Pintuck Dress

What I'm about to show you has been quite an experiment/learning process for me:  the first pattern that I have ever designed and drafted myself.  And somehow, it seems to have turned out exactly how I imagined! (With the exception of the wrinkles.  There were no wrinkles in my imagined dress).

For now, for the lack of a better name, I'm just calling it the Pintuck Dress, because, well, it has pintucks. Lovely pintucks that I'm quite proud of.

So just a few notes on the details.  It's a narrow A-line dress with pintucks, Peter Pan collar, and flutter sleeves, and piping.  It is constructed in three main sections, the bodice, skirt, and hem band.  My other version is color-blocked, with the skirt portion a different fabric from the bodice and hem band.  I love the simplicity and straight lines of the dress, as well as the vintage feel.  The dress was drafted using size 2 measurements, but is really about a 3T.

And here's the dress in action!

It fits my daughter perfectly, and is even comfortable enough to run around in.  I have to say, I'm really proud of how this dress turned out, and I can't wait to do some variations on it.  I'm also in the beginning stages of making it into a retail pattern, but it will probably be some months before it would be ready.  So if you would be interested in being a pattern tester and/or purchasing this as a pattern, please continue to follow our blog and look for future announcements.  And please, these are all very new skills for me, so any encouragement is appreciated!

Kids Clothing Week Sewing

The spring Kids Clothes Week sew along is this week and I completed two summer tops for the kiddos and a top for me this week.  This top is a vintage pattern, Simplicity 9095 made from Anna Maria Horner voile and chambray.  

The lines remind me of the Made by Rae Ruby top with the exception of a button down placket in the back.  My daughter picked out the buttons.  

This voile is so light and airy, perfect for summer tops.  I hung on to this fabric for about a year for some crazy reason and thought it was about time to cut the fabric!  That's a motto I have to say to myself sometimes "cut the fabric, cut the fabric!"  Another motto of mine for nicer fabrics is "enjoy the fabric, enjoy the fabric!"  

For the 21 month old I made this little dress.  Its Simplicity 3509 and is out of print now.  Thanks to my tendency to buy a couple of the same patterns when they're on sale I had an extra copy for this dress.  Its the 18 month old size which fits my daughter perfectly, she's kind of trim but tall.  

We went on a picnic and took these pictures.  My girls love to find a water source and chunk rocks and sticks into to it but as my Mom would say "I never saw a kid that didn't like to do that."  My littlest ended up in a pile of washed out rocks digging with a stick...in her new dress no less!  But I'd much prefer my children to be happy at play and dirty than concerned about their clothing.  

We spent part of our time eating, part of our time in the creek and the rest of our time feeding this beautiful (but territorial) swan.  

I made a top for myself as well out of the same voile.  Its the Made by Rae Ruby top I mentioned earlier with the Made by Rae Washi expansion pack sleeve.  

 I shortened the sleeve and next time I may try to take some of the fullness out of it.  I've made several other Ruby tops before in rayon challis and I think I prefer the drape of those over the voile.  I once read that if rayon challis drapes like water, voile drapes like air and that makes a lot of sense to me.

The top turned out very floaty and very light weight which will be great for our hot southern summers.  

This girl can always get a big smile out of me, she was a little tired of wearing her matching shirt and resorted to this comfy t-shirt dress.  Well what can you expect from a modeling staff that works pro bono.  These are probably going to be my only entries into the Kids Clothes Week pool.  I usually have such high hopes for that week but I'm pretty proud that in the midst of sewing Easter dresses I completed these tops too.  So are you sewing for Kids Clothes Week at the same time that you're working on Easter dresses?

Linking up to Frontier Dreams, The Life of Jennifer Dawn and  Peekaboo Pattern Shop.  

And now, for my next trick....

Something completely different!

Well, it still involves sewing, and kid's clothing, and Kid's Clothing Week.  But this time no florals, no ruffles, and it definitely would not coordinate with pink polyester pants.  For clothing article number two I made the Lucille Top from Shwin Designs: a color-blocked raglan tee with a very modern feel.  

