It’s time again for another edition of KCWC: kids clothes week challenge.  KCWC is a twice-annual event where I challenge you to commit to sew children’s clothes for an hour each day for 7 days. Fall is coming (at least in these parts) and my kids could use some cozy pants and sweaters–and pretty soon we’ll need hats and mittens too! All that sewing is a little overwhelming, but I am always amazed at how much I get done by putting in a bit of time every day.

If you have more questions about how KCWC works, you can jump over to the FAQ page. Then jump back here and leave a comment on this post telling me you are in! That’s all it takes. Then on the second week of October there will be hundreds (really, hundreds) of people cheering you on to make awesome clothes for your kids.

In the mean time, feel free to browse around the elsiemarley flickr group for inspiration–join the group so you can post pictures for this one–and look at my posts from older KCWCs! If you have a blog, you can copy and paste the button below (fancy, html code to come when tech support/husband returns).  So leave a comment and sign up! spread the word! sew like crazy!

kcwc fall 2011 buttons:

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It seems like forever that I have been waiting for a book about sewing clothes for boys and I know there are many of you out there in the same boat. The women behind the successful pattern line, Pattern for Figgy have come to the rescue! Their first book, Sewing for Boys, is full of nicely designed boy’s clothes for every season and a few accessories to boot.

Shelly and Karen have really thought through what boys need and want: the clothes have to be comfortable (even if they are for dressing up), durable, washable, and above all have lots of pockets! And a carrying case for legos and lego dudes is pretty awesome too.

When got the book, I opened it up to the first page and fell in love with the Henry shirt. The shirt is a short sleeve, snap up, collar shirt with pockets–much like a guayabera shirt, or what we used to call “old man casual” shirts (only because my dad used to wear them). But it is just right for little boys too. And it is just right for showing off that bit of cute boy fabric you have been saving. The Henry shirt in the book is made with a beautifully subtle airplane fabric designed by Daniela Caine of Tangerine Samurai.

I thought I had chosen beautiful fabrics as well: a double sided japanese fabric with checks on one side and plaid on the other; and a soft cotton in navy. Well, it turns out when you put them together it looks like my son works at a hot dog cart franchise or as a refrigerator repair man. It is a bad uniform.

But it is a bad uniform with a stand up collar that I made! The project was definitely above my current sewing skills (it is labeled advanced, but don’t worry there are projects for every level in the book). I was nervous going into it, especially when I didn’t see a picture for every step–I’m more of a visual learner. Turns out it was better that there were fewer diagrams because it made me read the directions more closely. And the directions in this book are clear and very succinct. They taught me how to make this shirt and I didn’t pull out one hair or have to mix up a cocktail to get through it.

Granted, I still managed to sew the yoke on completely upside down and had to unpick the whole thing, but cut me some slack I’ve never made a button up shirt before. Well, almost a button shirt–it doesn’t actually have buttons on it yet.  I’m trying to find some that will make it a little less bad uniform. The pattern calls for snaps, which is perfect for boys, but I think snaps will take this shirt into even worse uniform territory.

The directions are good, the patterns are basic and beautiful, and the pictures are pretty cute too. So really, if you sew and you have boys you need this book.   But hoodies, tee shirts, tunics, girls wear all those things too. Even though this book says it’s for boys, whatever, let’s not get all sexist with our sewing machines now.  Next on my list is the two-in-one reversible jacket–it’s labeled intermediate, so I’m not too nervous.

If you would like to know more about this book or the other craft books published by Wiley, head on over to their site where they have Q & As with the authors and a few free projects too. And you can follow along on the Sewing for Boys book tour:

September 5 Made by Rae
September 6 Sew, Mama, Sew
September 7 The Southern Institute & Film in the Fridge
September 8 Elsie Marley
September 9 Noodlehead & Oh, Fransson!
September 10 I Heart Linen
September 11 Anna Maria Horner
September 12 Craft Buds, Pink Chalk Fabric, Prudent Baby, Sew Much Ado
September 13 Very Purple Person, Quilt Story & Sew Sara
September 14 The Long Thread
September 15 Susan Beal
September 16 True Up
September 17 All Buttoned Up & Bolt Fabric Boutique
September 18 MADE & Wiley Craft

This may look like a quilt, but it’s really only like a quilt.  It’s two vintage sheets stitched together and bound it quilt-like.  Most of the summer my kids were using their winter duvet covers as light blankets and it was bothering me to no end. So the quilt-like idea came about.

After too many trips to the thrift store, I finally found two quilts that would work.  I cut them to fit the weird ikea bed we have and pinned them together. I knew I wanted to quilt it in long slightly uneven lines–actually just like this beautiful quilt. So I contacted the maker and grilled on her quilting techniques and thread choices.

Then I picked up two different spools of variegated thread (wow, that stuff is expensive): a blue, magenta, and purple one for the flowery side and a more rainbowy one for the purple side. After what seemed like 400 hours of sewing straight lines, I moved onto the binding. I found this awesome Japanese polka dot bias tape in Frances’ beautiful shop, miss matatabi.

I sewed the binding on at the beach (and got many weird looks) and ta! da! Quilt-like thing! Now to start the next like-a-quilt for my son…

This top is made from fabric botched in the dye pot, which was supposed to be beautiful ombre curtains for my dining room, which before that was a lovely soft sheet on our bed, which got horriblly ripped, so I thought it would make nice curtains until I screwed it up the dye job (and turned the bathtub blue) and now, it turns out, is perfect for this top.

The tank top pattern is from wiksten made. Sadly, she’s not selling them anymore, but I bet if you scoured the web, one would pop up for sale. (By the way, if anyone has a xs, s, m tova top pattern that they’d like to trade for the tank top pattern–and trade back–let me know!)

The pattern is incredibly simple and nicely done: french seams, all edges bias bound, nicely cut. Because I’m always scared I will make clothes too small, I cut out patterns too large. So with this one I just said fuck it and cut a small. The fit is okay, maybe a little close, but at least I don’t have to take the sucker in. I was a little on the edge about the contrasting pocket, but today I saw a lady with a freakin sequin pocket, so I think I’m good to go.

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.