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

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 had planned for this post to be a little more colorful, with some nice bright tees and crazy socks, but the boys insisted on being perfectly matchy-matchy (their words) right down to matching bare feet.  This’ll be yur summertime business casual for boys.

the pattern: This is a new pants pattern for me. I wanted to try it because it was a slimmer cut than my beloved pattern from Happy Homemade Vol. 2 and it had a back yoke (you know that sort of V-shaped part in the back of your jeans). The pattern is from a japanese sewing book called Polka Drops, or rather maybe the series is called polka drops and this specific book is called something else entirely. I know absolutely no Japanese, so your guess is as good as mine. If you follow the link, you’ll see the pants on the front cover.

the fabric: The fabric is the same dyed ikea curtain I used for my daughter’s skirt. I also used the same fabric for the purple pockets that I used in her skirt and for her Ayashe blouse too.

the sewing: The actual sewing of the pants went really well. There were pockets and flat felled seams and it all went swimmingly. The fit though, the fit is crap. They are a nice width–not wide leg, not skinny–but they are way too big in the crotch (it is an awful word, I know, but there isn’t any other that works). If I hike them up old man style, then they fit right, but eventually the crotch gets all saggy again. I don’t really know how to adjust the fit so it’s better. Maybe next time I’ll lob off some of the top on the pattern. If you have any suggestions I’m all ears. Even though my boys do like them (and love that they match) and they will get worn, every time they do wear them the phrase saggy crotch will go through my head. Not pleasant!

Here are some amazing clothes that will have you thinking only lovely things when you see them:

1. gingham dress

2. taming the beast

3. beetlebroek

4. knot shorts upside down 

There isn’t room here on the blog to show off all the super fantastic garments in the flickr pool, so I’ve been featuring some on facebook throughout the day too.

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.

Here are a few bits from our summer I never got around telling you about:

waking up to a parade of animals

living on muffin tin lunches

making giant bubbles

painting with chalk

making popsicle stick sculptures with pompoms and mama’s hot glue gun.

eating monkey cupcakes

and staying up too late to watch people dance in the trees.

There were of course many trips to the beach and weekend festivals and backyard sprinkler days and huddled by the air conditioner watching movies days. And I think it was a pretty good summer all and all. All three kids were home with me full time and managed not to lose my mind until the last week or so. I tried to have at least one project a day–here is my kid craft board on pinterest that I used a bunch–sometimes just as simple as cutting up some fruit for lunch, but it helped give our days some structure.  I hope your summer was wonderful! Now bring on fall.