the title says it all: today is the last day to buy the alphabet collection! The collection includes four patterns, for both girls and boys, for 20 bucks. Not bad! You can see everything I made from the collection here and some of my favorites from the tour are pictured below.

1. by petit a petit & family 2. by melissa esplin 3. by kojo designs 4. by shwin & shwin 5. by crafiness is not optional 6. by petit a petit & family 7. by sew a straight line 8. by elegances & elephants

See all the amazing things you can make with just a few patterns! What are you waiting for? Oh wait, you can’t wait–today is the last day to buy the alphabet collection!!

The talented women of Pattern Anthology have just released their fall line, The Alphabet Collection. I was honored when they asked me to take part in their blog tour. The coastal cargos I sewed for the spring pattern tour are still in heavy rotation around these parts, so I was excited to see what fall had in store. And it is pretty fantastic: four fall patterns, all designed for both girls and boys, and all a pleasure to sew.

Let’s start with the pants–the dancing pants! Actually they are the W pants pattern by Melissa Mora. These pants were a breeze to sew: the directions were clear, there were just enough details to keep it interesting, and I learned how to sew a zippered welt pocket! I used this lovely mocha chambray from Michel Levine that was sturdy enough for pants. The fabric definitely makes these pants a little dressy–for a night out dancing or the first day of school.

I chose the no-fly option, because honestly my son’s fly is usually down anyway :) Instead of leaving the front plain, I made a fake fly. To do this, I used the pattern for the yes-fly option.  Then I sewed up the front, tucked in the weird fly piece, and sewed a few lines of topstitching to make it look like a real fly. Volia!

I made quite a few more changes to the Study Hall pattern by Andrea Pannell. Sometimes you have a vision in your head and can’t stop thinking about it until it’s made. I wanted a simple, straight coat with a bright contrasting zipper. And really, I think it’s the bright blue zipper (from coats & clark) that makes this coat!

Ok, the changes: I lengthened the coat a bit and left out the ribbing on the bottom. I also curved the hem slightly where it meets the zipper. The ribbing on the cuffs is gone too and I added some simple contrasting cuffs in its place. I made the collar out of matching fabric and lined the whole coat with this butter soft aqua cotton from Organic Cotton Plus.

In between the layers I added flannel, so this coat will be nice and toasty on chilly fall mornings. Oh and I added an inside pocket too. Mostly I did it to practice welt pockets, which I had never done before (I made the jacket before the pants). Good thing I did too, because I somehow managed to make the pocket upside down!

This shirt was so much fun to make. The pattern is the Recess Raglan by See Kate Sew. Holy cow, is it crazy quick to sew! The fabric is from Girl Charlee, who along with Michel Levine, Organic Cotton Plus, and Coats&Clark, is a sponsor of this amazing collection. I have been a fan of Girl Charlee for a long time. They simply have great knits at great prices.

I am kind of crazy for this mint color on boys right now. But in the end, it was a little too much mint and I slapped a freezer paper stencil on it. Now my son always has a disguise.

I couldn’t leave my other kids out! So I whipped up another Raglan Recess tee for my youngest. The knits are again from Girl Charlee. I could not resist this anchor print. Paired with the stripes, he’s like a little french sailor in training.

adorable, right?

The last pattern in the Alphabet Collection is the BBC Vest by Shwin Designs. This pattern was so much fun to sew. I love it when a pattern is like a puzzle and looks likes gobble de gook until the last step. Then, suddenly, you have a beautiful finished garment. And this is a beautiful garment. The curved hem in front, the box pleats in back, the shawl collar, and the racerback all make this vest a stunner!

My daughter is way into accessorizing these day, so a vest is perfect for her. When I saw this ikat fabric at Michel Levine, I knew immediately it would become the vest. I like the grown up vibe of the ikat and the kid vibe of the polka dot-ness. Just right for my almost 8 year old, who wants to be a grown up, but is still very much a kid.

That’s it! Four patterns and so many possibilities! The Alphabet Collection will be on tour for another week. All of these patterns can go so many different ways. I can’t wait to see what everyone makes!

Join us along the Alphabet Collection blog tour to see just how versatile these patterns are. Bloggers will be sewing up all 4 pieces from the collection at girl. Inspired., Shwin & Shwin, Sew a Straight Line, elsie marley, Melly Sews, Happy Together, see kate sew, Elegance & Elephants, I Still Love You, kojo designs, Petit a Petit and Family, The Train to Crazy, Delia Creates and Craftiness is Not Optional

The patterns, fabric, and notions were provided to me for this post. I am also a Pattern Anthology affliate, so clicking the Alphabet Collection links will support me and my blog. Thank you! 

I said I would and look! I actually did: I made summer pajamas from a bunch of thrifted tees.

