KCW Day Two

Sometimes I fail.  I've accepted that failure is occasionally going to happen, particularly when I am stretching out of my sewing comfort zone (as is the case this week with my stretch fabric sewing).  Yesterday the plan was to finish off my younger daughter's swimsuit with a pair of A Sparkly Baby Board Shorties.  I had them already cut out and just had to sew them together so it was supposed to be an easy KCW day.  This is what they currently look like.

I did not even have to add the waistband and leg bands to know that they were an epic fail.  So, I confess, on the second day of KCW, I failed in my goal of 1 completed item per day.  I did sew for an hour so I'm still calling it good.

Today I'm debating whipping up a quick skirt and peasant dress out of the thankfully woven material that my girls picked out on our last trip to Joann's or attempting another pair of board shorties.  We'll see just how ambitious I'm feeling after getting children off to school.

Kids Clothes Week!

I confess I'm a terrible blogger.  I've been doing well at my 2015 sewing goal of one item per week (admittedly, some weeks I sew nothing but other weeks I sew several things so my average is still good).  However, you've seen none of that here.  This is due almost entirely to my wanting to take "good" pictures before posting a blog post.  I follow many sewing blogs and most of them have beautifully staged pictures of their darling children looking adorable in their momma-made outfits with professional picture quality.  Let's be honest, that's never going to happen here (or if it does, it will be very rare).  So, on that note, I'm going to pledge to blog, even if only with cruddy pictures of my sewing laying on the ironing board or hanging on a hanger on the wall.  Because "bad" pictures are better than no pictures at all.

Yesterday was the start of Kids Clothes Week!  I have a deep love for KCW.  Inevitably, I'm never able to participate as much as I want to because something always comes up.  This week I'm determined to make it happen.  My goal here is one item sewn up completely each day.  The theme this week is Wild Things but I'm not good at following themes.  I also am participating in a Facebook sew-along of swimwear.  The beginning of this week will be all about swimwear for me.

I also must confess that I hate sewing with knits.  I avoid it.  However one day a few weeks ago I was awake around 4:30 in the morning.  (Yes, my adorable, precious son is not even close to sleeping through the night yet.)  While awake, I saw that Taryn from A Sparkly Baby was working on a crew neck T that she said would be perfect for rash guards.  Also in her group discussion about this, someone posted the link to Chez Ami which was having a going out of business sale on UPF50 fabrics.  I knew my kids needed swimsuits for the upcoming warm weather and, since it was 4:30 a.m., I thought making them would be a good idea.

A few days later I got the shipping email for the 8 yards of knit fabric I ordered and regret set in.  It was too late to turn back now so when Taryn released her EP Crew and Board Shortie bundle, I purchased it.

Yesterday I measured my kids, printed and taped my patterns, and then traced them on freezer paper.  This is the key to avoiding frustration when cutting out knits for me.  I ironed the freezer paper onto the knit fabric (being careful to not stretch the fabric while ironing) and then cut out my pieces for my youngest daughter's rash guard and board shorts.  I did not cut all of the kids' swimsuits out because I've noticed a tendency for knits to curl up if you wait too long to sew them after cutting and I'd rather avoid that issue if I can.

Taryn's pattern is easy to follow and I had no issues with it (even though I still consider myself a newbie at knits).  I used the walking foot that I have for my machine (if you don't have one, BUY ONE).  I also modified the pattern just slightly because I hate hemming.  I know it's silly but if I can do a ruffle or a band instead, I do.  In this case I added bands for the sleeves and for the bottom of the rashguard.  I like the extra interest from colorblocking that it adds as well as the intended purpose of avoiding hemming.  Also, you may note in the picture that my topstitching is a bit wonky.  Have I mentioned I hate sewing with knits?  It was slipping and sliding despite my walking foot and while I should have slowed my machine down and took my time, I was sewing late at night and getting tired and it's for my kid so I'm ok with it not being perfect (and so is she!). 

Shake It Off!

     I've been missing from Craftland for quite some time.  I'm going to blame it all on this adorable squishy faced boy.

     I've been sneaking in a little sewing time here and there and when Paisley Roots posted about the Shake It Off contest, my girls and I turned to YouTube to check out T. Swift's looks in the video.  (See contest details here if you haven't already Shake It Off contest!)

