Crescent Skirt

J. is now shopping in the women's section -- size 7 shoes and size 0 shorts for the start of school! She's only 10 *wail*.  But on the plus side, it opens up a whole new world: shopping trips that don't need to be limited to Justice (ugg!) and sewing projects using patterns I've bought for myself.  Although that's not actually true in this case -- I bought this pattern specifically for her (I doubt it would do much to flatter my much larger hips) but the option is there.

This is the Crescent Skirt from Sewaholic.  The waistband has lots of interesting seaming and the finishes are great, including twill tape for stability inside the pockets and on the waist.  I was happy to have the sewalong pictures from the Sewaholic website when it came time to insert the zipper, though, because the instructions did not make sense to me.  My zipper is still a bit wonky but oh well!

I like the pieced yoke but will probably just cut two facings if I make it again for J.: the details are lost unless you tuck your shirt in, which she will likely never do!

I made view B as I knew J. would like the fullness.  Based on her measurements, I cut size 2 but I think a 0 would have fit her more like the pattern intends.  As it is, it sits well below her natural waist but she seems happy with the fit.  She loves the pockets as they're big enough to fit a paperback, a huge plus for a kid who carries a book everywhere she goes.

The fabric is a mid-weight cotton chambray (maybe?) that I bought off someone on a fb group.  Despite her face in this picture, she really likes it.  It's been worn 4 times in the past week so I think it's a winner :)

Pattern: Crescent Skirt $12.63
Fabric: cotton chambray $6
Zipper: ~$2.00
Total: $20.63

Puple(ish) Pinwheel

K. was not keen about this fabric combination when I showed it to her but once I had the idea, I felt an overwhelming compulsion to make it even if K. never wore it.  I'm hoping she has come round.  She loves the polka dots, no question; it's the cotton shirting she wasn't keen on.  Maybe it looked too dull to her?  It doesn't really read as purple until it's paired with something obviously purple.  The fabrics weren't bought together -- I bought the cotton shirting in Hamilton with a top for myself in mind but that went out the window when I got it home I found the crease down the middle was permanently faded.  Boo.  I might have been able to jimmy things around to eke out a top but since it didn't happen right away, it most likely wasn't going to happen but it's lightweight and soft so perfect for this dress.

I bought a metre of the polka dots at Dressew in Vancouver this summer with a 2+2 skirt in mind for Kate.  The selvedge says it's Sevenberry from Japan and is a linen cotton blend.  It's quite hefty and didn't really soften up with washing (although I only washed it once).  It was a slight splurge and the flounce didn't use the whole metre so that made me pause a bit; I like to make the most of "special" fabric but I couldn't get this dress out of my head so cut into it.  I'm sure I'll find some way to use up the remaining odd piece.  

This is the pinwheel dress from Oliver and S and I love this design.  I made size 10 and added an inch to the body.  It's big but realistically we've only got a few more weeks (if that) of warm weather so I wanted to make sure it would fit in the spring, too.

I've made this dress before and found the facings were a bit of a pain when it was worn so I omitted them and finished the top with bias tape.  I also doubled the width of the strap so that it would meet the school dress code.

I love it and I'm glad it's out of my head and in the world.  If K. wears it, that will just be a bonus :)

Fabric: sevenberry linen cotton blend from Dressew in Vancouver, approx. 1/2m  $8.50, cotton shirting from Marina's in Hamilton, approx. 3/4m, $5.00
Pattern: Pinwheel dress, used before (cost per use $3.40)
Total: $13.50