KCWC day 5.

Confession: I have never watched Star Wars.  I tried once, but I fell asleep.   I saw this shirt make the rounds on pinterest a while back and had always meant to make it, but just never took the time- that is, until Kids Clothes Week  came around and I had nothing on my list to make yesterday.

My routine was thrown off yesterday as the twins each only took one nap yesterday- both at different times.  Nice.  So I didn't get to sew until the kiddos were in bed, so no pictures until this morning.  I went easy peasy today with another flashback skinny tee.  Have I made too many yet??

Don't worry, he hated it.  See, he hasn't seen Star Wars either.  So we tried to explain who Yoda was... nope, wouldn't put it on.  He wanted to know what day it was, I told him I would tell him when he put on the shirt... so he put it on... and decided he does like the shirt.

KCWC day 4.

Day four! I can't believe I am saying this... but I think I need a sewing break, ha! (Can't though, I still need to make a baby gift for Saturday). I may take it easy tomorrow though, do a quick and simple project. Today's project was easy... but it was x 3!

First though, here is a modeled shot (the best I could get of the girlies) in their chevron skirts from day one.  I still want to make some kind of top or bolero for them, but here they are wearing RTW cardigans.  Can you tell the one on the left weighs a few pounds more than the other?  :)

I made three skirts from the noodle-head tutorial , the same kind as the engagement skirt , but different fabric this time around.  They are for the wedding reception, and since all the girls are unmarried and one is 12 I decided it counted for KCW.  So there.

Quick and easy like always, I have made this skirt many times before and didn't even have to look at the instructions. I went with waist x 1.5 instead of 2 to make it a little less full, I like it that way best. Hm... What to make tomorrow?

KCWC day 3.

Kids clothes week challenge day 3 complete!   I wasn't sure if I was going to get any sewing time today, Georgie is teething and Elizabeth has been up a lot for the last two nights... So I wasn't sure if I was up to it.  But this was a quick sew, aside from the pleats, and I managed in just over an hour.

I got an email earlier this week to see if I was interested in testing a new dress from Lily bird studio,  So I said yes!  I tested the size 12 month of her new Bia dress (look for it soon) and used some more of my Easter fabric. 

It has a button closure in the back and pretty pleats around the yoke, bias tape on the sleeve openings and yoke facing makes for a nice, clean look.

Close up of the pleats, though the magenta is kind of hard to picture.  Grumpy girls makes for no cute pictures, but trust me, it is adorable on!

KCWC day 2.

Today was for Jack. I realized last week poor kid only has one pair of shorts, and his pants are quickly becoming floods.  So I set off to make him a pair of shorts... and of course something more fun to sew (because let's face it, plain bottoms are just not as exciting to sew as a pretty little dress) so I also made another skinny tee. 

He wasn't too happy to get his picture taken, but I may have bribed him with Blue's Clues if he would take a few nice ones.  And this^^ is what I got.  He posed himself in all these, in case you were wondering.

Goofy boy.

I saw another skinny tee made in this fabric in the flickr pool and had it in my head to do ever since.  So I cut out the sleeves... and they were upside down!  Duh!! I don't often work with directional prints for just this reason.  So wanting to conserve the rest of the yard for another tee when he grows out of this one (or perhaps a baby gift?) I went with brown ribbing for the sleeves.  I wont do that again.  I am not a huge fan of working with ribbing and would have prefered some interlock or jersey.  Oh well, it gives it a nice texture.

The shorts are from Sew sweet patterns.  Oh, where do I start?  I cut them out and started on them on Saturday and finished them this morning.  I have been so spoiled with my obsession Oliver and S patterns that give exact measurements for chest, waist, hip, weight height to get the perfect fit... or at least a good headstart to get the right fit!  This had weight.  That's it.  So I went with his weight figuring I could just hem them shorter if needed.  He wears 4t RTW and that is the size I made.  HUGE.  Seriously, so big on him.  I am thinking of making the waist 2 sizes smaller and the length one size smaller.  They don't look horrible when his shirt is pulled down past the waistband, but they wont be worn for a long time.