     The oldest immediately wanted Taylor's fabulous white tutu outfit.  That one is still in progress as it's a little overly ambitious for my limited sewing time.  The youngest, however, cut her momma a break and gravitated towards the first outfit shown in the video.  A cute little top with a cat face and a pair of leggings.  Now I must confess that my New Year's resolution was to sew my stash and when I was sewing this outfit I was still holding on. (I lasted about 3 weeks which is probably longer than anyone who knows me thought I could manage.  The fabric addiction is strong.)  So Taylor's white shirt became a gray one and her black leggings became cat print fleece.  It's a perfect comfy, cozy outfit for a 3 year old.
     Before we get to the pictures, I must warn you that sometimes, just sometimes, my darling children do not wish to cooperate with my modeling needs.  Today was one of those times.  You'll notice little miss is wearing a long sleeved v-neck T that doesn't look all that good with her top.  I was attempting to get her to wear a tank top and do a one shoulder look with the shirt.  Didn't happen.  Sometimes even the candy bribery fails me folks.

     Pretend you don't see my older daughter in her old lady outfit or my kid standing on the arm of the couch for a picture.  Somehow my photo editing software is missing from my computer and I hear a little man stirring so no time for getting it back on and cropping!  The top is from the always awesome Scientific Seamstress, the All-the-Rage Raglan, modified to suit my needs.  The leggings are a free pattern from Craftsy (because my New Year's resolution was also supposed to include not buying patterns; that lasted even less time than the fabric!)  

Back in the Saddle Again

I have a big confession to make. I've sewn virtually nothing over the past few months. Birthday dresses for my girls and Easter dresses, of course, but nothing that didn't NEED to be sewn. Tax season and the exhaustion of a new pregnancy resulted in me doing nothing but sleeping whenever I had free time!

However, tax season is now over and I'm well into the second trimester so I am feeling much improved! To kickstart my return to sewing, I decided to join in on a UFO (unfinished objects) challenge through one of the many Facebook groups dedicated to sewing that I'm part of. The idea is to complete as much of your unfinished sewing as you can in a two week period. This is the start of the second week and while I've not made as much progress as I was hoping for, I've at least gotten started!

  This is my list for the two weeks (overly ambitious because I like it that way)

2 Peppermint Swirl dresses
2 Norah tunics
pillow cover
baby gift
PAB overalls
2 SS skorts
2 tote bags
2 SS bebops
2 flower girl dresses

Before I started, I had mostly a pile of printed out patterns and a pile of washed but unironed fabric to go with them. My main focus so far has been on tracing pattern pieces and getting them cut out and starting to cut fabric. Yesterday, with my fabulous kid-free hours for Mother's Day, I finished cutting out my 2 Peppermint Swirl dresses. If you've made a Peppermint Swirl, you know those flounces take a long time! I also have my tote bags mostly cut out (I realized I didn't have enough interfacing so those will have to wait until I make a trip to the store). The contest ends on the 18th so check back in later this week to see just how far I've gotten!


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Throwback Thursday: Little Lizard King Apron Knot Dress

Today's Throwback Thursday showcases an Apron Knot doll dress that I sewed up for a friend's daughter. The pattern is easy to follow and turns out great! I also used a combination of this pattern and the Scientific Seamstress Simply Sweet for my oldest daughter's birthday dress. It looked fantastic and is one of my girl's favorite momma made items.

Sneak Peek!

I'm so excited about this bitty outfit! This is a 0-3 month romper made using the Bebop top and the Reversible Romper bottom. As you can see, I'm still waiting on my snap tape to ship from Amazon to finish off the bottom but I couldn't wait to share a little preview.

Throwback Thursday: Scientific Seamstress Simply Sweet

When I first decided to start sewing last year, I borrowed my grandmother's old machine (older than me) and attempted a pillowcase dress. I spent more time fighting with the machine than I did actually sewing and by the end of the dress, I had almost decided to give up my new hobby. Then I started looking into getting my own cheap sewing machine. I fell in love with embroidery designs and chose to spend my money on a Brother SE-400. When I got it home, I got out the manual and read it cover to cover twice before I even took the machine out of the box. I was scared that I had just wasted a big chunk of money that could have gone to our Disney trip on something I would use once or twice. Turns out, my machine is one of the best things I've ever bought for myself!

Today we're going to look back at the very first items I sewed with my new sewing machine. I bought the Simply Sweet pattern from Scientific Seamstress after seeing rave reviews for it several places. Those people weren't overstating it. This is one of those patterns that is so versatile. It comes with so many options that you can make it over and over and never make the exact same thing twice (unless you're sewing two identical items as I always do!).

My oldest daughter really likes rainbows so when I found this rainbow fabric, I bought it up. The rainbow Mickey head design from Frou Frou by HeatherSue was perfect to go with it. I did make these a size larger than I likely needed since I was sewing in February for a trip we were taking in September and didn't want to risk a big growth spurt making them too small. I still think they came out wonderfully!