Posts Tagged ‘kcwc’

kcwc spring 2011: day one

Yee! Haw! Today is the first day of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge! Last year, I had my own little kcwc a week early so I could have a finished garment to show you each day, but I’m playing it fast and loose with the rest of you this time around. The only thing I’ve done is pick out the fabric I want to use for each kid. Sorry for the crummy photos, I snapped them quickly before I headed out to the fabric store to stock up on elastic. Then what do you know? There was a bunch of awesome fabric there, which is in the dryer as we speak. So my hour today might be all ironing. How about you, did you get all the pattern tracing and fabric cutting out of the way before today or are you going in cold like me? Anyway you do it is fine as long as you find that hour to do it!

We are 400+ strong this spring! So the flickr group is already blowing up. And I’ve got tutorials and inspiration over on my pinterest page if you get stuck. Ready? Set. Go!

interview with yasuko from dans la lune

Yasuko is a children’s wear designer out of Hong Kong. She makes lovely patterns for girls and boys (sometimes those poor boys get forgotten) and sells them from her etsy shop, Dans La Lune. This is my last interview for the week. KCWC starts on Monday! I hope you learned about some new designers and maybe even got some patterns for next week. Do you have a list yet? Be bold and tell everyone what it is (on flickr or your blog). And I’ll see you here on Monday!

dans la lune

1. When did you start sewing kid’s clothes?
About 10 years ago I got interested in making bags out of Kimono fabrics. Then after my first child was born, I started to sew more baby clothes. I was in London at the time and I could not find anything original for boys that didn’t cost a fortune. That’s why I tried to make them by myself.

2. How did you get into designing patterns?
It’s quite simple: I just thought if I can make my own design of kids clothes, it would be twice the fun. Also I enjoy so much the combination of many kinds of fabric. That’s what I really like.

dans la lune PDF e Pattern - Bermuda Shorts Pants

3. Do you have a specific kind of child in mind when you are working on your designs?
There are lots of cute clothes for girls, but maybe not so much for boys. So I want to try and focus on unisex designs. But I also really enjoy making cute dresses for girls whenever I find a beautiful fabric.

4. How do you think children should dress?
Surely I believe children should wear comfort clothes because they are very active, they need to jump and run around all day long! Then on top of it if we can make the clothes out of our own taste’s fabric, we can enjoy much more putting them to our children.

dans la lune

5. Do you think what you wear influences how you dress your kids or design your patterns?
No hesitation: Yes. For example when I wear my favorite dresses, I imagine if I could have a same dress for a little one.  Then I try to find a really original fabric for children as they can wear anything so well!

6. Do you also sew clothes for yourself?
I used to do it before but not recently.

dans la lune monkey pants

7. What children’s clothes designers do you admire?
I like Agnes b. because her design is very simple yet original. I also love Anna Sui. I saw some girls dresses the other day again, they are so pretty. I am just a big fan of her colour choices.

Thank you Yasuko! Check out her etsy shop for all the patterns show here and more!

interview with sophie from too sweets

I had a hard time picking photos from the Too Sweets pattern shop. There are just so many adorable dresses that Sophie makes for her little girl! Sophie is a talented pattern designer who has cute down pat, not to mention the little bit of awesome she throws in now and then–look at that jumpsuit!! And crocheted accessories?! She’s a pattern maker after my own heart. All the little girls in your life will be happy that you met Sophie:

too sweet pdf patterns

1. How did you get into designing patterns?

Is it cliche for me to say it was because of my daughter? (And the fact that simple but cute clothing costs a lot more than one would think.) Being a new mom, I wanted something comfortable, functional, and modern for my daughter to bounce around in. Not having the financial resources to dress her in fifty dollar dresses she would outgrow in three months forced me into getting creative with her wardrobe. So, I decided to design my own simple stuff. And then share it with others!

2. Do you have a specific kind of child in mind when you are working on your designs?

I figure that most children appreciate being comfortable, so I keep that in mind most when designing patterns. Children are only young for so little time, and they deserve clothing that allows them the freedom to really be a kid. I know that sounds silly, but I’m all about function (as in, comfort) while still keeping things fashionable and reflective of a child’s personality. It’s for this reason I keep many of my patterns simple and open for alterations, embellishment, or whatever change one might wish to add.

3. How do you think children should dress?

It really depends on the child’s personality, I think. My daughter is already insistent on dressing herself (at the age of 2, lord help me), and I find that her taste changes daily. So, rather than battle her about clothing, I give her a nice selection of different styles I like: modern, understated, playful, comfortable, and not too matchy-matchy. That way we both win!

4. Do you think what you wear influences how you dress your kids or design your patterns?

I wear a pretty basic, primarily black wardrobe (fun, I know) where I don’t take many risks. Instead, I’d like to believe that in a way I’m living stylishly and vicariously through my sewing patterns; it’s much more fun dressing my daughter in styles I wouldn’t necessarily consider for myself! Plus I’m sure she looks way better in them than I would.

5. Do you also sew clothes for yourself?

I have yet to jump the intimidation-hurdle when it comes to sewing clothing for myself; I do however enjoy sewing home items and other things for my family and friends. We’re expecting baby girl #2 here in a few weeks and I have a ridiculously long list of items (clothing, blankets, bibs, etc) I’d love to sew for her.

6. What children’s clothes designers do you admire?

I really love Stella McCartney’s childrens lines, Imoga, crewcuts, Yeppar, Misha Lulu…to name a few. Target also carries some great clothing in which I am constantly finding inspiration.