They are a flat front with an elastic waistband.  The 4t says to use 10 inches of elastic.  I knew that didn't look right so I tried it on before I sewed the waist shut and ended up going with 8 inches, and that is still too big, he is constantly pulling them up. And since they are so big the front waistband wraps well around to the back.  Sigh.  And fail.  I am going to go back to O+S, the sandbox (which I heard run big... but at least I know!) and the sketchbook are on my list for the boy.

Then on the way out the door I tried to tell him his shorts were on the wrong feet and he said "No! I twisted my arms so they are on right!" Uhm, okay?

KCWC day 1.

It's Kid's Clothes Week!! I thought this time around I would be so prepared, I would have everything planned out, drafted, cut out and ready to sew. Ha. That's just not how I roll.  I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal when it comes to most things everything in my life, so why should sewing be any different?

So today during the twins' first nap I decided on a few circle skirts.  I have been wanting to do a circle skirt for a while now, and when I saw Jessica's on project run and play last week I knew I "had" to make one right away!  I don't usually like to follow the trends... I love chevron prints and have resisted for as long as I could, but then I saw her version and knew the twins "needed" a few.  Buuuut I went the lazy route and made mine from preprinted material.  No piecing here. (Wasn't her's ah-mazing??)  Hence, the kind of funky way my zig zags ended up.  Oh well.

I went with navy and grey.  I wanted black, but the quilt shop I was at that day only had navy, red and grey, and I wasn't in the mood to go to the shop I knew had it. Oh well. 

And I picked up some grey and navy (and pink and teal) elastic from Joann's.  So cool they carry that now!

I am thinking a little bolero to go with each one.  I can't decide if I want to do yellow with the navy and pink with the grey, or yellow with the grey and what with the navy? hm...

They are size 12m so a bit too big for the girls, but the really don't need anything else in the 6m range...  I have a pair of shorts and a shirt for Jack planned, but that is about as far as I have thought!  I really need to figure out what to make for a baby shower this weekend... hm...  and my Ayashe just showed up in the mail, so that will be added to the list!!

Hopscotching in my sleep.

Yes, I am pretty sure I could make the Oliver + S hopscotch top in my sleep. In fact, last night I did... in a dream, of course, I don't sleepwalk:) I realized the second the twins' hopscotch dresses come out of the dryer they go straight on the girls. I LOVE the look of them, and they are just so comfy! And side story, one night we were at Ben's parent's house and he was holding one of the girls and he said "Uh, did you make this?" I gave him a look and said yes. He said he was just sure it was store bought. I took it as a compliment, though I think I do better work than sweat shops. So there. He took a sewing class in high school (Easy "A", or so he says... I think he took it to pick up girls, ha!) and his teacher told him you never want to say "Look what I made!" while she answers you with a big smile and an amused "Yes you did!". Okay, so tone doesn't really carry over to the internet, but I hope you get the point... it makes me laugh everytime I think of it.

Anywho, back to the hopscotch pattern. I made 7. Yes, 7. In two days. Luckily it is a reeeally quick pattern, especially when you assembly line them like I do:) I timed myself and each one takes around 30 minutes. Not too bad! And I think they are such a great staple. But don't worry, I didn't make them all in the same size!



L-R, size 12m, size 18m, (behind) size 7, size 18m- those are all tops, size 12m, size 12m, size 18m all dresses.
I have a problem, none of my kids need clothes!! But I *need* to sew... for my sanity... :) So though the twins are in 6m, I made 12m for them. Abby only needs a 6, but I was lazy and I didn't want to trace of that size since I had just traced off 12m and 18m. here are Abby's previous hopscotch tops... She has worn the blue one once, and the other one two or three times....Grr. But I plan on weeding out all of her RTW clothing so she wont have a choice pretty soon. And to be honest, I didn't remember I made the blue one or I wouldn't have made her another one!! (Do I ramble a lot? I feel like I do.) And I am also going to gift a few to my one and only niece. I have a few other items on my list for her too, easy to spoil since she is the only one! (For another few months:) Plus she measures in to the 18m range for O+S so I can use leftovers from my other projects. You don't mind she will dress like my kids, do you Kim? If so, she doesn't have to wear them. But like I said, I need to sew, ha!

