my stash. And the sewing was so easy and fast that I may never buy leggings again!

I’m a little late with the last post of the week, sorry. Yesterday was so dark and rainy we couldn’t take any pictures (hence the wellies).

the fabric: this awesome star fabric is from JoAnn’s country club collection. I only remember the name because it’s hilarious. The fabric is a really nice bottomweight print, which I have the hardest time finding.

the pattern: half pants pattern letter S from Happy Homemade vol. 5 I’ve made the pants version of this pattern before–here–but added all kinds of piping and pockets.

the sewing: I made this pattern last summer, but never got around to finishing them. Ever do that? Well the half finished shorts don’t fit this year, but I liked the pattern so much I traced a bigger size. The pattern is nicely tailored and the tiny pocket is adorable, even if it’s totally useless.  I have to say, these skinny star shorts are pretty much the bomb: simple, long, good for school and play. I think this would work well for boys too, maybe in a size up from what they normally wear so it’s not so, so tight.

Each day in the flickr pool has been better than the last. On this, the final day of kcwc, your handmade clothes are pretty much blowing my mind. Check out these amazing garments:

1. yoke dress for kcwc

2. striped dress

3. robot baseball tee with rainbow stripes

4. organic cotton pj’s

Yesterday’s outfit was very subdued, but today we’re going color block crazy! I am very happy with how this whole outfit turned out. I didn’t imagine the skirt and the top going together when I made them, but they do! Michael Kors would say it’s very on trend (then Nina Garcia would tear it apart) and I suppose it is, but it’s still little kid too.

the pattern: ayashe blouse pattern by figgy’s

the fabric: vintage sheet

the sewing: For as complicated as this shirt looks, it wasn’t all that difficult. I did have to wrestle with the collar a bit, but it turned out well enough. My fabric cutting can get kind of sloppy and the collar’s measurements need to be exactly right to work. Next time I’ll pay a bit more attention when I’m cutting it out. There will be a next time, because really this was supposed to be a muslin. I made the 6/7 size for my 6 1/2 girl and it just fits, but I’m guessing it won’t by the end of the summer. The only thing I changed was to finish the sleeves in bias tape. Oh and I skipped the elastic at the bottom too.

the pattern: I didn’t really use a pattern, but kind of used this skirt as a guide.

the fabric: The top part is from an old shirt, the orange is some weird, slinky, cottony stuff I picked up at the thrift store, and the pockets are quilting cotton. Every bit came from my scrap bin.

the sewing: I saw this photo of a color block dress a while back on pinterest and immediately wanted to make a similar skirt or dress for my daughter. I picked through my scrap bin and came across the orange and light blue, which I loved together, but had very little of either. I pieced them together like a quilt and slapped some pretty aqua pockets on top. I fussed with the ratio of light blue to orange for far too long. Finally I said screw it, sewed elastic in, and called it done.

If you follow me on twitter or facebook you know already, but this is the biggest kcwc yet!  With 640 participants, not only is it the biggest kcwc, but it is almost twice as big as any we’ve ever had! When I ask you get to get the word out, wow! you really get the word out there!  You guys are awesome. The flickr pool is starting to fill up and any minute now it’s going to explode with amazing kid clothes. Here are today’s beauties:

1. me so crazy vintage twirl skirt

2. figgy’s sunki tunic

3. cars board shorts

4. houndstooth cardigan

edited to add: oops, just check the flickr pool and it already exploded.

Kristin hasn’t been blogging for all that long, but she quickly became the hot new blogger because wow! can she sew! She sews for her baby boy, her twirling little girl, and now herself (check out that awesome top up there).  For that daughter that never stops dancing, Kristin turned the Flashback Skinny Tee pattern into a dress with extra ruffly sleeves.  It is amazing what one pattern can do. Like Heather said yesterday, you could use this one pattern for all your kcwc sewing needs!

When Meg contacted me with her idea to have a bunch of gals sew Rae’s flashback skinny tee pattern, I immediately knew what to do – remix it into a dress!  My daughter is almost four and wants to wear a dress every day.  She considers them essential for dancing, her most favorite activity.  I like sewing dresses, especially when they’re washable, comfortable, and easy for her to play in (I’m a practical mama).  Jersey knit is the perfect material for all of that!

I made this simple flutter sleeve tank dress with an XXL Old Navy shirt from the clearance rack plus scraps of a t-shirt from another project.  I have trouble finding good knit fabric and I almost always end up using repurposed sale rack men’s shirts – as big as I can get ’em!  Extra bonus points if I can preserve the factory hem, though Rae offers great hemming tips within the pattern as well.

I extended the hemline of the 3T skinny tee pattern about 6″ (use a dress you already have as a guide), and made it A-line by using a straight edge, starting at the armpit and finishing about 3″ from the side of where the original pattern would be if it were dress length.  I trimmed the tops of the shoulder seams about 1/2″ (though I might recommend a little more), bound the armholes per Rae’s pattern instructions, and widened the neckline a bit.  I also added a little pocket for extra detail.

For the flutter sleeves, I added 5″ to each armhole measurement and cut two strips to that length, each 1.5″ wide.  I rounded the ends and gathered them along the longer edge.  I attached each sleeve to the underside of the armhole, topstitching both on the outside and inside edges of the binding to catch it securely.  I left the edges raw, since knit doesn’t fray.

The skinny tee pattern is a quick sew and so versatile, it’s great for adding your own customizations!  I first sewed a “regular” version here as practice before remixing it into a dress.

Thanks for designing such an awesome pattern, Rae, and thanks for having me, Meg!  I’m so excited to sew along and be inspired next week!  Come check out what I’m making over at skirt as top.

Part one of my daughter’s 6th golden birthday is here.

When we went to the craft store for all things gold (for the golden birthday party) the gold pipe cleaners were kind of an impulse buy. It’s hard to resist sparkly, fuzzy gold wire. Turns out a bunch of pipe cleaners = room full of decorations in no time. I knew I wanted to do something like  Terri’s awesome wrapped pipe cleaner font project, but I skipped the yarn and spelled out Happy Birthday.  Writing with pipe cleaners is ridiculously easy (though knowing cursive comes in handy for once in your life).

Hanging them on the other hand is more difficult than it seems. There is just a lot to balance. Nothing a spool of thread an lots of tape won’t fix. Taking a photo in front of three sunny windows is also difficult, so you get the child’s eye view of the banner. A golden merry christmas would be very pretty I think, or even better something like this in gold pipe cleaners!

There were a ton of left over pipe cleaners, so I wrapped them around a star cookie cutter and voile! Also, crazy easy. And also would look lovely hanging all over a christmas tree. Seriously, I’m 33 and in love with gold pipe cleaners. I am so rock and roll.

Here is the banner and table on the evening of her party. The pipe cleaners and giant glittery 6 all sparkled in the light. I thought it was pretty magical, I’m pretty sure my big 6 year old did too. Oh, yes and a tiny gold bunting on the cake, because why not?