This was another pattern that got cut out a while back and then abandoned on the ironing board (and hidden by the heaps of shit piled on top of it). Patterns that use bias tape to finish necklines and armhole (armices whatever) usually look so simple, but then they always want you to make your own damn bias tape.  That is when this project stalled.

But making bias tape is really only difficult in my head. Once I got started, it only took a little bit of the afternoon to finish. I’ve been looking longingly at this dress since I got the Naomi Ito book years ago. So, it feels good to have it done…

…and the dress feels good on– I can tell, because she’s been wearing it at every opportunity. The fabric is this super lightweight cotton lawn I found at Joann’s of all places. Why I didn’t make myself something out of it, I don’t know.  There might be just enough left to make a super stylish shirt for me out of the book as well.

Speaking of books, I’m slowly updating my library page. By the end of the summer I hope to have all the projects I’ve done listed under all the books I’ve used. That of course means going through 4 years of posts, so have a little patience :)  (there are no projects listed…yet). I’ve also added some books to the elsie marley amazon shop. There aren’t an overwhelming number of books there, mostly because I try to recommend books that I would actually buy (being a bit of a cheapskate means it takes a lot to get me to shell out for a book) but that means there are some really, really good ones there!

My kids wore their winter pajamas most of the chilly spring, but then it got hot all of a sudden (then disgustingly hot) so I had to whip up some summer pajamas super fast.

So I made one from a pink stripey pillowcase…

and one from a yellow stripey pillowcase. There is a stripey green one in a thrift store somewhere waiting for me, I know it. So no trifecta of cuteness.  But the baby did get some little man pjs from an old sheet.

For a while there my children were barely clothed during the day, much less at night, so the pajamas were forgotten. But now that the heat has stopped being so punishing (at least for the moment) the pillowcase pjs are back in rotation.  Speaking of summer, Mary Frances has a lovely post about midsummer, go see…

Here is a little shirred top I made for my daughter from an old men’s shirt. When I started I was trying to make something more like this, but the yoke was a leeetle too tight. Luckily there was just enough length to cut it off and try something new.

That damn elastic thread everyone raves about seemed like the best bet for actually coming out with a wearable top in the end. I’ve tried it before, but there are so many conflicting explainations on how to use it–wind it loose, wind it tight, wind it not too loose and not too tight (that one is particularly helpful, thank you), pull it to gather, don’t pull it, iron it, steam it. Whatever. I already screwed up the shirt once, so I didn’t have much to lose by screwing it up again.

But hey! it’s not so bad.  I have no idea how I wound the bobbin (not too loose and not too tight–sorry) but it worked well enough. Definintly of the homemade varitey.  She likes it, but elastic thread is not all that pleasant against the skin–anyone have any ideas for lining shirring? Or have any horror stories about elastic thread?

posting a project I did for grosgrain’s free pattern month:

Meg from elsie marley here and I’m very happy to be a part of all of this fantastic freeness on Grosgrain this month. For my contribution I’m going to show you how to alter a plain old pants pattern into one that will make super cute shorts for your little girl: knot shorts!

Materials

• an existing kid’s shorts or pants pattern
• one yard material
• quarter yard (or so) contrasting material for facing
• elastic (1 inch wide, or whatever you have lying around)
• freezer paper, or some other paper to trace patterns

It might seem silly that for free pattern month, you first need to have a pattern. But making a kid’s pants pattern is easy as pie–you just trace some kid pants. Dana from Made has a very clear tutorial for making pants patterns that you can check out if you don’t have a pattern on hand. I have only made these for kids, but I don’t see why altering a grown up pattern in the same way wouldn’t work just as well.

Directions

1. First you need to trace your pattern onto pattern paper, or newsprint, or I like to use freezer paper.

2. Now you need to decided how long the inseam on your knot shorts will be. I made mine 4 inches long. This is a medium length pair of shorts on a 5 year old girl. A one or two inch inseam sounds scandalous, but I’ve made knot shorts that short and they look great. And besides, kids have very short legs, so it’s really not that short at all.

2. Whatever length inseam you choose divide it in half and make a mark. From that mark draw a line through the pattern and extend it 6 inches past the outer seam of the pants.

3. From the end of the line draw a nice curve down to the bottom of the shorts. And draw another line that gracefully curves up to meet the outer seam.

4. Repeat the process for the back pattern piece.

5. To make the facing for the shorts, first trace the front pattern piece. Then on your new piece, draw a straight line from the crotch (ugh, I can’t stand that word) to where the tie begins to curve out. Cut on that line. This will be your facing pattern.