This is the second pattern I've made from Shwin Designs.  The first, last fall, was the Pepper Pinafore, which is an adorable pattern but was a frustrating sewing experience due to sizing issues in the arms and chest.  With the Pepper Pinafore,  even though my daughter was solidly in a 3T at the time, and her chest measurements matched the 3T measurements on the pattern's sizing chart, it was waaayy to small.  I had to remake the pattern in a size 4, and extend the length of the bodice to make it fit. 

So I hoped that this time, with a knit patten, I wouldn't encounter the same problem.  Just to be safe, I made a 4T.....and it was too big.  Mostly around the arms.  It did turn out to be more of a tunic than a shirt, but it looks great with a pair of leggings.  And there is room....lots of room...to grow!

For the bottom portion of the shirt I upcycled a woman's long sleeve blue t-shirt.  The top is made out of an eyelet knit that was a hand-me down fabric.

Overall, a quick sew, an easy pattern, and a nice twist on a classic design.  I wish I had done a better job with the v-shape in the front and back, the point isn't quite as sharp as I would like.  But I will improve on that next time!  And there will definitely be a next time!  This pattern would be great in short or long sleeves, and is also a wonderful way to highlight small amounts of fabric--for the size 4T, it required only a half yard of each fabric.  One more quick note about Shwin Designs:  while this pattern was fairly simple, I don't know if I would recommend any of their patterns for a beginner, mainly because their instructions are not very detailed.  There are other designers (Made By Rae especially) who include the step details and tips.  With Shwin Designs, you are left to figure some of it out on your own.

And before I go, just a question for you all out there:  How do you balance making clothes for your children that they won't outgrow too quickly versus clothing that fits them really well right now?  I don't want to spend my time and energy creating items that my daughter will outgrow in two weeks, but I really don't like making clothes that run big, either.  I want to make her perfectly fitted clothing that she can wear for the next year-- I want it all!  So what do you do?

Think Spring (or, early retirment in Florida)

Update:  I've added some pictures of my daughter wearing the jacket at the bottom of the post.  Definitely looks better than expected-- maybe it's a keeper after all!

You know when you have a vision for something, and then the end result turns out a little bit....different?  That's how I feel about this project.  The first item on my KCW checklist was the Lily Knit Blazer from Peek-A-Boo Patterns.  I had been ogling this pattern since it was released this past fall, and was glad to finally have an excuse to sit down and make it for my two year old daughter.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I planned on using some turquoise jersey for the main part of the jacket and then a yellow floral for the accent pieces.  That is, until I remembered that I had this in my stash:

A beautiful, bright, spring-like floral that I bought on clearance at Hobby Lobby a few months ago.  And since it's January, and I live in the Midwest, something bright and cheery sounded like a good idea.

That is, a good idea if you want your two year old to blend in to a retirement community in Florida.  So, here it is:

  
I'm thinking of making some pink polyester pants to match.

In all seriousness, it's a really cute pattern, and I think it has a lot of potential. I think the print and color combination turned out to be a little over-the-top, but may be able to be salvaged if I remove the pockets for a cleaner look.  There is also the possibility that it will look much better on her tomorrow morning in the daylight, rather than on the hanger at midnight. 

 But anyway...my favorite part of it is the ruffled panel in the back, which can be seen here:

My daughter is sometimes a 3T/sometimes  a 4T, so I made the size 4 to have a little bit of wiggle room.  But there seems to be a lot of wiggle room already built in to the pattern, to the point that I had to take off 3.5 inches off of the sleeves.  I included the optional princess seams, which helps give it a more tailored look, but omitted the piping.

Overall, a good pattern.  I'll try to take some pictures of my daughter wearing it tomorrow to see if that improves the look.  And I'd love to have some second opinions!


Updated photos:

Capturing Childhood

I've been sewing for my oldest child for five years and the questions I ask myself when I make garments for her now are different from the questions I once asked when I began this journey.  When I began I felt more restricted by cost and my limited sewing experience.