I ran out of purple thread, so the sleeves and hem are just serged and need to be finished. This yardage was meant to be a shirt for me, but it shrunk too much. That's okay, I don't really need horizontal stripes on my body.

This one was made from the remnants of my first hopscotch.




I bought this one for Abby online when I got a robot and car print for Jack. I could add one more yard and not have the shipping go up. Two yards and it would have increased. So I had to order one more yard, right? I was being frugal:) (I just realized it is kind of hard to see the print, but it is rainbows, there is a closeup later in the post)

So I cut out Abby's and thought I would make a dress in either 18m to give to my niece, but then I got looking at the amount I had left and thought I maybe could squeak out a 12m and 18m shirt. It became a game. I had to fussy cut a few of the pieces, and almost lost the game when I cut the bodice of the 18m both going the same direction instead of opposite. But I found a spot that had just enough left to get it. Success. Silly, but it made my night. I don't normally like to match my girls, but Abby will love it.

This one was a beast, it is veeery lightweight. I nearly threw it out the window. Or in the garbage. I had cut out all the other tops/dresses Sunday afternoon and that night I layed awake in bed imagining how cute this yardage would look as a long sleeve (with grey skinny leggings either ruched on the side or buttons near the hem) for a baby gift. We have lots of friends and family having babies soon and a few would be in the 6m range come fall. So I decided to make it in 12m first for my girls to see if I could stand working with it again. I am not sure I will.

I finally busted out my twin needle. Don't know why I didn't do it sooner! I think it made a big difference in my hems.

Did you make it through all that? Give yourself a high five! Oh, and thanks for reading:)

Check two off the list.

Well, make that three! I took Alli's bridal photos earlier this week and got them edited. I nearly killed myself editing them that fast, a few very late nights, but Ben was out of town all week so I didn't have him distracting me with good tv shows:) Then I made the two badmiton tops I had cut out and waiting for me! Oh my goodness how I love them! I came late to the party so the Swingset was already out of print, so this fills the void (though if Swingset ever goes digital it is mine!!).

I used some scraps from the girls' Easter dresses. Score! I love using up every last bit of fabric possible... and I did... there was no more that could be used when I got through cutting them out. So in trying to use as much fabric as possible I made the 12m size because that is the largest size I could cut from my scraps. The girls are still very much in the 6m range, but they will grow someday, right? They are 10 months now and the smallest babies I have ever had. Abby and Jack were in 6m clothes by three months.

The first one I made I did to the letter. I like to make the first one exactly as the pattern says then I tend to deviate and use my techniques I am comfortable with, or switch details up.



Close up of the ties and pattern. They are flowers on both tops but it is kind of hard to tell from far away. I used a lighter to singe the ends of the ribbon to keep it from fraying.



I could see the ties being a problem, since they both eat the ties on the 2+2 blouse and pick at each other's buttons on their birthday party dresses so I left them off the second one. I kind of wish I hadn't though, I think the ties are such a sweet detail. How cute would the top look with the scallops on the bottom? I think that will be what I try next time with this pattern.

Another tee.

I know I said my list was a mile long... does anyone else put off sewing projects you "have" to do? I feel like if I must do it I put it off until the last minute. No? Just me? Mkay. Anyways, I pulled out all my knit options for me yesterday before I made the grey shirt and I found an option I LOVED but went with another. Silly, right? So I thought about it all afternoon and night and so in the morning instead of checking my facebook and blogs (such a time sucker for me!) I knocked the tee out in about 30 minutes. The girls are so good in the morning and Jack was watching Curious George, the stars aligned and it all went together quickly! So another easy cap tee in yet another jersey knit from girl charlee. The ribbing is a teal from Joann's.


