Two new outfits.

 Twinsies desperately need some solids in their lives, they love to pair all sorts of patterns and colors.  Typically they have leggings, a skirt, shirt and jacket basically a whole lot going on.  So cue in amazing weather here and it was time to add in some solids.

 

George is wearing a School bus t-shirt in a solid navy cotton lycra and a Sailboat skirt in a joanns bottom weight.  Both size 5.  I can't believe I haven't made this skirt more often, I love it so much on her.

Izzy has a color blocked School bus t-shirt in a cotton lycra and a Butterfly skirt in denim, again both size 5.

This season's Kids Clothes Week theme is capsule wardrobe, so I am for once embracing the theme.  I have a plan sketched out and plan to stick to it, though I can't guarantee there won't be a pretty dress thrown in, too, that wasn't already on the list.

First day.

I realized today the big kids start school tomorrow, Abby has her outfit chosen, but Jack didn't.  I haven't made him anything for a while because he still fits most of his handmades, but I figured the first day of school deserved something new.

I pulled out a couple twill colors and paired them with a couple of knit cuts and let him choose, he picked well.

The shirt is the Oliver and S School Bus T-shirt, my go-to, in a size 8 with a little bit of length added.

The pants are the After-school pants, also a size 8, but I added 2" to the length.  He is only 1/2" shy of the top height in the 8 and I want them to last a while.

I really love these pants, and so does he.

Hide + Seek.

I have used this combination of fabrics a couple of times recently (not blogged yet, but grammed) and thought it would be perfectly perfect with the color of Izzy's hair.  The color of the blue/green is hard to capture, it is a little more greenish in real life.

I used this tutorial on the Oliver and S blog to add a cheater pleated bodice to my Hide + Seek dress.  I like the result, even if it did make things a little bulky.

They still wear their other Hide + Seek, it is so faded and soft at this point (and getting too short) so I knew it would soon need to be replaced.

I just love all the details in this pattern and I love that it seems to fit for so long, ha!

This time around I made a straight size 5, no modifications aside from the pleated bodice.

Class picnic times two.

Abby is headed to 6th grade in a few days, that seems so crazy to me!  I figured it was about time to fulfill some of her requests (the paint splatter blouse) and finish up a few UFOs.

I used the Class Picnic Blouse in a size 12.  She is a little above the size 12 for her chest, but this one is nice and roomy so I didn't hesitate when she requested this pattern.  I added 2 1/2" to the bottom of the blouse, and kept the original hem depth.

I added a piece of dainty lace in the front yoke of this oh so soft Robert Kaufman floral lawn.

I picked up this Art Gallery from my LQS at least a year ago, maybe more.  She has been asking for something made from it as soon as I brought it home.  I hesitated to make her something from it, because she wasn't a fan of handmade there for a while, and especially not anything made in woven.

The last couple of months she has decided having mom-made clothes is actually pretty cool, because then she doesn't show up to school in the same top as anyone else.  So I decided it was time to make her request.

I really love these two on her, and I am really sad these will be the last two she gets now that she has sized out of the pattern.

Square neck dress.

I made the square neck dress from happy homemade a while back and loved it.  It has long since been outgrown, so it was time for another one.

This is the size 4-6 in a Robert Kaufman gingham.  I originally bought the gingham thinking of a top for me, but it is heavier than I thought it would be, so it wouldn't work for what I wanted.  But, it is perfect for this little dress.

Some days I get loads of adorable photos in all angles, and other days I am lucky to come out with one out of fifty.  So, this will have to suffice, haha.

The only thing I may change next time, is to make the bias binding around the arm holes and back opening a little wider.  It says to cut it out one inch wide, and it gives a beautiful, dainty look, but it is pretty fiddly. Even adding just a half inch would be a lot easier to work with, I think.

Biscuits.

I made a bunch of graphics up last week, Abby promptly claimed this one as her own.  She loves the song and thinks the saying is hilarious.

She is on the verge of outgrowing her other pairs of City Gym Shorts so new ones were in order.  I was debating what to do, she is out of the kid sizing, but not yet in the women's sizes.  I taped both sets together to compare the biggest kid size and smallest women's size and noticed there wasn't a ton of difference, so I took a chance on the smallest women's.  The fit really well!  She is thrilled and has requested more for the summer.

The shirt is currently in testing, but it is excellent.  It is from Hey June and is basically the Union's little sister.  This is the size 12.

Ribbon tied blouse.

I flipped through my Happy Homemade determined to make something, I made the square neck blouse a few years ago and then set the book aside.  It was time to take a look again.  

I picked the Ribbon Tied Blouse, view C.  I made a size 4-6 in a light and airy Art Gallery print.  I love the feel of these fabrics, and they are a lot lighter than regular quilting cottons, so they are nice to use for garments.  Well, at least for kids.

The front has quite a bit of gathering, but the back is just barely gathered.  The sleeves are also slightly gathered, giving them a cute little puffy shape.

 I love the silhouette of the blouse.  Iz was very excited to see it and wear it right away.

I also paired it with some well loved Oliver and S Puppet Show Shorts.  I will be so sad when they size out of this pattern.

KCW day one.

I have been sewing quite a bit of knits lately (documented on Instagram since I am horrible at blogging lately), I was dying for a nice woven sew.

I this gorgeous Art Gallery I found in a local shop.  I have long loved this one and was so excited to see it in person.

