Tag Archives: sewing

handmade kids clothing swap: my sparkle!

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i was lucky enough to have danielle of my sparkle get assigned to be my sewing buddy. danielle has an awesome style sensibility and is absolutely brilliant at creating beautiful and unique outfits, so brilliant that she won project run and play’s season 3! we’ve been seeing quite a few peter pan collars from her recently, so i was stoked when one of her signature looks arrived on my porch last week!

20130403-DSC_2883Danielle said… “I didn’t do a literal remake of any one pin, but rather pulled ideas and themes from a few pins that had a similar feel. I noticed a few outfits on Robin’s inspiration board that mixed a loose woven top with bloomer style shorts like

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and a few florals and peter pan collars like here.

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Mostly I tried to make something that would be functional and beautiful for her little C, and that had a feel that seemed to fit Robin’s style. I chose a soft lightweight linen for the top and added a peter pan collar in a soft cotton floral.

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Peter pan collar + C’s darling bob with bangs, and big brown eyes seemed perfect. I actually made my own pattern for the top (by altering a really basic bodice pattern) because I had a specific vision of how I wanted certain details to turn out and it was just easier that way. I used the full width of the linen for the top so it would feel luxurious and full and would spin and twirl.

20130403-DSC_2831I left the hem rather fat because I like the weight it gives a garment with a lot of fullness, and also so that Robin could let it out if need be.

20130403-DSC_2776For the shorts I used a blue stripped linen from JoAnn, and the Oliver + s Puppet Show Shorts pattern, which came together nicely. I just hope they fit!”

20130403-DSC_2761(the fit is perfect!)

“It was really fun sewing for C. Although Robin doesn’t show her face on her blog, she sent me a picture and she is just darling! I had that sweet little face in my mind as I chose fabric, thought about the design, and stitched it all together. Making something for somebody else, with your own hands, is such a sweet experience. I am really grateful I got to be a part of this little swap!”

Thanks so much Danielle, the outfit is so beautiful! It’s the perfect balance between cute and girly and easy to play in. Both C and I LOVE it. It’s the perfect first spring outfit, and is sure to get a lot of wear this summer!

20130403-DSC_287420130403-DSC_289820130403-DSC_2827Next stop?

Here’s a little preview of the outfit I made for Cherie’s adorable daughter Yuki… head over to You & Mie to see more!

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and be sure to check out the rest of the swap posts! there’s a lot of awesomeness going on this morning, so grab a cuppa and enjoy!

cherie from you and mie

danielle from my sparkle

delia from delia creates

gail from probably actually

heather from well-crafted

kristin from skirt as top

meg from elsie marley

sanae from sanae ishida

vanessa from lbg studio

thanks for stopping by!

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announcing the handmade kids sewing swap!

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the pinterest challenge!

hooray, i’m hosting my very first multi-blogger extravaganza! i’ve teamed up with nine lovely ladies, and believe me when i say there’s going to be some serious awesomeness around blogland later this week. wanna see what cherie created for sanae‘s daughter? kristin made for danielle‘s daughter? gail made for vanessa‘s daughter? you get the idea, it’s gonna be awesome.

the challenge?

to sew a kid’s outfit that was inspired by pins on the recipient’s pinterest boards.

the participants?

cherie from you and mie

danielle from my sparkle

delia from delia creates

gail from probably actually

heather from well-crafted

kristin from skirt as top

meg from elsie marley

sanae from sanae ishida

vanessa from lbg studio

…and me!

see you back here later this week!

 a HUGE thank you to sanae for the beautiful button! that lady has some serious skills. :)

film petit: moonrise kingdom

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it’s film petit time again, and i’m so excited to be a part of it this month! when kristin asked me what movie i’d like to use as inspiration, i knew i couldn’t go wrong with moonrise kingdom, even before i saw it. i mean, all you have to know is that it’s a wes anderson movie and see this:

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and you know it’s gonna be good, right? and of course, it lived up to it’s potential for pure awesomeness, and if you haven’t had a chance to see it, do it. now.

so the story is about a couple of misfit teenagers in love who decide to run away together. since the movie is filled with nutty characters (really my favorite kind), it’s really hard to pick a favorite, so i went with my favorite actor of all time. bill murray. a chance to dress my 5-year old daughter up like bill murray wearing madras pants, you say? sold. anyways, he plays walt bishop, the father of the protagonist, suzy. he’s quiet, a bit kooky. he has funny lines. for example. take a look at this short promo video he did for the movie. it’s hilarious.