And the kids actually like them! There is no Iron Man or Perry the Platypus or Elmo or whatever character they’re into this minute in sight. I’m not against the odd licensed character, but I cannot deal with the weird, plastic, pajama fabric they are printed on. When they’re new the fabric feels like slimy alien skin, and after a few washes it turns into pill-y, old, molted alien skin.

Obviously I have some issues with kids’ pajamas. Not these suckers though! They are all 100% handmade from 100% second hand clothes.

Here are all the sewing details:

fabric: thrifted tees pictured here

pattern: For the shorts I used the sleeping johns pattern from Growing Up Sew Liberated. I made the sleeping johns a few years ago and they still fit my daughter. So the fit is obviously pretty generous. My 7 year old daughter is wearing a size 5T, my 6 year old son is wearing a 4T, and my 3 year old son is wearing a 3T

The shirts are made with Rae’s Flashback Skinny Tee pattern. The only time I actually followed the pattern was for the gray shirt in the middle. For the other two shirts I used the pattern more as a guide. The tank top is far from perfect, but it works for pjs.

sewing: The shorts went super fast and were not a problem at all. The shirts were a bit more fiddle-y, because I chose super soft, super thin material. My sewing machine prefers to eat material like that rather than sew it. Arg!

The plan was to have two pairs of pjs for each kid, but only the youngest got two (the second pair is pictured above). For that gray striped top, I used Kristen’s Flashback Tee –> Tank Top tutorial and blatantly copied her style while I was at it. There are two more pairs of pjs in the works. Both are half done, but I think I hit a pajama making wall. Maybe I’ll climb over it this weekend :)

We have had a very chilly spring here is Wisconsin this year. Thank goodness too, because this sweater dress has been on the to sew list since the fall! You know how it is: all the new, exciting projects always budge in line.

the pattern: Rae’s Flashback Skinny Tee , size 7. Obviously, I lengthened it. I also created more of an A-line shape by drawing an angled line from the armpit to the hem. Kristin explained how to transform the pattern into a summer dress for last spring’s KCW. Speaking of, did you see we kicked off a week of guest post-ers on the new kcw blog?

the fabric: an odd bit of sweater-y fabric I found in a thrift store in northern Wisconsin + a bit of a purple sweater (the one I used to make this cardigan).

the sewing: The main part of the dress came together super quick. The neckline tripped me up a bit. Mostly because I tried to use the neckline from the purple sweater. I had to rip it up and start again over. I also used the cuffs from the purple sweater, which I don’t like, but they aren’t awful so I skipped redoing them.

the fit: spot on! The last flashback skinny dress I made, I sized it up myself. It worked, but it wasn’t perfect. Rae has since sized the pattern up for bigger kids. The skinny tee is such a wardrobe staple, I know this pattern will get used for a long time.

The dress is getting worn–caught on film a few times, too! Paired with a polka dot tights, wellies, and a stocking cap one time. Another time she even matched her mama!

Today I am over at You & Mie for her series on Japanese Sewing Books. The series walks you through all the steps you need to know  from Japanese pattern books. They can be a bit intimidating, but they also can be a lot of fun. My post is all about finding your pattern and tracing it. Sounds easy, but there are some tricks you need to know. Hop on over to Cherie’s lovely blog for my post, and all the guest posts this week!

In honor of Japanese Sewing Books week, I sewed up this sundress from my favorite Japanese sewing book, Happy Homemade Vol. 2. Well, to be honest, I dug up this dress that I sewed most of last spring, then hemmed it and added buttons (in honor of Japanese Sewing Books week). Why I sew 90% of something and then abandon it is beyond me.

But anyway, it’s done and (still) fits! I’m going to do a form style report on this one, because 3 days into spring break and the children have run me ragged already. My brain is not functioning at full capcity.

the fabric: oh, the fabric is lovely. It is 100% cotton shirting I got from the good fabric store in my neighborhood. They have a lot of beautiful fabrics, but mostly in ugly prints. This tiny blue stripe was perfect, though. It’s a good weight too, just right for when (if?) summer comes. I went with polka dot buttons because it’s stripes + polka dots up in here, all the time.

the pattern: the pattern is from Happy Homemade Vol. 2. I sew from this book a lot; I talk about it a lot too.  I think it’s a great 1st Japanese sewing book. I’d love to do some sort of sew-along thing-a-bob with the patterns in the book. Anyone up for it? Maybe after KCW? Anyway, the pattern. The pattern was pretty simple, because, well the dress is pretty simple. I do remember the armholes being super fussy and weird.

the sewing: There was a little swearing, but there alway is, isn’t there? The fabric was dreamy. The striped bias tape turned out really nice, as did the bias cut bodice piece. I’d say not bad for a dress half done, abandoned, and (because it’s almost Easter, I’m just going to go for it and say…) resurrected. Ha!