Kid's Clothes Week Day 7

I finished off Olivia's butter fly shirt, using the same Women's Metro T-Shirt pattern.  Olivia and I started discussing t-shirt fringe, a few week's back when we were making her a western dress for an AWANA banquet at camp.  We ended up not making t-shirt fringe for that project, but it seemed like the perfect thing to add to a t-shirt.

The fabric is 100% cotton jersey and it's lovely.  This was a left over piece from a Hopscotch Dress I made her 3 years ago.  Do you notice what I did wrong?!  In my hurry to get the shirt cut out, I neglected to put my butterflies in the right direction.  Yes, indeed, I cut out the shirt having the butterflies flying upside down.  I was in quite the hurry as my husband was getting ready to replace the skylight, above where I was working, and I needed to get things done quickly.  We had an awful storm blow through, a little over a week ago and a baseball sized hailstone broke through one of our skylights.  Needless to say, we ended up replacing 5 skylights.  So in my hurried adventure to get this shirt done, I made a big mistake.  Oh well, Olivia didn't notice and neither did her big sister.  The fabric is soft and comfy so it will do just fine. :)

It was fun making the fringe.  I used a small sized rotary cutter to get the fringe cut in a uniform fashion.  We wanted to make the fringe long enough, but not too long as to cause issues with playing and getting caught in things.  We also wanted to make sure her belly was covered and not exposed by the fringe cuts.

For the shirt I used size M/L once again, M through the neck/shoulders and L through the width.  I added almost 2" to the length of the sleeve and 2" to the hemline of the shirt.  I cut the fringe 6" up from the bottom of the shirt and about 3" up from the bottom of the sleeve.  The slits were 1/4" apart.  Olivia is happy with her shirt and I am mostly happy with it.  We are considering making some other fringe T-shirts using some patterned designs.

That wraps up the week of sewing for children......but I'm not done sewing.  It was good once again to be forced to sew each day, for my child. :)  My other children were neglected in the clothing department, oh well.

Happy Sewing.......

Kids Clothes Week Day 6

I was able to finish up the Women's Metro T-Shirt high/low dress for Olivia.  We wrestled with whether or not to put an elastic waist in the dress.  In the end, we decided not to and she has the freedom to use a belt to bring it in, should she want to do that.  This will allow her two different looks in wearing the dress.  She's happy with her dress and I am happy to have another dress made for her this week.

Once again, I used the size M/L, M through the shoulders and L through the width.  I changed up the pattern from the waist line down, making it an A line shape, but then changing the hem line to a high low style.  I am not a big fan of this style hem line, but I am growing to like some dresses made this way.  Olivia is quite pleased with this one.

We are contemplating a couple more shirts to make with this pattern.  One of the ones we want to make is with a cotton knit and lace.  That might have to wait until next week.  Butterfly fabric is next. :) Edit to add, the butterfly shirt is cut and I have started sewing. :)

Until tomorrow......

Kid's Clothes Week Day 5

More than an hour was used for sewing time today.  I got the fabric ready, measured and sized the design of the dress we wanted to make, marked and cut out the dress.  Then I had time to do some stitching, preparing the hems and will finish up tomorrow.  Once again we are using the Women's Metro T-Shirt pattern by Liesl + Co.  Size M through the shoulders and neck (front neckline dropped, slightly) and size L through the width, then A Line shaped and lengthened for the dress.  This is a longer style dress with a high low hemline.

Olivia likes the chevron pattern fabrics, as do I.  This dress is being made form the Riley Blake collection.  The knit is made form 95% cotton 5% spandex and it's so soft and wonderful to wear.  It's also wonderful to sew.

This will be Olivia's third dress this week.   It's wonderful to see the wardrobe getting fulfilled....just in time, I'm sure, for another growth spurt. ;)

Tomorrow I will finish up the dress and we might have time to cut out and start one more garment....we hope!