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“well the good ones are made out of separate pieces. yeah. this is a nice one, this is an old one. it’s made out of separate pieces of, uh, loud material, and sewed together in squares. you can do this at home.”

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20121218-DSC_1321“here i am in a cardigan sweater. sittin’ here in portland oregon. livin’ la vida loca.”20121218-DSC_1292

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credits:

cardigan sweater: hey june’s greenpoint cardigan in an awesome wool rib knit from mill end. lovvve those gold buttons. (they’re gold plated, you know. be impressed.)

button-down shirt: oliver + s sketchbook shirt done with michael miller’s cotton couture in soft white.

madras pants: oliver + s sketchbook shorts lengthened and tapered to a pair of awesome looking pants. i did not sew the little squares myself. fabric from bolt.

but!

i didn’t stop there. the first time i saw the movie, i was struck by wes anderson’s fantastic overuse of plaid. this image of the inside of sam’s khaki scout camp tent in particular caught my attention:

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(“jiminy cricket. he flew the coop!”)

seriously, look at all of that plaid awesomeness! (and don’t think i didn’t have very serious plans to crochet a rug. i started one. and then i came to my senses and started sewing.)

tents play a big part of the movie. wes anderson even set up camp in a plaid pup tent.

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and of course, there’s tons more plaid love…

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i took all of this inspiration and sewed a tent dress for c.

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credits:

tent dress: oliver + s school photo dress. i am lucky enough to have the pendleton woolen mill store in town, and used some of their beautiful wool. i fully lined the dress in another cotton couture, choosing a color to mimic the look of the tent. for this, i eliminated all the awesome pieces liesl designed because i didn’t want to detract from (and mess up the look of) the plaid. i cut the yoke on the bias, added pockets, exaggerated the a-line cut quite a bit, and replaced the invisible zip with an outerwear zip to mimic the look of a tent. i’m so happy with this dress. and this pattern rocks. i want to go sew another (without mods) right. now.

and if you haven’t already seen what is going on over at a little gray and skirt as top…

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as expected, kristin and jessica nailed the looks they picked. kristin drew inspiration sam and suzy’s wedding clothes… check out that khaki scout uniform. amazing. and jessica sewed an adorable suzy dress for her little shirley temple look alike.

it was so. much. fun. to be able to be a part of this series with kristin and jessica. these ladies are incredibly talented, creative, and goofy. thanks to both of them for letting me part of this awesome series! i really enjoyed delving into a movie in a way i don’t normally, and getting the chance to sew clothes outside of my normal style. doing this definitely got my creative juices flowing. can’t wait to see what film petit is up to next month!

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badminton top

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we’re full swing ahead into summer here! today it might have hit 65 degrees. ;) and poor c had to model yet another summer outfit in the cold. but at least her mean mama waited until the rain stopped before she made her go outside in a tank, shorts, and sandals.

i present the oliver + s badminton top… which i plowed through the other night. maybe a little too quickly:

oops. that’s some ugly business there! actually, i did spend a few hours sewing this top. :) but i’m definitely not proud of how the inside of the yoke looks on this one. but you know? i’m calling it good enough, because it looks great on the outside!

this top is one that i thought would come together super quickly, but i was wrong wrong wrong! okay, it wasn’t that hard or anything. but it was fiddly. the yoke and top together look like a big hot mess before you sew the yoke since you have about a gazillion ruffles (and thus lots of gathering stitches), two yoke pieces, and arm ruffles. it’s not really that bad. and maybe instead of pushing through at 9pm i should have stopped and sewn the yoke on in the morning. yeah, next time. right.

i think this top runs a little big and short. i made a 3t, which is normally perfect for c in o+s patterns, but this one came out kind of big. c can still wear it, but it would have been better in a size 2t. c is at the tail end of the height measurements for the 3t, and i added 3 inches to the length as the pattern just looked short. (normally i add about an inch in length).