I was worried it might be a little tween-type of a print, but I like it, so there! Plus, when I saw the teal ribbing with it... Sold! I went with the scoop neck this time, I made it just a tad higher... no real measurements here, ha! Maybe like a 1/2"? So my complaint about the sleeves... totally my fault!! With even just the tiny amount added from binding them made such a difference, now they sit at a nice comfortable length on my shoulder. If the pindot from yesterday wasn't so hard to work with I would go back and bind them.
Ben dearest, if you read my sewing blog (which I highly doubt), for Mother's Day I would loooove a gift certificate to girl charlee . That is all.

To hem, or not to hem.

The last time I posted about sewing for myself I commented that I will buy multiples of the exact same shirt once I find the fit I like. Uh-oh. I found a shirt pattern that I just may make ten of. It is the easy cap sleeve shirt by jocole. I made one up last night in a really light weight knit that was sort of sheer, I knew I would never wear it anywhere, but at $2 a yard it was a good choice to make to check the fit. I made the scoop neck in large and I think if I do the scoop neck again I will bring it up the neck line up just a bit.

I am shooting a friend's bridal photos this evening and since we are cutting it really close on time I wont be able to do anything with my free time (ha! what's that?) until they are finished. So I wanted to knock another one out before then... and I didn't feel like doing laundry this morning... and I had nothing to wear... Yeah, I am that lazy. But at about 40 minutes start to finish (thank goodness the twins are usually good nappers!) it took less time to make a shirt than to do the laundry. No joke.

This time I went with the jewel neck. It also has a scoop neck, v-neck and a boat neck. I don't *love* the sleeves, but I didn't have the time to draft sleeves for it. You see, the beauty of this pattern is there are (if you don't count the binding) only two pattern pieces. I used a sliver pindot from girlcharlee, oh I am addicted to that place. It was a little tough to work with, so I bound the neck edges but just turned the sleeves under 1/8" and hemmed them. Not quite as nice and neat as binding them... but I didn't have the patience today. So now I can't decide if I should hem the length or not... I washed twice, but would hate for it to shrink in the wash, I don't mind the length- but does it look too long? What I do know for sure, though, is that I will be making more of these!! After I edit pictures... and finish my two badmiton tops I have had cut out for the twins since before Easter, and make three bridesmaid skirts... Wow, my list seems long when I write it all out!

Easter.

Well, I didn't get all my Easter sewing done, but I am okay with that. I had a Oliver + s sketchbook cut out for the boy, but in my mind I wanted a robbin's egg blue for his shirt and I could only find teal. Gr. But then I went to Old Navy on a whim when Grandma had all the kids and found the exact color polo I was looking for. And at only $5 it was a steal! He was a little bummed but I told him I would make his shirt later.

I went with the Oliver + S birthday dress for the twins. Oh, I am in love. And so, so worn out all at the same time. I like to assembly line the twins clothes if I know I am making more than one and that is what I did here... I will revisit this pattern later. I really love it, but it takes me some time.

I did this for Elizabeth, she looks good in pretty much all colors, but George doesn't look great in reds and some pink. She may be able to get away with this, but I really like it on Iz. The tab is fabric from Abby's Maggie Mae.




This is George's, they are both size 6m.





The hem facing and one bodice are fabric from Abby's Maggie Mae, I thought it was fun to have part of them the same and Abby really thought that was special.





I messed up the darker one's top button hole something fierce, but *sigh* I am okay with it... or that is what I am telling myself. I tested the size on a scrap but I must have messed something up on the first one (obviously) because when I cut the hole and tried to push the button through it didn't quite fit.


Elizabeth sitting pretty in her dress.



Georgia in her dress.