Thank you so much Sophie! Check out Sophie’s etsy shop, Too Sweets, for all her patterns. And her blog, Much Too Sweet, for more goodness.

interview with hagar from sepa designs

You might not have heard of Sepa Designs yet, but you will be happy that you now do!  Hagar is a professional pattern designer who started a small children’s line on etsy. She is a mother to three lovely children and lives in Israel.  Her designs are simple, but with just the right amount of detail to make them interesting to sew and beautiful to look at. So let me introduce you to Hagar:

 

1. How did you get into designing patterns for children’s clothes?

I’ve been designing children’s clothing for 9 years now for large Israeli companies. As a freelance designer, I sit behind the computer all day and send production files to be manufactured in China. During the past few years I have been loosing the excitement of designing and seeing kids wear my clothes because I didn’t feel a connection with the process. I am designing for a certain client (not my own style necessarily), behind a computer all day, rushing to get things done, didn’t feel the fabric at all…

When my daughter was born (almost 6 years ago), I spent a lot of time looking for inspiration to decorate or sew unique stuff for her. I came across this amazing community of people that I felt so connected to (even if they didn’t know of my existence…) on the internet: blogs, etsy, DIY tutorials, Martha Stewart… They were (and still are) so talented and I felt like I was learning so much from them.  I knew that some day I will try it for myself.  After my twin boys were born, and I was consumed with kids (literally, ah) I realized that designing for kids gives me a sense of fulfillment but I also wanted to design for myself, sew on my machine again and touch fabric! Thinking of a way to combine my strengths and my passion, I decided to make sewing patterns for kids.  It combines technical skills, sewing, graphic design, passing on of information and of-course designing. In my patterns I try to let the sewer become part of the design process themselves and give ideas to use the pattern in different ways.

Even though it is still not me who is making the actual jacket/skirt/pants, I feel so connected. I love the hand made process and the feeling of accomplishment that you get.

sepa designs

2. Do you have a specific kind of child in mind when you are working on your designs?

I do think that my kids influence my designs.  They will not wear anything that is not comfortable for them but they do want to wear: “jeans, like Daddy!” or to “look awesome/festive/groovy” (their words, not mine) like us.  However I am still is search of a unique “handwriting” and style that is my own.  It will take some time for me to find it, but I’m having fun in the meantime…

3. How do you think children should dress?

First of all I think that they need to feel comfortable.  But this means different things. My daughter would be the happiest child in the world if she could wear head to toe pink-fluffy-sequined-tulle-gathered-princess-gowns all day and everyday, but that would make my comfort level drop…

I think that children should still look like children and not style-iconic-fashionistas, but there are elements in grown-up clothing that fits them too. I do love bright colors on children and happy graphics that they can relate too.

4. Do you think what you wear influences how you dress your kids or design your patterns?

My kids usually wear what their grandparents and aunts buy them (I don’t have time to go shopping, and they get great stuff). But in creating my patterns I do try to keep a balance of different factors aside from the design aspect.  I want them to be accessible to as many people as possible by keeping the instructions clear and detailed, the fit a bit on the roomy side, the sewing difficulty to a minimum and an added value of a template/stencil and styling options. This usually sets the tone of the design more than the way I dress. Did that make any sense? Well, to tell you the truth, I’m usually in my pajamas most of the day anyways…

5. Do you also sew clothes for yourself?

I used to. A great deal actually, but as time passes I have less and less time to do that. I’m sure that in a few years I will get back to that. It was fun.

 

6. What children’s clothes designers do you admire?

There are many clothing labels that I love. Not necessarily for kids but that have a handmade look, sense of humor or somehow seem like they have an effortless chic to them. In no particular order these are just a few:

But there are so many gifted crafters, designers and makers of things on the web that have been such a big inspiration to my life these past few years.

I owe them and you a big thank you.

So thank you.

And thank you, Hagar! Check out Hagar’s shop on etsy and maybe add a pattern or two of hers to your KCWC list!

 

kcwc goodness

kids clothes inspiration

Next week is the Kids Clothes Week Challenge! Are you making big lists of what you’re going to sew? In the past during in the week leading up to KCWC I posted sewing tutorials and beautiful children’s clothes for inspiration. But this year I’m putting all that good stuff on Pinterest. Pinterest, if you don’t know, is a new bookmarking site where you can easily post pictures of things you like and it will automatically link back to where you found it. It is an incredibly handy tool. For KCWC I’ve created a few boards that I will continue to fill with amazing kids clothes. One is full of sewing tutorials and the other gorgeous clothes:

The photos in this post are some of the awesome tutorials and clothes I have found so far. You can follow me on pinterest to see when I post more.

tutorials for kids clothes

If you’re not on pinterest or have no interest in joining, no worries. There is plenty of inspiration out there, like  all the round ups I’ve done for KCWC in the past. Now in one handy spot:

SPRING CLOTHES

FALL CLOTHES

And if that isn’t enough there is a flickr group full of clothes too! If you are signed up (if not, what are you waiting for?) you should join the elsiemarley flickr group if you haven’t already. That’s where we show off all the things we’ve made all week and check it to chat while we’re not at our machines.

There is one more big of KCWC goodness, if you can believe it. All this week I will be posting interviews with children clothes pattern designers. They all are amazing women with small business on etsy and most of their patterns are in PDF format. So you get to meet some fantastic creative people and then, if you like their patterns, you’ll have them right away! Not bad, eh? The first interview will be up later today, so stay tuned….