i used a lightweight japanese quilting cotton i picked up at cool cottons, not realizing how hard it was going to be to photograph! the contrast fabric is a michael miller cotton couture, which is lovely, lovely stuff. one of the great things about this pattern is that it requires so little fabric- just a half yard of the main fabric, and i had no trouble getting the contrast fabric from a quarter yard cut (the pattern calls for a half yard).

in case you can’t tell, i got a song and dance while i was taking photos. and then came “mom. i REALLY need to go to the bathroom!”

end of photo session.

she didn’t take the outfit off for the rest of the day (and asked to wear it to camp tomorrow), so i guess it was a hit!

ps- i was a slacker blogger and didn’t respond to comments from my last post. but thanks for your kind words about the shorts especially! home/handmade looking or not, they are going to get a TON of wear this summer, and a duplicate pair may be in the works. one of my favorite things about the puppet show shorts is that they are modest- the binding around the legs is just enough to keep the unders from showing but loose enough that they are comfortable. and c loves them because a) they are shorts and b) they have pockets. perfect!

summer!

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it’s the last day of school! finally, summer is here. and the sun is shining!

this simple little summer outfit is the clever charlotte sandpiper top and the ever popular oliver + s puppet show shorts in denim.

i love the lines on the clever charlotte top. there are a lot of patterns like this out there, but the lines on this pattern are modern and very stylish. i think the top is a little revealing for school, but will be perfect for the beach and parks and general outside play in the sun.

this top can be made reversible (this one isn’t). the lining is a bit hard to see, but here’s a peek-

the puppet show shorts are one of my favorite shorts patterns. that said, i’m not sure this lightweight denim was the best choice, as it looks a little homemade in the back since you don’t usually find these types of shorts in denim in the stores. alas. they’re cute anyways! but i might select just a regular old solid next time.

i’ll leave the giveaway open until sometime this afternoon, so if you haven’t entered already, now’s the time! i’m giving away a handmade citronille top in an out of print heather ross double gauze! :)

wiksten tova: mama needs new clothes

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yeah, i need some new clothes. how about you? do your kiddos have stellar wardrobes and yours is in need of some updating? you’re not alone.

this is the third time i’ve made the tova top by wiksten. it’s awesome, because now jenny offers the patterns digitally for a much lower price than what i paid when i bought the paper version. i highly recommend this top. i made a size medium… i’m a bit shy of 5’5″ and took about an inch and a half of the hem but made no other changes. i could probably tweak the fit a bit, but overall i’m very happy with it. (as long as i’m looking at these pics from my front. the side and back pics? forget it. :) this might be a piece of skinny girl clothing, and i’m a big ol’ wide pear. what to do…

i’ve been almost craving white tops for myself. white is my absolute favorite color to wear in the summer. practical, no. beautiful, yes!

the fabric is an almost gauzey white cotton i got over the weekend from bolt. kristin and heather helped me decide amongst all the lovelies they had to choose from (thanks, ladies!).

check out that tree! these pics were taken right outside our house. (nice tree… healthy tree…:)

in the interest of keeping it real (ideas on this? maybe take in the back? is it too big?).there’s a bit of a party going on back there.

ok, back to the front we go.

wanna join me? c’mon. it’ll be fun! let’s make some clothes for ourselves.

 

ps- don’t forget to enter the giveaway if you haven’t already! i will keep it open until friday sometime.

thank you giveaway!

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i have to say, i’ve only been blogging a couple of months now, but i really love it. i appreciate every single comment that’s been left. i have thoroughly enjoyed the email correspondence that has developed with some of my readers. this blog is still in its baby stages, but it’s a fantastic little baby!

i started this blog to become more of a part of the sewing community. to be honest, although portland is a great crafty town, i’ve definitely felt the absence of a crafting community within my own life. but starting this blog has really changed that. if you’re reading this and have been on the fence about starting a blog of your own, i really encourage you to give it a try.

to thank my lovely readers (and in all honesty, in the hopes of finding more!), i’ve decided to do my first little giveaway! i’ve had this yard of the now out of print and hard to find heather ross far far away print in a lovely double gauze for quite a while and it’s just sitting there, waiting to be loved. one lucky reader will have the option of EITHER having me sew the fabric into a citronille marie top in the size of your choice (okay, sizes 2, 4, 6, or 8) OR of having me send you the lovely (prewashed) fabric. your choice!