Back tomorrow......good night! :)

Kid's Clothes Week Day 4

I was able to get the 1 hour in today, with a bit more, but not much to show for it.  Olivia has a new white with black polka dot t-shirt, made from the same Women's Metro T-Shirt  by Liesl + Co.  Once again I used the size M through the shoulders and L through the width to get a more relaxed fit and I also shortened the shirt, through the waist.  I find that when preparing knit fabrics for hemming, the quick make item takes a bit longer.  I use the stay tape on the sleeves and hem, so the extra time pressing takes longer, but it sure makes a difference in the quality of the finished product.

The fabric is a 95% cotton and 5% spandex.  It's nice and soft and has washed up well so far.

Here is a side view of the length of the shirt....a bit long, but not too long as this girl is growing, fast!

We are trying to decide which item to make next...so many choices....only so much time......

Until next time.......

Kid's Clothes Week, Day 3

I was able to finish up the maxi dress today and started cutting out another T-shirt from the same pattern. With Olivia's growth spurt, we find she's in need of everything, so we are focusing on the Women's Metro T-Shirt Pattern and making dresses and shirts from that pattern, to quickly put some much needed clothes into this girl's wardrobe.

She started asking for a maxi dress, last year, and the plan was to do that, but life got busy and so we just never got to it, until now. :)  Here she is in her fun new maxi dress.  We might make one more of these, just because she really likes this style dress. ;)

Next up is a T-shirt, white with black polka dots. :)

Back tomorrow..............

Kid's Clothes Week, Day 2.

I finished up Olivia's dress and cut out and started the sewing of her new maxi length dress.  She's excited to finally get a maxi dress.  Olivia loves this new dress and can hardly wait for her new, new dress. :)

For this next dress, I used the same, liesl + co, 'Women's Metro T-Shirt' pattern, again using the size M through the shoulders and the size L for the width of the pattern.  It has a nice relax fit, giving Olivia time to enjoy her dress and not grow out of it, too quickly.....at least I hope she doesn't.  Olivia is growing like crazy at the moment.  She needs new clothes!

While Olivia did not dye the fabric, no time to do that, we chose a fabric she has liked for over a year, wanting a dress made from it.  Because of the lovely tie dye fabric, it makes it almost seem as if it was created by Olivia, but it was not.  This fabric is 100% cotton jersey, but we have a piece of fabric, with the exact same tie dye, in a light weight twill. :)

For day three, I will finish up the dress and hopefully start cutting the next garment.

Good-Night..........

Kid's Clothes Week July 2014 Day 1

It's time again for Kid's Clothes Week. I had forgotten about it until the other day.  I'm late at getting started, but I figured better late than never.  I may not make the whole week, but I'm giving it an honest try.  Today I prepped the pattern, the fabric, cut out and stitched up most of the dress.

Olivia has been away all week at AWANA camp, so I did not have her here to have her participate in the making of this dress.  I spent more than an hour today, working on this dress, having most of it done before she arrived home.  I have decided to leave the hemming for tomorrow.

Olivia picked out this fabric and really liked the bright, stripes, so I decided to make a T-shirt dress with it.  The dress form is not set up for Olivia's measurements, it's a couple sizes smaller than she is.  I used the Oliver + S pattern, Women's Metro T-Shirt, and changed it up a bit.  Instead of using the smaller size for children, I decided to use the women's sized shirt, and made a few changes to it.  I made a t-shirt for Olivia from this pattern, before she went off to camp, so I knew how it fit her and what changes I wanted to make.

Changes I made to the pattern:

I used the size M through the shoulders and then size L for the width.  The M fits, but it's too snug for my liking, so I wanted the shirt to have a more relaxed fit.  I shortened the bodice in the waist by 1", and then of course cut off the rest of the length of the shirt and added a skirt.  I also added width and a tiny bit of length to the neckband.  

Another dress from the pattern is in the works for tomorrow. :)  Olivia is also thinking of a couple of art ideas she wants to dry for a garment or two.  

Good Night....... :)