My stud muffin Jack, he has a low tolerance for picture taking. Take them fast or he is done!



Abby in her Maggie Mae. She likes to pose herself lately, and has decided she doesn't like smiling in pictures.




And this is the best I could expect with four kids... Happy Easter!

Magz for Easter.

I made another Maggie Mae but this time I made it a size smaller and in my Easter fabrics. I am pretty excited, I picked out a floral in a white colorway and a magenta colorway for the babies' outfits then picked more... for lack of a better word, calm? Not as busy?... fabric for Abby and Jack. Jack is a solid teal and well, Abby's is below. I wouldn't normally coordinate all the troops, but the thought is this way I can get our family pictures done this spring and just use these outfits. We have been married 7 1/2 years and have never had a professional family picture... not even for our wedding... so I told Ben to suck it up because that is what I want for Mother's day. Plus it will be good timing for the kids, they all have birthday's coming up this summer (all within six weeks of each other) and being I was miserably pregnant last year I never took them out to take their portraits like I try to do every year. Not that they don't get their pictures taken a ton, but it is fun to take them out alone and do some one on one time with each of them. Anyways, I am way off track, back to the dress!

I think I only looked at the directions once since it was still pretty fresh in my mind, and it is pretty simple construction.

I made a size six because I tried on the seven and it was pretty roomy on her, and since I want portraits done I want it to fit well rather than make it larger so she can grow. Plus, it just means more sewing for me in the future, right?

I made a skirt for a friend a few months back and she told me I was "totally legit" because I have my own tags. Ha! And that makes me feel pretty old... I remember when I used to use the "cool" slang words. Now they just make me feel old.

The back. I must have been having a crazy moment because I went with magenta thread for my button holes. I considered doing white on the yellow/green and magenta on the magenta, but I am too lazy when it comes to switching out my threads. Luckily they were some of the better holes I have made. I also stitched the buttons with magenta to make them "pop".

Still in love with the pleats and the curved bodice.

Abby looooves the pockets. I went with the bodice fabric for a hidden suprise. One item down, four to go! Getting closer to my deadline!! But Grandma is taking oldest two for a few days for Easter break so I will have plenty of time... probably...

Selfish sewing.

It is no secret I love to sew for my kids. But aside from bags and a skirt or two I haven't done much for myself. I don't feel confident enough to take my measurements and pick a size from the patterns nor do I feel I could make the adjustments needed. But, then again, a year ago I never thought I would be where I am in my kids sewing that I am today. So I decided to try my hand at the rose t-shirt by melly sews. I really do like it, but the fit on the top is not what I am used to. I typically wear a basic Old Navy tee I bought years ago or I found a shirt at Target I really liked a year or two back and bought three different colors. Yes, I am that lame.



I bought this bird fabric back before I was preggo with the twinners when I went to visit Ben's cousin and her kids in Vegas for the day. I fell in love with it but thought it might be too "old lady-sih" so I haven't done anything with it yet. But I loooove mustard and purple, mustard and grey, mustard and brown, mustard and navy... pretty much mustard with everything. The purple is just a cotton interlock from Joann's. Since it was just my test I went with that, next time I will for sure use a lighter weight jersey. I went with a size smaller than suggested for my bust and went a little longer than her suggested short sleeve length. This would be my one and only reason I would sew everything for myself, I hate where the sleeves hit on my flabby arms:)


Blech. Nice self portrait. Ben was gone and I am not about to hand my Cannon over to my three year old. I went with the longer length. I will make it again, though hopefully I can figure out the neck to tweak it more to my liking. It doesn't lay flat against my chest and Ben has dubbed it "bacon neck" (because it curls up and pops out depending on my shoulder position). I don't know if I need to go down a size, or if making it in a lighter weight knit will fix it. Hm. After Easter... I still am procrastinating on the kids' outfits... But I did just cut out Abby's Maggie Mae and one of the twins' Birthday Party dress...