for the top, please note that i am trying to get my serger working so i can finish the inside seams that way, but please be okay with it if they end up being finished with a zigzag stitch. (thanks for your understanding.) UPDATE: serger working! yay.

to enter, please leave a comment here, telling me which you’d prefer and what you’re working on (or want to be working on!). comments will be left open and the winner will be chosen at random on friday, june 15. if you choose the top option, please allow a week for me to complete the top and get it on its way to you!

fine print: you must be 18 years old to enter… the winner will have the choice to receive either one sewn garment (pattern not included) OR one yard of the fabric as pictured. yadda, yadda, yadda. ;)

yay! good luck. spread the word! and i hope that wherever you are, wherever you live, you are having better weather than we have here in portland today. chances are in your favor. :)

 

COMMENTS CLOSED.

And the winner is… Commenter #7, Maria! Congratulations! :)

citronille marie no. 2 & o+s picnic class shorts

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holy cuteness, batman.

to be honest, these shorts weren’t my favorite of liesl’s patterns. in fact, i’ve been sitting on this pattern for a year having only sewn the top and no plans to sew the shorts. but then i started to see some throwback versions and i changed my tune. i am in love. this pattern is perfection.

the class picnic shorts were sewn up in some sort of thick fabric i found in the denim/twill section at mill end. it’s (not obnoxiously) hot pink. the contrast fabric is kona snow, but i doubled it up with a lightweight white denim i had in my stash so the white wouldn’t be transparent.

my featherweight rocked these shorts out in no time. it shall henceforth be called zippy. the thing sews something serious. (i haven’t broken out the zigzagger attachment yet, but finished the inside seams  by turning them in ~1/4″ and sewing with a straight stitch, thanks lucinda! there is also a great series of tutorials on finishing seams with a straight stitch machine over on the oliver + s blog.) i had a bit of a hard time controlling the speed of the machine, as i have the original foot pedal. a slight twinge of my toe makes the machine go from barely moving to super fast, faster than my computerized pfaff goes. (yes, my toe. this should actually be called a toe pedal because you have a little button to press down and the toe’s the thing. anyways.) so there were a few wonky stitches (including the faux fly) on this one. i ordered a new modernized foot pedal from april, the queen of all things featherweight (and where my machine came from, fully restored).

whassup? you talkin’ to me?

. . .

the citronille marie is done in a reproduction feedsack print (i think), so it’s just plain old quilting cotton. seriously love this pattern, though. i could sew 5 or 6 more but then you might get bored. ;)

yep. we take pics first thing in the morning. yep, we need to mow the grass. again. all it does is rain, rain, rain. off to put on some warmer clothes.

happy tuesday!

for the birthday girl

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happy tuesday! i hope everyone had a fantastic memorial day weekend. i wish i could say i spent it sewing, but in reality i’ve been super busy for the last week or so. i was in chicago for a few days for work, and even though i got to stay at a super fancy hotel (ritz-carlton, baby!), i was so busy with work that i barely got to spend any time in my luxurious suite. it was amazing though, how easy it was to fly when traveling sans child! as i’m sure all you moms out there know, this is a luxury in and of itself. ;) i got to read up on photography a bit on one of my flights… now that i’m blogging, i hope to improve my photography skills. and maybe even brave my husband’s super intimidating dslr. soon!

the past couple of days have been spent back here in cool and rainy portand with extended family. my niece is turning 2 this week, and i was miraculously able to make her a couple of quick things since i got home-

i started with the super-quick lazy days skirt from oliver + s (awesome free pattern) using a japanese print i’ve had in my stash for a couple of years. (i love this print for a 2-year old!) the plan was to get her a white tee-shirt and applique a red “2″ on it… but i didn’t plan ahead. (i’m always doing things at the last minute. that’s just how i roll). rather than drive over to target this morning and get a shirt (and wash/dry it and then applique it) it really seemed easier just to sew something else up. you know, cause this makes perfect sense. i also really wanted to use this dog print i had in my stash (from fabric depot but i bought it a year or more ago).

so, i made another jumper “d” from the japanese pattern book a sunny spot, like the one i made here. i seriously love the one i made for c (who likes to walk around with her hands in the awesome side pockets). it is a perfect year-round jumper (especially if you live in a mild climate like portland or japan), and can be worn over a tee or tank and leggings in the summer or over long sleeves and jeans in the winter. it’s also nice, as the style leaves a lot of room for growth.

