KCW Day 7

So the final day is here and I managed to squeeze out one more dress for Imogen. Yay!  This time I used this tutorial over at Schwin & Schwin.  it is a pretty simple dress pattern so all I had to do was make it a little smaller to fit my little monkey.  I started with my larger squares being 15"x14" and my sleeve rectangles being 10"x6.5".  I used 3 strips of shirring on the neck and 4 strips on the waist.


The great thing about this pattern is that it will fit for a while given the elastic.  For the minute it is a tunic but as she grows it will become a top.  I am pretty happy with how much I have managed to get done this week.  Everything has been made out of stash material so has basically been free.  I still have 2 items that I planned to make that didn't get done but I am hoping to still make them.  First though I need to make something for myself to wear to a wedding in Me Made May.

KCW Day 6

So I started out strong with 3 finished items in 3 days for Kid's Clothes Week.  The came day 4 & day 5 which were total fails!  As all my aussie readers know day 4 was Anzac Day so we were out with my family all day.  We didn't get home till late so no sewing happened at all!  Friday Corey had the day off work so we were again out of the house all day resulting in zero sewing.  I jumped back into it yesterday though with a finished dress...then forgot to photograph it!  But I snagged a couple of photos this morning and here is my efforts for day 6.


For this dress I again used the Perennial Dress pattern as a base.  Seriously people, if you have a little girl to sew for you need to download this pattern.  It is such a simple base and perfect for customising.  And it's free!


This time I made it in a lemon print fabric which you will remember from my lemon skirt I made myself.  I added a white bib to the front with lace and some adorable heart buttons.  Super simple and super cute!  For the back button I decided to use a green button for a bit of fun.  So that's day 6.  Hopefully day 7 will result in a finished garment.  Fingers crossed!

KCW Day 3

Todays Kids Clothes Week creation is a basic pinafore dress.  This was super duper quick to make!  It is basically 4 rectangles sewn together so it's not the most technical dress in the world.


The fabric is from the stash.  I made myself a skirt from it a long time ago but it has since vacated my wardrobe.  Everything I am making for Imogen this week has come out of stash fabric so she is getting a bunch of new clothes for nothing.  Winning!  Now that I have a little one I see mini garments in every lot of left over fabric I have.  Although if we start to turn into that scary matching family feel free to slap me!


Now this is super duper simple to make if you would like to make one! I didn't take photos so no tutorial but basically the top band was Imogen's chest circumference plus 2cm for seam allowances and 6cm for the overlap & to create the keyhole.  I made it 12cm wide and folded it in half and after the seam allowances it ended up 5cm wide.  The skirt part was double her chest circumference and I gathered it into the top band.  The straps I just winged from a piece of scrap fabric so I am not sure of their exact width but I think they are around 5cm.  If anyone is interested in a more detailed tutorial of how I put it together let me know!

KCW Day 2

Today I made Imogen a super simple a-line dress using the leftover material from my Mad Men Dress.  I used the same pattern as I used to make her sewing dare dress but left off the pockets and the frill sleeves.  I drafted a simple collar and added some small white love heart buttons.  I really love the slightly 60s feel of this dress.

Imogen is not feeling the happiest today so I let her off a day of modelling.  I can't wait to dress her in this though.  I think it will look super cute!  I think she needs a little white bow headband to go with it.

So I have figured out the one thing I don't like about sewing kids clothes. Teeny tiny little armholes! They are a right pain in the butt.  Even with using my free arm these are too tiny to sew comfortably.  But I managed to get them done relatively neatly so I am happy with that.  But I think tomorrow I might take a break from sewing arm holes!

KCW Day 1

Yay! Kid's Clothes Week is here.  I have been a bit of a slack sewing mum and the only thing I have made for Imogen is my sewing dare dress.  That's pretty bad considering she is 6 months old already!  So when I saw Kid's Clothes Week was coming up I started planning and this week is all about sewing for Imogen.  Hopefully at the end of the week she will have 7 new mummy made outfits in her wardrobe.


For day one I have made her a super cute little romper.  I used this tutorial and some japanese cotton lawn from Spotlight.  I picked this lawn up on sale for $8 a metre and this romper only used about half of it.  So this romper only cost me $4!  What a bargain!!!  It was also super fast to make.  It only took me an hour of sewing time to pull it together.  I love how fast kid's clothes are to make. They are the ultimate instant gratification project.


In the spirit of full disclosure I did make a bit of a boo boo with this romper.  You see I forgot to add seam allowances in before I cut the pattern pieces.  So while it does fit it isn't going to fit for long and it also isn't as baggy and it's meant to be.  But that is ok because it is a learning experience! I am hoping to make a few more of these for Imogen for winter.  Since it is still warm in our neck of the woods I made this one into shorts but I think a few in a longer length and warmer material will be perfect for winter.  Hopefully tomorrows sewing efforts turn out just as cute!

Matchy Matchy

When I heard about Gillian over at Crafting A Rainbow's sewing dares I thought why not jump on board. It sounded like a fun idea to let someone else come up with an idea of something I should sew.  My dare was to make myself a dress and use the same fabric to make something for Imogen.  I chose to make Imogen a dress as well after seeing this adorable free pattern over at Sew Pony.  It was so quick and easy to sew up that I have been bitten by the kids clothes sewing bug.  I have actually just signed up to do the Kid's Clothes Week challenge as well.


The idea for my dress has been in my head for quite some time.  Ages ago I saw a yellow vintage dress on etsy that had been upcycled with a contrast collar and belt.  It was adorable but not my size so I planned to recreate it one day.  I bought the fabrics over a year ago (before I was even pregnant) and they sat in my stash waiting to be sewn.  When I was given this dare I decided it was time!  I used vintage Simplicity 5343 for the bodice and did a simple gathered skirt.  I drafted my own peter pan collar and added a simple waist band.  I am so in love with how this dress turned out.  It is so nice to have something that has been in your head for so long turn out exactly as planned.



So a big thank you to Gillian for the sewing dare.  It was a lot of fun!  I think when I have knocked over a few of the items on my to sew list I might just have to get another one.