I made an Oliver and S Playtime dress in a size 5 with some mods.  I left off the sleeves and lined the bodice, I love this one as a summer dress.  Even though I am still sewing the girls a size 4 in most things, I find this one can be a little tight to get on and off at this point.  Elizabeth is on the verge of a 5, and I figured a little big is never a bad thing with the rate kids grow.

I have managed to misplace my buttonhole foot, so snaps it was.  Turns out it was practically fate, I had the almost exact green snaps in my stash.

She loves it and I know it will get a ton of wear this summer.

A new tee for every day of the week.

This is what a whole week's worth of new shirts looks like.  I haven't made anything for Jack in what feels like forever, and then I go and over do it, ha! 

This is where it all started, I ran across a photo of a similar shirt on the internet, I think it may have been from Nordstrom. I immediately decided Jack needed it in his life, he didn't agree so much, but I am sure once it hangs in his closet a bit he will love it.  This kid usually takes a little to warm up to new things.

I drew the graphic in Photoshop then cut it from heat transfer vinyl with my silhouette.  I wasn't sure how much use I'd get from the SIL, but I am absolutely loving it.  

After designing the first one, I stayed up way too long past my bedtime designing a few more for him.

I used the same pattern for all of the shirts, the Oliver and S School Bus t-shirt in a size 8.

He wasn't thrilled with this one either, but the fabric is super soft, so I am sure he will end up loving it.

This was Abby's favorite, she asked for an identical one, though she currently has enough shirts in her closet so if it does happen it wont be for a while.

This one was his favorite, he even requested it after I made Ben a shirt just like it.  The kid has no idea who Ron Swanson is or why he is so funny, but he loves what the shirt has to say.

This one was a close second, and I don't blame him.  Not only do I love the print, but it is oh so soft, too.

Not a bad way to round out Kids Clothes Week.

Size test.

Do you ever get an idea that you just can't shake, and have to execute as soon as possible?  I do, too much.  Sam is growing out of his current t-shirts and doesn't currently have any shorts, so I decided to do a quick run through of these patterns before I cut a stack out. 

I haven't tried the Sunny Day Shorts before because honestly, I thought they were boring.   Yeah, maybe they are boring, but they are perfect for a beginner, fit just as I thought they would and were a great quick sew with lots of customization possibilities.  Plus, you can't beat a price tag of $0. 

I made these in a size 2t and kind of panicked that they would end up too big, but really, they are perfect.  I managed to get them from a weird sized scrap I held on to for a 'just in case' that I didn't ever think I would actually use, so it kind of is like they were free, ha! 

The t-shirt is my go-to Oliver and S School Bus T-shirt in a straight size 2t also.  Again, I thought I'd end up setting it aside for a while, but it fits just fine.  A little long, but that's how I want things to start- I can't keep up with growth spurts sometimes!

I added a heat transfer vinyl to the shirt I cut with my silhouette, so much faster than freezer paper, ha!

Bohemian Babydoll Dress.

I recently bought the Elegance and Elephants Bohemian Babydoll Dress after thinking about it for a long time.  Not sure why I didn't buy it sooner, probably because I already have a million dress patterns, but I am so glad I finally did.  

I made a size 4 width with a 5 length and it is just perfect.  

There are no closures but it still goes on and off with ease, sometimes tops without closures can be tricky to get in to.

George was so excited it was the same fabric as their Playtime Dress they always fight over, this way they each got to wear a dress from it was her thinking.  But what she doesn't realize is, it will soon be too warm for long sleeves.

I really love the silhouette of this dress and it's slight hi-lo hem.  I am sure I will be making more of these soon.

Tea party dress.

It is getting nice around these parts, so it is time to start with the warmer weather sewing.  

I have been seeing these adorable dresses pop up in the Facebook sewing world, so I decided to finally give it a shot.  It is the Tadah Tea Party Dress in a size 4.  I messed up when cutting out the skirt and had to re-cut one portion of the skirt, it didn't quite fit so I had to cut the whole skirt a little shorter than it was supposed to be.

 It is still pretty adorable, though!  I used the boat neck front, scoop back and circle skirt.  Iz loved it and wanted to try it out immediately.

It fits well, but I can't vouch for the instructions.  I read through them and decided to make it my preferred way, not that they were bad or wrong, I just like doing things in a certain order.

I love the back, and it still gives plenty of coverage, IMO.

She couldn't stop twirling, and I can't blame her!

A peplum top.

Our family pictures are coming up in just over a week, Abby needed something in our colors so I wanted to make her something cute.  First, though, I needed a trial run.  I took a risk late last night and picked fabric without her approval, but it wasn't too girly and the colors were pretty fall, so I figured she'd go for it.  And she did, she loves it. 

I used my favorite School Bus T-shirt, size 12 with mods.  I followed the instructions on the Oliver and S blog to make the shirt in to a peplum.  I measured to her natural waist before, knowing I wanted to try this, but then panicked that maybe I had done something wrong and I shouldn't cut it that short.  It's not bad, but I think I should have gone a little higher.  That's why this is a test run.

She will wear elbow sleeves year round, so I figure why not go with that length, plus I didn't have quite enough fabric for a full length sleeve.  I squeezed this out of a yard, barely, I was sweating it just a little.

I am so excited my new tags finally came.  My old ones, while I like the look of them better, they were just printed on.  The listing claimed they wouldn't fray or fade, but they did both.  This time I found another shop that makes them woven in, which is what I had a long, long time ago and they were awesome.

So, now on to the 'real' one!