Elsie Marley Knock-Off

I have been trying harder to keep up with the routine of KCWC this time around. Sometimes, it depends upon inspiration -- whether or not you get something done. Well, when I saw Meg's post of her daughter in this hip outfit on Elsie Marley, I swooned. I absolutely loved it. And...wanted it.

At first, I thought, I'll just do the leggings, since I already have flowery knit fabric. But then I realized I had some brownish linen in my stash too. I kept eyeballing the pics on Meg's blog. Then I just went for it.

the leggings:
For the pattern, I used some leggings that fit my daughter well. Then I used this blue knit I had from Girl Charlee. I thought (eh-hem) I had enough, one of the legs is pieced together, mostly on the back in about 5-6 pieces. But it works. I also have been too lazy pressed for time to figure out the double-needle I bought way back when, so I just eye-balled the hems.

the tunic/dress: 

I like challenges. I think I have said this before, but I am over-confident with my sewing skills. I still consider myself a novice/beginner and everything I sew is a learning experience. But, as I said, I REALLY liked Meg's work on the Simplicity 7241,  so I thought I'd give it a try. And I tried really hard. Want to know what I messed up on did differently?

For one, the clever little back pocket covers up the gooned-up job I did on the bottom of the zipper.

The sleeves are also too long/tight. Need to chop those.

And the neck gapes open a wee bit. And you might not realize it by looking at these pictures, but the skirt portion flares like a bell. Need to fix that too.

Oh please, last picture, I promise.

But I really do love the outfit. It was my first time sewing anything with linen, and I enjoyed it immensely. (I also think it was one of the few times I've created something from a solid color. Huh.) Anyway, it was a fun experiment. My daughter wore this outfit to playgroup this morning and I think she looked pretty cute. And, as stated before, when inspiration strikes (thanks, Meg!) ya gotta just go for it.

*** UPDATE: The new and improved tunic is HERE.

Night Mittens in Hounds Tooth

Eh? Night mittens? What...? Well, here's the deal. My daughter has very dry skin and eczema. I won't get into the nitty-gritty, but it has gotten pretty bad (we are seeing a great pediatric dermatologist, so don't worry). One of the many techniques we use to hydrate her skin is using gloves/mittens at night. Typically, we lotion up her hands and then wet the gloves and she keeps them on most of (if not the entire) night. And she really loves this. If I forget to either lotion or wet the gloves she reminds me. I think it's because it all feels good to her skin. And it works.

Anyway, the gloves she's been using have gotten rather dingy. So I decided to make her some mittens. (Finding soft jersey-type kiddie gloves has actually been hard for me. I've been using kiddie gardening gloves.) Also, instead of doing gloves, I decided to make mittens (easier) and see how they work. I used leftovers of this hounds tooth fabric that I love, determined not to let any go to waste after making a skirt, a scarflette, a scrappy skirt for my daughter, and a hat. For the mittens, I also used some black interlock fabric. For the pattern, I just traced a glove we had.

 Hmmm. These aren't so bad.

I started and finished these mittens this afternoon while my daughter slept. And though I am fully conscious of the fact that many other sewists would probably be able to pump out 3 or 4 pairs in an hour, I'm happy I got one. Because my five-year-old DOESN'T NAP. (And I really got into the dinosaurs-taking-over-the-castle game.)

So we're giving these gloves a-go tonight. (I hope they are not too big.)

Another project done for KCWC. Yay!

A Dress Experiment

This project turned into more of an experiment than anything. As in, what can I get away with? I started with this beautiful and simple corduroy. I really liked it when I was at Joann's so I bought a little (eh-hem). It is soft, lightweight, and, I thought, perfect for the fall. At the time, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. Enter the commercial pattern -- Butterick 3047 -- that I bought on a whim off eBay for about $3 shipped. Because I am impetuous and not a sewing perfectionist, I started cutting right away, excited about the probability of improvising. Because, you know, I didn't buy enough fabric. 

 Quickly, I realized I didn't have enough corduroy for those long-sleeves I really wanted to make. So I lined the bodice (with pink cotton) and made side-seam pockets (because they're fun to find) and got used to the idea that I'd be making another sleeveless dress. (And I also started realizing that these type of dresses are all so similar with their bodices and gathered skirts. All you have to do to make them different is play with the neckline and the seem -- front or back, buttons or, in my case eyelets.)

The pattern called for buttons. And I should've just gone with it. But for some reason, I thought this bodice was going to be too small on my daughter (I used the size 3 pattern). So I punched holes (a fun technique I had never done before) and thought I'd lace up the front with a ribbon like a corset. Well, I tried this and it didn't look so great with only 6 holes. So I made felt bows. The top one snaps off to allow the dress to fit over my daughter's largish head. (It ended up being close.) I am thinking about going back to the lacing-up-the-front idea and cutting off those felt bows. (sigh) I will have to punch more eyelets though. As much fun as it was initially, I am not excited about doing any more when I thought I was officially done with this dress.

I should also note that the dress is all-over too big. I added an elastic waistband inside the gathered seam to pull in the dress a bit. I think it helped - a bit.

My "photo shoot" was very low-key. I didn't even change her socks (actually her brother's). She's donning a short-sleeve shirt beneath this dress, but I want to say, on record, that I envision a long-sleeved shirt beneath it in the future. We were just not going to wrestle today. I'm just glad she likes it. This version, anyway.

And so there we have it. My first completed (sort of) project for KCWC.

KCWC - a wool cape

This week is Kids Clothes Week Challenge at elsiemarley and I'm going to give it a go. There's a lot I want to make, but it always seems there's never enough time. Well, I figured I could at least try to devote an hour a day to sewing/cutting/planning clothes. And that's all the challenge asks you to do. An hour. Which sometimes leads to more...

 Well, I just finished my second Audrey Cape (but not this week, other was last month!) and though it wasn't too difficult, or time-consuming, I'm really tickled about it. It may not be totally practical, especially being spring and all, but I just love looking at it. Have you ever smelled new wool? My goodness!

 I just saw this wool hounds tooth fabric on sale and had to get.

And I'd been holding onto this vintage button for a while and finally found the perfect use for it!

 Here's a shot of the inside linings of the two capes I've made. The closest one is the most recent. Their silky feel really makes the cape feel like a fine coat.

A note on the wool. Both capes were 100% wool, according to the labels. But the wool of the first one was much thinner (not in a bad way) and the drape was more flowy. The hounds tooth cape had a much thicker wool (so thick that I couldn't make my own button by putting the wool in the button maker -- wouldn't fit! hence, the vintage button). Being thicker, the drape is also a bit stiffer. But I also think this cape will be warmer too. Just interesting! I'm learning a lot about fabric, drape, and such as I go.

 More about my first cape here and here.

Well, this post has grown longer than I thought it'd be. Better finish up. Have a great day!

Linking up here:

Mommy By Day...Crafter by Night

Sugar Bee Crafts