Now, although I still consider cost, I think more about what kind of picture of childhood I am trying to help my children capture.  I guess a hope of mine is that one day they will see a baby dress I made them and with fondness put that same dress on their child.  Another hope is that I will make the garments to fit their style and their particular frame.  I don't want them looking back on pictures and seeing what frightening get up their mom forced on them. 

All this to say that I try to draw ideas for my children's garments from both their ideals and my ideals.  I have found that a good place to start is by looking at children's books.  I wanted to share three artists that are my favorite.  I often page through these books for inspiration.  Let me show you why:

Eloise Wilkin

This is artist, Eloise Wilkin.  Her children's books have always captivated me, especially her eye for details concerning the construction of children's clothing.  This dress is probably my favorite design for a girls dress.  The yoke, the peter pan collar, the little puff sleeves, the gathered fluffyness of the dress.  These are all elements I adore.  

Here she really captures the wonder of childhood that is deeply tied to the wonder of nature.  Discovering nature and the world around you is all part of the mystery of growing as a person and Eloise Wilkin really seems to portray this in her drawings.  The children's clothes in this picture seem to embrace the reality that children like to feel comfy in their clothing.  

Gyo Fujikawa

What I love most about Gyo Fujikawa's drawings are the rich colors.  The colors are sometimes paired in ways that aren't so matchy-matchy and more organic which I think perfectly reflects childhood.  My children definitely don't pair their items the same way that I might (come to think of it their Dad NEVER pairs their clothes the way I would-ha ha!)!

The drawings also have that soft, water color look that I love as well and the pets are always in on the action.

I know whenever my children are playing in the yard our dog Buster is always right there with them.  Licking them, running beside the wagon, pulling on their clothes (and yes also destroying toys and eating whatever is in their hands).  

Marylin Hafner

I am less familiar with this artist however her drawing are very 70's in the book that I own but since I was born in the 70's in makes sense that I'd feel a tie to her!

This is from a Halloween book she illustrated but the way that the children appear to have made their own costumes is just perfect.  Dad's coat and tie, Mom's lipstick and that kid that made the weird, huge rabbit head (on a side note we had a kid come to our house this year with a huge papermache head, my daughter said "I won't trick or treat him because that's weird") that is what being a kid is about.  Making do, creating, exploring, growing as a person.  

I hope that in some way these images will inspire you as you dream of the garments you will make for your children and I know that every time I look at them I am inspired anew.  Do you have any children's books that you use for inspiration? 

Plans for Kids Clothes Week

Welcome to our new blog!  I'm not really sure how to kick it off so the best thing seems to be to just GO!  So...here...we...go! 

I'm planning on sewing for both of my girls for Kids Clothes Week.  Heres a loose idea of what I might accomplish!!

For the 5-year-old

• Downton Duffle Coat- I plan on using the Downton Duffle Coat from Peekaboo Pattern shop. I've got the pattern already traced and cut out so I feel a little beholden to it! The fabric I have planned is very similar to this Boden coat on ebay.  Since most clothes have to be in the gender specific colors of pink and purple to be worn without complaint I just roll with it and try to release my preference for other color combos!  (Note to others out there- sew the stuff you like for your kids before they develop their own opinions!)  

• A new pair of slippers using a pattern from the blog "From an Igloo."  I would include a link but the blog seems to be private now.  The slippers only came in a size 2 and 4 so I will grade them up a size. 

For the 18-month-old

• A new dress for church.  Nothing too complicated, I have some Alexander Henry fabric that has been languishing in my stash for over a year.  It is way too cute to just sit there.  I'll use view A without that strange X design.  I'm trying to decide if the peter pan collar should be a contrasting fabric, leaning toward just using the same as the body. 

• A Made by Rae Pierrot top.  Fabric to be determined. 
• A Made by Rae Flashback Skinny Tee.  To match a pair of Quick Change Trousers I made her for Christmas.  They are made from vintage baby crib sheets, maybe I'll post them some time.  

I'm trying not to over commit myself for Kids Clothing Week but its tempting to over plan. So what plans do you have for Kids Clothing Week?  What things are on your primary list and what are on your secondary list?