6. Now that the pattern is made you can cut your fabric. Cut two front pieces and two back pieces out of your main fabric. From the contrasting fabric cut 4 facing pieces.

7.  Sew two facing pieces together, on the short straight side, right sides facing. Then serge or hem the long straight edge on top. Do this  for the other set of facing pieces as well.

8. Sew the inseam together on both legs of the shorts.

9. Open up one leg of the shorts and put the facing on top– as above–right sides facing.

10. Sew all around except where you hemmed (or serged). Clip the corners, turn out, and press.

11. Sew down the outer seams on both legs of the shorts. Stop right after you catch a bit of the facing, then backstitch a few times to secure.

12. Turn one leg inside out and the other right side out

13. Put the right side out leg inside the inside out leg–now the right sides are together. Sew all around the crotch (that word again, ugh).

14. Turn it out and press. You should have a very funny looking pair of shorts.

15. Make sure you have thread that matches exactly to your main fabric, then sew around the top of the facing to attach it to the shorts. Or if you want the seam to be even more invisible, you can sew it by hand.

16. Tie the knots, silly!

17. Fold the top edge under and press. Sew around to make a casing for the elastic. Insert elastic, insert child to see if they fit, sew up elastic and seam and ta da! Knot shorts!

I hope you enjoyed the knot shorts tutorial! Thanks so much for having me, Kathleen!

Meg from Sew Liberated asked if I would kick off the book tour for her new book, Growing Up Sew Liberated. How could I say no to a fellow Meg, especially one as talented as Meg McElwee? I loved her first book, so I knew this one, which is devoted to the littles, would be fantastic too.  And it is! Not only is it full of beautiful things to sew, but the projects are organized around a child’s day: waking up, eating, playing inside, going out to play and getting ready for bed.

This shirt I made from the book, the crossover top, is in the “greeting the morning” chapter. It is meant to be a simple top, but is so perfect for jammies that I couldn’t resist. I had some super soft knit squirreled away for something and this was just the something.

This is a very quick and easy project. There was one step that tripped me a up, but I still finished the whole shirt in about an hour and a half. Next time it’ll be under an hour for sure. And there will be a next time, because the boys need summer jammies too. Obviously my heart fabric makes the shirt a little girly, but the pattern itself works for boys as well. And really all the projects in the book are refreshingly unisex.

And quite simple to customize as well. Like these shorts: the pattern was for sleeping johns (what a great name!) but seeing as it’s suddenly 90 degrees here shorts were in order. I added the ribbing detail on the bottom because I had the ribbing out for the shirt–and because it’s cute. Meg has designed clothes and accessories with simple details that are lovely on their own, but also would look fabulous all embellished up!

Many of the projects are just right for gifts as well. We are pretty much past the bib stage in our house, but the all-by-myself bib, which is cleverly based on an envelope style shirt (there’s a pattern for those in the book too!), looks pretty much like the perfect bib. I’m big on giving useful gifts–for babies and older kids–but I want something that is awesome as well as practical. Honestly, pretty much every project in the book fits this description. It’s nice to sew a pretty gift, but unless it’s going to get played with it, it’s not doing anyone any good. A play cape, an art satchel, a sleep sack, a cloth doll, an adjustable messenger bag, I would enjoy making all of them and I know they would all be well received and loved.

Growing up Sew Liberated is a fantastic book, simple as that. Please follow the book tour to see other sneak peeks and beautiful projects from Meg’s new book!

Growing Up Sew Liberated Blog Tour

Join Interweave Books in a celebration of the launch of Meg McElwee’s new book, Growing Up Sew Liberated. The launch kicks off with a 15-day blog tour visiting education blogs, sewing blogs, parenting blogs, personal blogs, eco-living blogs, and some that are simply a combination of all of the above.  You’ll meet some extraordinary women, see stunning photography, hear inspirational stories from Meg and many of her friends, and of course learn more about the book. Perhaps you’ll find some new favorite bloggers to follow along the way? Join us each day as we visit with:

6/6         Elsie Marley

6/7         Made By Rae

6/8         The Artful Parent

6/9         Rhythm of the Home Blog

6/10       Uncommon Grace

6/13      Simple Homeschool

6/14       Burda Style

6/15       Maya Made

6/16       Wise Craft

6/17       JC Handmade

6/20      Frontier Dreams

6/21       Made