Sometimes getting a good photo of the clothes is twice as hard as actually sewing the clothes. She loves the clothes–I think this outfit will be worn all summer long—but hates being in front of the camera. There were many, many crabby faces before I got this smile.

the pattern: This wide leg pants pattern comes from the Japanese sewing book Happy Homemade Vol. 2. It is pattern letter o. I’ve had a few questions about this book and Japanese sewing books in general, so I thought maybe I’d do a few reviews after kcwc wraps up.

the fabric: Aqua linen from Joann’s.

the sewing: I’ve made these pants so many times before I could sew them in my sleep. Actually, I made these exact pants in orange linen last summer for my daughter and she wore them at every opportunity. Who can blame her? Wearing linen pants feels so good in the summertime.

the pattern: tee for two pattern by figgy’s. I think this pattern might be out of print, but there is a version in the book Sewing for Boys.

the fabric: Nani Iro knit called Pocho. I would buy every bit of fabric Naomi Ito designs if I could. The knit fabric is just as lovely as her double gauze: super soft, a little waffle-y, and the print is perfect.

the sewing: The tee for two pattern calls for all your seams to be on the outside. I wanted a cleaner look, so I sewed everything with right sides facing. I always have trouble with hemming knits, but this time I used mother’s little helper: steam-a-seam. I kind of fell in love with the stuff. It’s double sided, fusible, a little bit stretchy, and only 1/4 inch wide.  Stretch knits and shifty fabrics can be tamed with this stuff. The arm hems turned out perfect because of it. Though, I did feel like I was cheating a bit.

Today’s picks from the flickr pool are brought to you by the amazing stripe and the crazy polka dot:

1. polky dots

2. kcwc spring day 4 

3. kcwc day 1 and 2

4. more stripey jersey jim jams

I started following Meg’s blog, Sew Liberated, back when she was a Montessori teacher in Mexico. She’s moved back to the states and had a few boys since then, but her loving, teacherly voice is always present. Meg’s patient, creative Montessori spirit shows through not only in her parenting, but in her home and sewing too. If you haven’t seen her latest book, Growing Up Sew Liberated, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy!

At first, I had visions of using one of his dad’s old tee shirts to make him an indie-chic Flashback Skinny Tee. But then Finn entered the sewing studio. And, as we all know, almost-three-year-olds have very strong opinions about certain things. (Well, I’ll be honest – at first, he just wanted to cut the car fabric. Cutting, his all-time favorite activity, was just what I was about to do (with another fabric) so we went ahead and cut the car fabric together for his shirt.) In the end, I can most certainly say that this was our first creative collaboration.

He handed me pins, pulled out pins, and trimmed threads. Thanks to Rae and her super straightforward pattern, the boy and I had a lovely time together. I now have a sewing assistant.

Why stop at the tee, though, when the tee came together in less than an hour? Finn needed a pair of shorts, so I shortened the Basic Pocket Pants pattern from my book Growing Up Sew Liberated and altered the waistband so that I could use the knit fabric instead of the conventional woven-with-elastic method. I attached the stretchy knit waistband in the same way that you attach the collar to the Skinny Tee.

The boy and his pockets, which are always filled with sticks and weeds.

For Finn’s Skinny Tee, I opted for the 1 inch cuff finish, and used my all-time favorite lazy person’s finish for the shirt’s hem: Lite Steam-a-Seam2. Just apply the strip close to the raw edge on the wrong side of the fabric, remove the paper, fold up the hem, finger press, then make the bond permanent by pressing with an iron.

Happy sewing, everyone!

I fell in love with this little sleeper when I first saw it: it’s like those nightgowns for newborns, except stylish.  At 40 bucks, it was a little out of my price range, but looked simple enough to recreate. Well, mine doesn’t quite live up to the original, but I think I got close.

The pattern came from the book Growing Up Sew Liberated (which I reviewed here). The more I use this book the better it gets.  A rare thing among craft books! Normally they are all eye candy, but look a little deeper and it turns out they are mostly errata and confusing directions. To alter the pattern I just extended the bottom bit, so it looked like it would tie up nicely. The edge really needs a rolled finish, but I’m not that handy with the serger so I left it raw.  I might make this again and try to get the knot bit right.

I’m feeling a little less than creative these days, more scattered and listless–maybe it’s the change of seasons. Also, I can’t find the damn camera cord to upload my pictures, so you are stuck with this link link linky post. But it’s good.

I recently discovered the newish blog lightbluegray and I went a little crazy for this cowl she made for her daughter, especially the bright yellow Xs. All of the blog is fantastic, check out her nightstands and embroidered sheets!

This display via Blosoem is some sort of paper mache/paper bag awesome.

I have always had a thing for laundromats–used to live above one even–and this one takes the cake. It’s like living in a roll of washi tape. via hi + low

how fantastic! turn your plush into lamps (via whip up).

And do you know about pillow week over at erin’s house? I plan on making the pillow version of this bedspread. If you want to know what other things I like you can look at my tumblr: things on the internet that are pretty.

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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