warm and worn...kids clothes week

with a few delays and absent days i have caught up on my commited hours to make a jacket each for master and miss pitter from more of those old woollen blankets.  after recently being inspired by the lovely Wendy from small forest shop i finally took the plunge into sewing with blankets i have had stockpiled for the past six months.

what can i say...i feared for my fingers almost every stitch and was ultimately surprised my efforts only resulted in one broken sewing machine needle and a few machine alarms.  the overlocker pulled through unscathed even when asked to do its thing with 4 layers of blanket sandwich!

this is one of the first things i have sewn for master pitter, which considering he recently turned 2 is probably lax of me but the new jacket has had to be photographed stains and all as he has been so proud and possessive since i told him it was his...it was very good for my moral and likely to spurn more boy sewing!

 

this is a from a pattern i drafted a couple of years ago and have made in a bundle of different fabrics, i find the cropped sleeve and waist work well for offering some warmth or sun coverage during busy play.  my generosity with sizing means both jacket should see at least 3 years wear which is part of the reason i was so happy to finish miss pitters jacket with some of my late nans floral embellishments.

i was think this might be a good first pattern release for me...i will work away during the winter, let me know if your keen to whip one up yourself.

now i will have to ignore the new fabric on my table and go back to my list

preparing to rug up.....kids clothing week

we have jumped from a balmy and comfortable autumn headlong into ''where are my sock, those big thick socks''.

so this round of kids clothing week is all about lovely soft, cuddley and warm layers to wear when we are stuck inside this coming winter. not especailly pinworthy i am sure but i will be happy to cuddle and pat the wearers for warmth.

i have had the oliver + s sailboat pattern for about 2 years and am finally breaking it out.  after reading thought the insructions as a late night pleasure i am at a loss why i have not made the top earlier.  i will be hitting my vintage flannel sheet stash for two tops. a hopeful two tops for miss pitter.

i am also planning to successfully convert my 20 minutes pants pattern into a size 2 and 3 for the little pitters.  with the plan being i can make some heavy cord, denim and brushed cotton pants without to much bulk at the waist. two pairs for each, mmmmmm!

if all goes well who know where the mood will take me....

if things go swimmingly then you might see some woollen coats and collars to fend off the bitingly cold breeze.....drawings tomorrow for anyone who wants to see pants magic planning..

3 days in review in no particular order....

plans have changed for my sunki dress, i did have a cotton picked out for this, but it was more a default choice and after nipping into a local store for interfacing for my o+s pattern making plans i spied this print and could not pass it by.  it is a little heavier weight (i was concerned the other fabric was rather sheer) and i have decided to add the contrast pocket detail which i have seen so often and loved. for the pocket i have olive linen to offset the peachy roses

a little outing yielded a large bead necklace from our local community store and only a single dollar for these wooden beads in faded blue.

then arriving home the postbox offering up the latest (and 50th) issue of frankie magazine and two hundred little wooden beads.

now i am saving my frankie for the impending air travel with the littles in the hope they are the definition of sweetness and i get to enjoy it whilst travelling.  of course the back up plan is after a cup of tea to calm my nerves at our destination the littles will be so covered in family love i will sneak off unnoticed into a corner and get my fill.  either way works.

now in no way i am claiming a heap of sewing cred for this, but it is kids clothing week challenge and miss little will be adding this to her robe.

the t was under three dollars on sale and i have doily flooding out of boxes, i simple put the two together and topped it off with a coconut button.  

now this was a little more involved and yes a doily was harmed in the making of what is i am told miss littles aeroplane dress (little does she know she will likely be traveling in p.j's most likely).  the body is made from more japanese lawn and cut from the pattern of my peasant top.  the doily butterfly sleeves slot into the standard sleeve position. it is sweet and floaty and will likely have a little freshwater pearl and wooden bead necklace, but not just yet.

so the sewing for this week did come to a little halt whilst i picked up and completed a couple of quick commission jobs and prepared for our local market today.  it was sodden underfoot but the warm and friendly nature of a country community left me with a little post market glow which will now hopefully turn into a post market nap.

back to the machine tomorrow for a big finish!!!! (no promises though)

kcwc day 2 alarm bells should have rung....

so let me say day two of the kcwc was not so kind to me.  

here was me having a chuckle at megs comments "Have patience with yourself!" humbug i thought yesterday was easy so when both the littles disappeared to bed at the same time again i pushed through the household to do list, ate lunch in peace and then i found out i had been tricked into thinking i would get to enjoy some daytime sewing

i measured up and found myself wanting for another 2 inches of fabric

alarm bells should have rung, i should have stopped,

i pressed and stitched two seams, they were wrong

alarm bells should have rung, i should have stopped, 

little stood at her door listing her woes 

alarm bells should have rung, i should have stopped,

it went on in this vain and every time i doubted i thought of the discarded projects i finally worked through and was certain if i set this aside it would be haunting me for years.

i finally finished and now can't even decide if i even like it

 it is a japanese lawn and tulle skirt with a paperbag waist to make up those missing inches

 there are ribbon roses sewn onto both the layers of tulle so some have a peek-a-boo quality and i also added little seam cover tags at the base of the seams in the tulle layers

tomorrow i have decided to just go back and make master little a few pairs of pants, my own pattern nothing fancy, then move on to my oliver+s and figgy's patterns. 

and if anyone has any tips for sewing with tulle do let me know or link up in the comments, i have a whole new respect for anyone who masters the tulle or any bridal fabric for that matter

p.s. things did improve dinner was superb, crumbed fish, chunky wedges, cos lettuce with soft boiled eggs and homemade aioli.  i will release my recipes upon the world at a later date.

p.p.s. if anyone is wondering i am sewing in australia so we are soon to be baking in a hot dry summer hence the light fabrics

sew you should

so day one of the kcwc kicked off well here as the littles were all worn out from the daylight saving change we had here early sunday.  they are both completely out of the normal tag team routine and napped the same 3 hours today, lunches made, dinner underway, quick tidy and time to put my hours in early.

here is my start.....i love peasant tops, they are so good in so many ways. 

the pale blue cotton, think faded denim was an op shop find about 2 meters untouched for $2 and the neon yellow gingham (sounds foul but really did grow on me) was gifted by a lady who i came across at a local market who was de-stashing

i have a draw and two boxes full of bits and bobs to pull together for accessories and think the extra few minutes were well spent on the necklace

all items have been well received and this top has been called the kinder top,  my miss little names lots of her clothes my favourite name is 'the supermarket pants' a pair of pink and charcoal geometric print tights.  i wish i had special pants for the supermarket