kcwc fail

I've followed Elsie Marley's blog for a while now and have always been inspired by all those people who jump in to the kids clothes week challenge.  I've never felt I able to participate, though, until this spring -- the NHL playoffs are on so my husband is fully occupied, volleyball is over and fastball has yet to start I've got time in the evenings.  I've been planning what I would make, gathering supplies, tracing patterns, cutting stuff out for over a month now but it's looking like it's going to be a fail before it even starts. 

Last week I lost access to my flickr account (long story short -- we switched to bell and I didn't even think about changing my email address with flickr because I thought it was connected to my hotmail account.  Now I can't change it to my hotmail account without first signing in through rogers.  Which I don't have access to.) and I'm still waiting on help from the flickr people to reinstate it.  I could open a new account but . . .

And then I've been fighting with my sewing machine this week.  I thought it was just my state of mind (am I the only one who feels like I have to be calm when approaching my sewing machine or it senses my tension and reacts badly to it?) but I tried again today and it's still skipping stitches or, if I increase the tension, the thread breaks.  I've re-threaded it, changed the needle, used different thread, tried different types of material, and adjusted the tension but I think it needs a tune up.  In the 7 (or 8?) years I've owned this machine, I've never taken it in.  And it's got a lot of use in the last couple of years especially.  I phoned my local shop and they estimate it will take a week.  ONE WHOLE WEEK without a sewing maching.  It honestly makes me twitchy to think about it. 

So it looks like the bucket hat, circle skirt and sunday brunch jacket I had planned for this week are going to have to wait.  Sigh.

Another O+S Family Reunion Dress

I don't really like making things the same twice but J. coveted Thing 2's birthday dress (which Thing 2 has only worn once, by the way) so I decided to make her one.  I let her pick out the buttons for the back without telling her what I was making, and, at $7, the buttons cost twice as much as the fabric but she loves them. 

It took me ages to cut out as I had just enough material if I jimmied things around and cut each piece out on it's own.  It's a size 4 (J. is 6, almost 7) with about 4 inches added (or was it 5?).  Anyway, she could have done with another inch but I made it as long as I could with the material that I had.  Thankfully it fits and she wore it all day.  Hopefully she wears it again but I can never predict.  I'm halfheartedly hoping that Thing 2 will decide she wants to match and wear hers but she didn't mention that today (although she did wear the circle skirt -- yay!).  Oh well, I have a little niece who *may* wear it -- she's 18 months and is showing signs of having a mind of her own as well so it's not a sure bet ;).

Vogue 1247 - Top

I was intrigued by this pattern when I saw this classy top in silk crepe de chine at Sallieoh.  And this lovely one in orange shot cotton at Handmade by Carolyn.  Then I went into Fabricland, and Vogue patterns were on sale so it seemed like fate :).

But after I traced the pattern, it sat on my sewing table for at least six weeks until the spring top sewalong over at Made by Rae gave me the kick in the pants I needed. 

After reading reviews regarding the excessive ease of this top, I cut a size 14. I also added an inch in the length but really should've added two as I'm long waisted and this top is really short (to go with the excessively short skirt included in the pattern, I guess!)

The fabric is a swiss dot cotton voile from Girl Charlee.  It's very light, which is pretty much a requirement for this pattern as the instructions specify French seams for every seam.  And a whole whack of seams merge in the middle (I know they don't line up but there was no way I was going to pick them all out and try again after getting it all sewn together).

I didn't follow the directions for the french seams, by the way -- it says to sew at 3/8", trim and then sew 1/4" from the seam line.  I was being lazy and could not face trimming Every. Single. Seam so I sewed at 1/4" and then again at just shy of 3/8".  I got halfway through when I realized that trimming would've made my seams much smaller and on a top like this where you can see the seams through the fabric, that might have been nice ;).  Despite the French seams, this top came together really quickly and the instructions were pretty easy to follow.

The verdict in my house is that the fabric is thumbs down (too old-lady-ish) but that the top is *interesting*, if a bit baggy around the chest.  I think I need a couple more pleats to fix the crazy boxy thing going on in the chest area.  Next time, I would also forgo the seam down the back -- I had enough fabric to cut it on the fold and should have just gone with my gut. 

