City Gym Shorts for Kids

 

Pattern:

This is the City Gym Short pattern for my 3 year old made in Sesame Street and yellow calico quilting cotton.  I love this little pattern it fits my 3 year old perfectly.  She is a tall slim toddler and there is room for a pull up diaper when she needs it but they also fit great with undies.  The has a separate waistband piece which is different from the Made with Moxie shorts I reviewed earlier.  I like the separate waistband better it just feels cleaner and smoother than simply folding the shorts over at the top.  The other difference between the two patterns is that this one does not have pockets and uses woven fabric for the bias finish.  The only construction issue I ran into was that the bias tape maker was to be 18mm and I didn't have one this size so I had to press the tape the best I could.  

 Will she wear them?
Yes, she wears them as compliantly as any three year old wears any clothing item.  I personally think they are the cutest shorts in her dresser.  I made her a dress out of this fabric over a year ago and really wanted to use it up before she decides she no longer likes Sesame Street.  I love Sesame Street and think its is adorable so Momma got her way on this one!

Prefontaine short for kids

 Pattern: Prefontaine Shorts for kids in size 5/6 years.  This is a pdf pattern and this is the second pair I've made for my 6 year old daughter.  The first pair is the floral black pair below made at the end of last summer.  Amazingly they still fit this year so I made a second pair (green) for her this summer. The pattern is pretty good, the only small critique is that there is no separate waistband piece which means that you have to fold over the top including the contrast knit bias tape finishing which can be pretty thick to fold over.  I made no changes to the pattern and the sizing is pretty forgiving considering the 5/6 fit her last summer and this summer.  I like that you use an old t shirt to make the finishing contrast tape. 

Fabric: The fabric for both pair are quilting cottons.  I am still stashbusting quilting cottons and haven't bought any new quilting cottons in what feels like ages.  I think its secretly multiplying underneath my fashion fabrics.
The pink bias tape finishing is actually an old knit shirt cut into strips as per the pattern instructions.  Its a new finish for me but it works great in using up an old t shirt.   One t shirt can yield a lot of tape. 

Will she wear it? She has worn the black pair quite a lot this summer and some last summer (takes her a while to warm up to new clothing items).  Her green pair hasn't been quite as popular but I think with some time she'll love them too.  That about sums up these shorts.  I have also recently completed the Purl Soho City Gym shorts for my 3 year old and will write that up soon since its very similar to this pattern.  The Purl Soho Pattern is a free download and I really recommend it!   

Vogue 1392 and Butterick 5982 Frankenpattern

 I completed this dress some time back but at the end of the project just felt pretty "meh" about it.  So it hung in my closet for a couple months while it waited to be hemmed and then I finally thought I'd wear it and see how I liked it.  Turns out some projects just don't always pan out like you think they will in your mind's eye but with a little distance from them you can come to appreciate them for what they did turn out to be...does that make sense to any other sewers out there?

I had envisioned this dress shape looking like this Kate Spade dress.  I tried this dress on for fun last fall while visiting Hanni in Kansas City and loved it.  So I came home and tried to make something similar. 

Fabric:  The fabric is from Hancock fabrics and is a cotton sateen.  I love cotton sateen and this one has a nice feel.  The lining is some blue poly lining given to me.  Its not very breathable but gets the job done.
Patterns: Skirt from Vogue 1392 and Top from Butterick 5982.  The top part has some puckering/stands out around neck and I've noticed this has happened to others online that have made this pattern.  I stay stitched the neck so I know that it didn't stretch out.  If there were to be a next time for this dress I'd go down a size in the shoulders, this version is a size 10.  I love the darting/princess seams here- it adds some interest and I've never sewn a dress with this darting/seaming.  Its been a while since I made this dress so I think that I graded the waist out to a 12 and that the skirt is a size 12.  The skirt is cute but I'm betting the skirt originally drafted for this dress would be more appropriate for this style.   I also shortened the length of the top thinking that I could get the waist line to look similar to the Kate Spade dress. 

Styling:  I added the belt to this dress and it made all the difference for me.  I included the picture below so that you can see the comparison.  The belt really helped define the waist in my opinion plus I wanted to wear my red shoes and two lobster pins (thanks Mom I borrowed those from the granddaughter you gave them to!).   I love any good excuse to wear my red shoes!  This dress makes a great church dress, turned out a bit too short (my fault for shortening the top part too much) for work and I only hemmed it the smallest amount possible by attaching hem lace to the edge and only just barely turning it up and hand stitching.  

Well there you go!  This Frankenpattern is finally seeing the light of day and I got some really sweet compliments when I wore it which is always nice!  I promise to be nicer to this dress in the future and instead of pushing it to the back of the closet, it will get in the regular Sunday rotation.

Linking up to Sew it Chic in a Week at Gray All Day.