unfortunately, the birthday girl missed her nap in order to make her party today, so i wasn’t going to even ask for her to model it for me. so, no action shots today! ;)

see those pockets? stuffed full of rocks. she could barely keep her skirt up.

i succumbed and ordered a couple more citronille patterns! once again, they arrived super speedy style. i hope to get another one sewn up soon, maybe even this week. see you then!

citronille antonine: sewing in french

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inspired by this dress gail posted in the pinterest vintage may group, armed with my new cintronille patterns, i made c an antonine. i had a blue and cream seersucker in my stash from bolt (which i bought to make a dress for myself… um… well, at least a year ago), and it was a perfect match. the inside of the dress is lined with the new cotton couture (drool, this stuff is lovely, i want some pj pants in it) in soft white. i had originally planned on leaving a bit of the lining peeking out from the hem, but c insisted i “cut off the white part”.

although i’ve sewn from japanese pattern books (which are usually heavily diagrammed), i’ve never sewn from citronille patterns before. and you’re curious about these, right?  here’s the lowdown… (and if you speak French, by all means let me know if i have incorrectly translated something.)

the back of the pattern lists the recommended fabrics, additional notions, and fabric requirements (in meters). it also lists the size measurements (height/stature, waist/tour de taille, and chest/tour de poitrine). i chose the size 4 based on the height measurements.

here’s the first page of the pattern. looking at the nomenclature at the top of the page, the pieces correspond to the front/devant, back/dos, and manche/sleeve.  next, see the part where it says “les valueurs de couture de 15 mm sont comprises”? that means that the seam allowance is 15 mm (and it’s already included in the pattern pieces). since 15 mm = 0.59″, i used a narrow 5/8″ (which is 0.625″) seam allowance. the next bit about the “ourlets de 4 cm” means that the hems are 4 cm. (obviously, you want to pay attention to the fact that one of these numbers is in mm and the other in cm).

the glossaire gives the definitions of a bunch of terms. i mostly skipped over this part, but the “droit fil” is the grain line and “froncer” is crease/fold. i’m wondering now if i should have paid more attention to la glossaire. ah well. okay, the legend shows the images for the outside/endroit, inside/envers, lining/doublure, and interfacing???/triplure. not 100% sure on that last one, but this pattern didn’t use interfacing. i then proceeded to skip notching my curves and clipping my corners. not sure if they wanted me to do this before sewing? anyways, i didn’t.

moving into the garment assembly, i think the instructions are clearish based on the pictures, but they certainly aren’t as detailed as those in the japanese pattern books (in my experience).  the nice thing about the patterns being in french is that i stand half a chance at translating the text (high school french helped but i don’t think it’s necessary). other commonly used terms are endroit contre endroit/ right sides facing, batir/sew (i really thought it was “baste” and basted the pieces in pic 1, but turns out it’s “sew”), piquer/press, epingle a nourrice/ safety pin, glisser l’elastique/ slide the elastic, faire un retre au bas de la manche, en repliant 5 mm pois 7 mm/ fold the base of the sleeve 5 mm and then 7 mm… and so on. armed with a french-english online dictionary, it’s not so hard.

i did find that the elastic measurements for the sleeves were a bit off – the elastic around the arm was way too tight and that around the shoulder a bit too loose. so a bit of fiddling was required there.

i added some buttons to “cuten it up,” as my husband would say. the dress ended up a bit loose around the chest (though really it’s good enough), so next time i may go down to a size 2 (which sounds much better as 2 ans, or “deuxieme ans” don’t you think?) for that piece, and take in that elastic around the shoulders. surely if i do both those things, the fit will be perfect. or too small.

here’s some “action” pics, taken this morning on my desk. when you live in rainy portland, you get what you get, and sometimes the desk has to do, especially when your daughter is sooo excited to wear her new twirly dance skirt to school. (score, mama!) i love the combination of a fancy dress with chucks.

i really enjoyed this pattern and can’t wait to give another one a go. if you’re interested in ordering a citronille pattern, go for 2-3 patterns (no more, no less) at a time, they end up being around $16 each shipped to the us. (the shipping cost and speed go up once you hit 4 patterns).

have you sewed any citronille patterns?? would love to see pics of your creations!