Circle Skirt

If Thing 2 rejects this skirt, I'll hang it up in my office because just looking at it makes me happy.  My husband's comment was "whoa, that's bright".  As if that's a bad thing! 

I used the tutorial over at Made and is Dana ever right about this being a quick project -- definitely under an hour (including the hem, which I hadn't done yet when I took these pictures).

According to the selvage, the fabric is Sketchbook by P&B Textiles.  I have no idea when or where I got it.  Miss Thing did pick it out for a bucket hat so I'm hoping it's also acceptable as a skirt.  And I've still got enough for a hat so she could be all matchy. Not that that would necessarily appeal to her, though, as she usually chooses things because they don't match.  Ehh, who can predict.  Obviously I can't!

Shot Cotton Tova

I feel a bit un-original posting this top -- a pdf option has made the pattern much more readily available so lovely versions of the Tova are popping up all over blogland.  Not that that's a bad thing.  I love this pattern -- it sews up quickly, fits well, is comfortable and looks great.  And, despite it's popularity online, I'm pretty sure I'm not in any danger of showing up somewhere in the same outfit as some one I know :).

Sorry for the crappy picture.  I tried to take one of me wearing it but that was even worse.  The fabric is Kaffe Fassett, Shot Cotton in Bordeaux and it's really lovely -- very lightweight and soft, and with a wonderful depth of colour.  I ordered it from Pam at Mad About Patchwork.  I'd highly recommend her shop for quick shipping and great costumer service.  And we obviously think alike -- she's currently making a Tova out of aqua shot cotton.

verykerryberry is hosting a sew-a-long of this pattern and has some great posts and tips.  I joined but apparently am not very good at "sewing along" and and finished early :).

By the way, the last time I made this, I had trouble with the collar fitting properly.  This time I staystitched the neck edge and it was fine.

edited to add:  I finally coerced my six year old into taking a picture for me.  I really like this colour and I like this top but a word to the wise if you're going to use shot cotton -- it frays.  Like crazy.  I really did mean to increase the seam allowance this time so I could do French seams but wasn't even thinking when I cut this out.  Guess I should write stuff like that on my pattern pieces, shouldn't I?   When I get time to sew I'm always anticipating being interrupted so don't always pay enough attention to what I'm doing . . .

MoMo + Linen Quilt finished

I started this quilt over a year ago and finally finished it (well, almost -- I still need to tidy up the stray thread and add a label).  It's amazing to me that I could work on it for so long and still love it.  I think it's the combination of the linen with the prints + the really simple design (adapted from Fresh Quilting by Malka Dubrawsky).  The prints are momo freebird and the sashing is linen.  I handstitched swirls in each of the squares and outlined some of the squares in red.

The back and binding are from It's a Hoot with a piece of ivory because I wanted to be able to see some of the swirls.

My kitty seems to like it, too.  Maybe my Dad wont get this after all!

O+S Tiger Hat

J. is performing a dance to the "Circle of Life" in a school assembly this week so asked me to make her a tiger hat like the lamb/mouse hat I made from Little Things to Sew. 

To be clear as I know I was confused about this at first, she doesn't plan on wearing the hat during the dance -- she wants it because she feels she should go to school that day in character (!!).  (and yes, I know the song is from the Lion King but she was adament that she was a tiger.  With stripes.  She drew me a picture.)

I have no idea what the orange fabric is (the label on the bolt said "100% mixed fibers".  What the heck does that mean??) but it's soft and the right colour.  Unfortunately it's also a fairly loose weave so might not be very durable.  I didn't trim any of the seams for fear that it would fall apart so the hat is not quite as smooth as it could be. 

I altered the O+S pattern by cutting the side panels into two pieces and attaching the ears in between so that they would be more on the side rather than the top.  Again, I added a tab and a button (of J.'s choosing -- it's huge!), and lined it with terry towel.

The stripes are black scraps fused on with Heat'n Bond, although I think I will have to stitch around them, too, so that they'll stay on.   

