The Evolution of a Slipper

I have been making my 5 year old slippers for three years now.  The pattern is from the blog "From and Igloo."  I would give a link but it seems the blog is no where to be found anymore (if anyone knows where it is I'd love to give credit.)  The pattern and tutorial were for sizes 2 and 4 (left to right in this picture.)  This year I graded the pattern up to a size 6 (far right.)  As you can see from the worn off stitching and button eyes they are very popular and are worn constantly.  

If I remember correctly Christine from "From and Igloo" based this pattern off of some of those great toddler shoes with elastic casing in the front and back.  This is what my daughter loves about them.  They don't fall off.  I always add leather to the sole for grip.  The leather is all from a coat I thrifted ages ago.  One other note about the leather, they make my daughter quiet as a mouse and she can sneak up on us quite easily (that is if we don't hear the breathing.)  

The first two pair were rabbits and since we're into cats around here this year this last pair has cat ears.  Its always hard for my daughter to warm up to the knew pair but once she does there's no taking them off.  Its become one of my tried and true patterns, do you have any tried and true patterns like this for your the little ones in your life?

KCW Day 3: Geranium Vest and Pierrot Top

Since my last make (The Mother of All Plaid Coats) was so very involved I really wanted something a little less intense.  This get-up is for my 19 month old.  In Georgia our winters aren't quite as intense as they were in Kansas City so we really just need a little added layer here and there.  Here enters my idea for a toasty vest to layer over long sleeve shirts.  I've had lots of great experiences with the Made by Rae Geranium dress which needs no introduction in sewing blogland so my thought was there has to be a way to take the basic bodice and transform it into a vest.  So here's my remix of the Geranium dress into toddler vest.

For those of you who are interested in the way I converted the dress to a vest, here's a fast and dirty recap. From the bodice:

• I omitted the button overlap from the back and added one to the front
• lengthened the bodice
• curved the bottom front hem
• flared the side seams slightly at the hemline.  
• Lastly, I added a crochet pocket just because I love the hand made look of it. 

 I also made the Pierrot top by Made by Rae patterns to go with the vest.  I modified it a bit, lengthening and narrowing the sleeves and adding an elastic casing at the cuff.

 The little houses are from  the Oliver + S blog.

I don't think I really need to offer much in the way of a pattern review since I think these patterns are so well known but they sew up quickly and predictably which is a plus.  The fabrics for the vest were thrifted, the lining being from a flannel sheet.  The top is a gingham from my stash (long ago purchased at Hancocks).

So far Kids Clothes Week has been productive for me but that's mainly because I began cutting everything out last weekend and the baby takes a good long nap in the midmorning.  Thank you baby G for knowing how much I need my sewing time and honoring the nap schedule like I knew you would :).    

Kids Clothing Week (what have I gotten myself into) Coat

I call this my "kids clothing week( what have I gotten myself into) coat" because I think I NEVER would have completed it if I had not been motivated by this sewing challenge.  I began two weekends before the challenge cutting out the pattern and reading in my sewing books about matching plaids.  When the sewing book says "to be realistic, we must admit that sewing with uneven plaids is not for the novice" (The Vogue Sewing Book) it can make you pause and wonder if you really should have bought all that beautiful wool. And when your realize you're going to have to cut out one piece of the pattern then use that cut piece of fabric as your pattern for the mirroring piece you start to wonder what you've gotten into!  Here's a picture of what I'm trying to explain.   This is one front piece being used as a pattern piece for the opposite side.

So here's the coat in its- some of the plaids match and some don't- glory.  Now a warning, there are quite a few pictures here, but I am SSOOOO proud I finished this coat and that she actually LIKES IT!

 Here's a personalized proud Momma tag and you can see the snaps that I used instead of button holes.

 This is the hem of the wool.  I thought she'd enjoy "secret" pink lace hidden behind the liner.

 You can really see some of the plaid matching on the front.  See those vertical purple stripes on either side of the buttons and the black lines that go horitontally,oooohhhh yeahhhhh!

 Here's a shot of the houndstooth flannel I used on the "skirt" portion of the coat.  A side note, she's really just learned how to lean into swinging to get momentum....one of those things you hope they eventually figure out!

And just because he is always our comic relief this is Buster trying to get away from the camera...he's kinda quirky like that, but he always makes me smile.

So for some details about the coat...
The fabric: The main outer fabric was a Wool/Polyester blend from Hancocks.  I think it was the "Nesa Fab" winter collection.  It was quite thick and fuzzy on one side.  I used tips from this post and this post to help me figure out how to cut the pattern out.  The lining was a combination of flannel and thin lining fabric.  I lined the top part of the coat in the thinner liner because after a test fit (and a word of advice from my Mom-thanks Mom!) I realized the flannel would make the chest area too bulky.  The flannel is in the lower part of the coat because I wanted some extra warmth in that area.

The pattern: Simplicity 2534.  This pattern is great.  I can see myself going back to it in the future.  Its not easy per say but very well constructed and the directions are as clear as I think you can expect for a coat like this.  I read all of the posts from Angry Chicken, one found here about this pattern to glean any tips she had.  I used her tip to use large snaps instead of buttons and buttonholes so that the coat could be easily repaired in the future.  I always appreciate Amy Carol's blog whenever I visit it.  She has such a relaxed and organic feel to her makes.  A note about sizing, my daughter is 5 years old and I made the size 5.  It fit perfectly but probably won't have enough wiggle room for next season.

Grade: I would give this pattern an "A" if you're an experienced sewist but maybe a "B" for a novice since the directions might be a little hard for a beginner to navigate.  I think if I'd used a solid color fabric it definitely would have taken me about half the time to make it but I really think I stretched myself as a sewist to use this crazy plaid. Its meets my 5 year old's approval apart from some complaints that "its hot" when she tried it on, but that's kind of the point of making a coat like this!  This is definitely one of those garments that make you proud that you can sew when you complete it.  So here's to KCW and it being the push I needed to challenge myself!!