I get caught in this kid clothes making cycle (it's a long cycle, so stay with me):  When the season changes, I get really excited about making my kids clothes and make them like crazy. Then usually burn out a bit and take a break from all the making. While I'm taking a break my children either A. refuse to wear the clothes I've made or B. destroy the clothes I've made by wearing them.

This sends me into a "why do I make their clothes by hand anyway?" downward spiral. Meanwhile my children have grown and now actually need clothes that fit--rather than "need" clothes for the new season.

Inevitably, I end up at Target, where the pants are on sale for 8 dollars. Pants, mind you, that have zippers and pockets and belt loops--all of which take time and patience and way more than $8 in effort. I swear off making clothes forever!

Despite myself, I see something (again probably at Target, damn you Target!) so stylish and so simple, that I think, "well, I could make that." And the whole cycle begins again.

orange and blue raglan tee

the fabric: two old shirts from the thrift store. The blue one was a V-neck. See the little part of the V peeking out? Even though it's super wonky, it's my favorite part.

the pattern: Tee for Two. The good ol' raglan pattern from Figgy's. It's in the book, Sewing For Boys.

the sewing: I sewed this at the beginning of winter and it came together super fast, but now it's been worn and washed and loved so much it's coming apart a bit at the seams. ARGH!

My creative process often involves simply staring at all the fabric in my stash. Then after much staring, I make lots of little piles. I am particularly excited about the pile pictured above. Many adorable things are potentially in that pile--if all the sewing goes smoothly, of course.

This pile is for things my children actually need, so it's less exciting, but I still like it. Look at me making little piles of fabric and then telling the whole internet about them. Don't call me crazy, I know you do it too :)

1. cardi 2. kcwc pants 3. wings for my little girl 4. glitter dot dress

I know I express my sheer amazement at your sewing ability every year, but seriously! do you see those clothes up there? It's like art. You guys are amazing! Amazing!

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I am not so amazing today, as my youngest--mr. big belly pictured here--woke up at 2am throwing up. Why do children only get sick in the middle of the night? Argh. Blerg. I am mostly incomprehensible because of it, so we'll keep this short and sweet.

the sweater

the pattern: Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee! I made it a little wider in the body (i.e. not so skinny) because the fabric didn't have a ton of stretch.

the fabric: a shrunken cashmere sweater that was once my Nana's.

the sewing: There is nothing easier than sewing with felted sweaters. I was going to add a blue pocket and maybe blue cuffs, but it was looking too trendy and really there's nothing wrong with a basic cashmere sweater. I wish I had one.

the pattern: the pattern I always use from Happy Homemade Vol. 2 and to be honest, I think getting a little sick of it. I did change it up a bit this time with a long pintuck down the front of each leg--you can see it in the first picture. It makes for nice "little man" pants.

the fabric: I think it's called no-wale corduroy--the weight of corduroy without the bumps. Purple, obviously.

the sewing: Easy peasy, except the back pockets are totally uneven. Little boys move so fast, that no one will notice, I'm sure (I hope).

1. kcwc day3  2. a butterick dress experiment 3. flashback skinny tee 4. kcwc4

The flickr pool is bursting with beautiful hand sewn clothes!  How is your sewing going? Humming along? Or did you hit a snag? Are you ready to throw those pants (top, skirt, sewing machine) across the room?

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This tunic has been on my to do list for years...years! How is it that my sewing list is that long? Probably because things like ridiculously flowery leggings jump in line to get sewn first.

the leggings

the pattern: drafted a pattern off some good fitting leggings

the fabric: a maxi skirt I bought on sale at Target

the sewing: wham bam!

the tunic

the pattern: I bought this pattern at a thrift store when my daughter was still a toddler. Granted I barely knew how to read a pattern, much less resize one, but the topstitching and the little square pocket were too perfect (and it was 10 cents). Over the years the pattern has come out and written down as next on the list, but it always found its way back into the drawer. Now that my daughter is a size 6, I figured I better sew this sucker up once and for all.

the fabric: some really lovely wool blend that I was saving for a skirt for myself...for two years. There is still enough left for a skirt (I think), but now the fabric isn't giving me the evil eye.

the sewing: The sewing went pretty well. It is a very basic pattern, but basic in 1975 is pretty advanced these days. I simlified the way they wanted me to put in the zipper--it doesn't look perfect, but I didn't rip it out ten times either. The direction for the pocket were in some alien language, so I totally winged it and it worked out just fine.  I'll be honest, I'm pretty crazy for how this whole outfit turned out!

1. faux fur vest 2. kcwc dress  3. stripe leggings 4. gingham shirt

Welcome to day two of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge! I hope you found an hour (or more) yesterday. The sewing momentum is starting to build, I can feel it. Have you seen the flickr pool yet? Some amazing handmade clothes are popping up there (and even some tutorials)!

To keep the momentum going into next week--and beyond--Liesl, of Oliver + S fame, has offered you, my lovely readers and kcwc sewers, 20% off all their paper patterns! The offer ends right after kcwc ends (midnight ET on October 15), so if there is some pattern you've been eyeing, now's the time to snatch it up! The coupon code is KCWC20--just type it in when you check out!

Okay, what did I sew? An upcycled shirt and some basic lined pants for my five year old boy. I really didn't intend for these two things to be worn together when I sewed them, but my son had other plans. Let's start with the shirt...

pattern: Flashback Skinny Tee by Made by Rae

fabric: I sized down an old shirt of mine that never fit quite right.

sewing: The t-shirt material is the super thin jersey. I love wearing it (and so does my son) but I get nervous sewing with it. There were a few incidents where my sewing machine  decided to eat the fabric rather than sew it, but it worked out in the end. I loved choosing all the different colored ribbing to finish the shirt. Boy's clothes you see in stores can be so serious (gray, blue, gray, blue), so it's nice to make something silly and happy--like little boys!

pattern: My go-to pants pattern from Happy Homemade vol. 2. I've made it so often I just drafted a combination of the boy's shorts pattern (i) with the girl's pants pattern (o) for each size.

fabric: Big gingham on the outside and olive jersey on the inside!

sewing: I can sew this pattern in my sleep, which is what must of what happened because I ending up with two left legs when I sewed the lining. I didn't mark the right side of the jersey fabric and it is hard to tell right from wrong on solid jersey. Whatever, no one is going to see it, right? Trying to get the lining to sit right in the pants was super fiddily, but now that they are sewn up you can't tell the pants have two left legs (I hope).

He can't at least!