It looks pretty darn cute on her.  More cuddly tiger cub than the full grown tiger she described but I think she's okay with that.

and here she is growling at me, very scary :)

O + S Family Reunion Dress

My youngest is turning four next month *sniff* *sniff*.  She is a spunky little thing with a wicked sense of humour.  And strong opinions about what she will and will not wear.  I love this dress and I really hope that she does, too.  I just can’t tell her that – I have to play it cool and pretend like I don’t care if she ever even tries it on.  

The flickr group has some great versions of this dress in prints but when I saw this adorable one, I knew I wanted to do a jean dress. 

The main fabric is a lightweight stretch denim I got on clearance last summer at Dress Sew in Vancouver.  The hem facing is It’s a Hoot Marshmellow and Cherry Eggs by Moda.

After reading the reviews about how this dress fits, I cut a size 3 with about 4 extra inches of length.  My girl usually wear size 4 in RTW but her chest measurement puts her as size 2T on the O+S size chart, and I didn’t want the neckline to be too big. 

My one complaint about O+S patterns is that they do not provide a lengthen/shorten line.  I always have to lengthen their patterns and never know where to do it.  This time I added it to the bottom.  Hopefully it doesn’t give it too much volume.

 

I like the red topstitching on the dark fabric but man do you ever see all the wobbles!   I also wish I had taken the “hint” to pull the threads through and tie them on the back when doing the pintucks.  That’ll teach me not to barrel ahead without reading the whole section!

edited to add:  here's picture of my six year old modelling the dress (it's a birthday present so I can't try it on my littlest).  It's a bit tight across the chest but she wants her own now.  I don't have the bigger size pattern but I think a size four with more length would work.

Tova muslin

I really enjoyed making this top and when I wore it for the first time, my three year old told me she liked it.  Unprompted.  Then my other daughter and my husband chimed in to say they did, too.  That's gotta mean something right?

When I received the pattern last week, I didn't have any suitable fabric on hand so went to my local fabric shop, generally a disappointing experience.  They always have either wildly overpriced decent quality fabric or dodgy cheap stuff.  I found this linen/rayon blend on clearance for $3.50/metre so decided to make a "muslin".  Although the oatmeal colour doesn't do anything for me and the fabric is a bit scratchy, I think I probably will end up wearing this. 

The pattern was great and everything fit together amazingly well with the exception of the collar, which ended up being a smidge too small.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't the pattern piece, though -- I think my neck edge stretched out while I was working on the rest so next time I will staystitch the neck edges before I start.

The only thing I did differently from the directions was pre-crease the cuff bands and collar bands before sewing them on -- I did the first one as written and I found it really difficult to accurately fold over the 1/4" that would cover the seams after the cuff was sewn on. 

Other than taking a little more time with the corners on the inset :), the only thing I will do differently next time is give myself a little more than the 3/8" seam allowance to do french seams.  I don't have a serger so did a hodge podge of things this time round -- mock french seams on the sides, zig zag on the armholes and nothing on the inset.

This is an XL, I generally wear size 12 in RTW.  I was a little concerned that I'm not "willowy" enough to pull this off without it looking like I'm wearing a maternity top but I think the cut is great and the fit is fairly good (although still maybe a touch tight across the chest?).   I will definitely be making this again, maybe in real linen.

O + S School Photo Dress

I've had this pattern for ages -- I think ordered it the moment I saw this version on No Big Dill -- but just got around to making it.

The fabric is Kaufman Cool Cords ordered from fabric.com and although we all (hubby, daughter, me) love it, I'm not sure it was the right choice for this dress -- the multiple seams mean the butterflies get all chopped up, especially on the back.  

The collar and cuffs are in plain blue cord and it is lined in lightweight blue shirting.

Other than increasing the length for my tall skinny girl, I made two changes to the pattern -- the piping at the yoke and, at my daughter's request, little vents in the bottom to make it less fitted.

Sadly, I don't anticipate this being worn.  My daughter has been admiring it but it's been in the works for over a month and she has never once asked when I'm going to finish it.  Although she loves the pocket, she still prefers styles that are less restrictive and has told me that she's not fond of the collar (the cutest part IMO!).  There are a couple of things I need to fix (I just noticed a little pleat on one of the sleeves) but then I'll hang it in the closet and hope for the best!