2011 Summer Wardrobes
Kids Clothes Week Challenge Day 4
We had a busy day today, so I was barely able to squeeze in my hour of sewing time. I used it to finish up those two pairs of Inside or Out Pocket Shorts that I started on Tuesday. The dark denim pair has the main pockets on the outside, . . .
. . . two back pockets and two cargo pockets with snap-down flaps.
I used a lightweight striped denim for the second pair. I’ve seen quite a lot of striped denim in the stores this season, and I love it!
This pair has the main pockets on the inside and two back pockets.
Two more bottoms checked off the list!
Kids Clothes Week Challenge Day 3
It rained all day yesterday which was great for sewing, but not so good for picture taking which is why this post is a bit late. Yesterday’s project was Undercover Bottoms Boxer Briefs for Jamie.
I love how little fabric these use–all of the prints on these came out of my scrap box–and they sew up really fast. These six took me about two and half hours of total time from cutting to finished.
I’m so excited about how close I’m getting to the end of the Summer Wardrobe lists!
Today’s plans include finishing up two pairs of Inside or Out Pocket Shorts for Jamie this morning, and I have a few UFOs (unfinished objects) that I’d like to get done this afternoon. How’s your KCWC sewing going?
Kids Clothes Week Challenge Day 2
Today’s project actually took less than an hour! These shorts are so fast to put together, especially if you don’t even hem them. All three pairs of shorts are cotton french terry AJ Bottoms. French terry rolls up on the cut edge, so I just skipped hemming the legs and let them roll!
Here they are in action, matched up with a Rockin’ the Raglan.
I bribed Jamie just a little by saying that he could run through the sprinklers if he let me take some pictures of his new shorts. “Can I go now?”
Sprinklers are so much fun!
Three more items checked off of Jamie’s Summer Wardrobe list.
I also cut out two pairs of Inside or Out Pocket Shorts today, and got one of them partially finished. Maybe I’ll steal a little more sewing time tonight and finish them up. I’d love to work on undies tomorrow.
Kids Clothes Week Challenge – Day 1
It’s Day One of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge at Elsie Marley. Did you sew for an hour today? I actually sewed for more than that, and completed these two tops for Jamie.
I played around with a couple of different embellishment techniques on these. Both techniques are so easy to do! Up first is a Patrick Curved Raglan with this cute car applique. I drew the shapes up by hand and then followed my Easy Applique Tutorial to attach the shapes to the front of the top before sewing it.
Top number two is a Charlie Tee embellished with a dinosaur. This is actually the first time that I’ve done freezer paper stenciling, and it was a breeze! Just trace your image onto freezer paper, cut it out, iron the freezer paper to the fabric and paint. The hardest part is waiting for the paint to dry!
I’m really excited about getting as much done as possible on the boys’ summer wardrobe lists this week. With these two tops finished, I only need one more to be done with Jamie’s tops. His shorts list is still nearly empty, though. Shorts are definitely the plan for tomorrow!
Seersucker Shorts for Easter (and beyond)
There’s a bit of a story behind these shorts. I’ll do my best to keep it as short (hee-hee, pun not really intended) as possible. On the first day of Celebrate the Boy last month, Dana of Made posted a pair of black and white seersucker pants, and I fell in love with them! As soon as I saw them, I knew I just had to make some for my two little guys.
I happened to mention on my favorite sewing board how much I loved those pants and how much I wanted to sew some, and a few weeks later, I found a surprise package in my mailbox. Inside was a piece of black and white striped seersucker fabric (big enough for two pairs of shorts) and the sweetest note from one of my dear online friends, Casey! How awesome is that?
This is actually the first time that I’ve sewn anything with seersucker, and I have to say that I love the results! It sews together really easily, like a quilting fabric, and the boys wore these shorts all day long without a single wrinkle.
I used my Inside or Out Pocket Pants pattern with the pockets on the inside for both of these. I added back pockets, too. I played around a bit with switching the direction of the stripes on the pockets just to add a little interest.
Paired up with pastel-colored polos, these were perfect for Easter Sunday attire!
Now Jamie and Charlie both have one pair of bottoms marked off of their lists.
Speaking of sewing lists for children . . . Meg over at Elsie Marley is hosting Kids Clothes Week May 9th to the 15th. The challenge is to sew one hour per day for your children every day that week. Wanna join me? Just head over to Elsie Marley and sign up, and then get your list started, your fabric washed and dried and your patterns traced, so you’ll be ready!
A Little Green Reconstruction for Earth Day
It’s Earth Day, and I couldn’t resist using that as an excuse to recycle a few things that aren’t being loved anymore into things that we’ll use! Charlie’s little romper above started out as this men’s xlarge t-shirt:
I happened on that tee in the clearance section of our local thrift store and couldn’t pass it up. I loved the “Tree Hugger” print on it, and I’d been wanting to try out recycling a tee into a romper.
Charlie really seems to be enjoying exploring our backyard greenery in his new “green” romper.
Jamie got new “green” clothing, too! Green in more ways than one . . .
Jamie’s top started out as this Green Lantern shirt that his big brother didn’t wear because he didn’t care for the sleeves.
My Charlie Tee pattern, a little cutting and a little sewing later, and Jamie gets to enjoy a green green Green Lantern shirt . . . get it? It’s green colored . . . it’s green because it’s recycled . . . and it’s Green Lantern.
And, because it is Earth Day, here’s a picture of Jamie in his new t-shirt hugging on our favorite backyard tree. This walnut tree is a prop in a lot of our pictures, and it provides a beautiful view from our kitchen window all year long. (It’s also the kids’ favorite climbing tree!)
Two more items checked off of the lists:
Honey, I Shrunk the Jammies
Charlie had several Comfy Sleep Sets that I sewed up for him toward the end of winter, and I hated seeing them get packed away with plenty of good wearing time in them. Sooooo . . . . I reclaimed them for summer use by cutting off the arms and legs and serging on new bands. So quick. So easy. So frugal!
Jamie had one Toddler CSS that still fit him well, so I was able to mark one PJ set off of his Summer Wardrobe list with my quick re-do, too!
This set is the Wee Tot Collection (formerly the Little One Jammies) laptee and pants that I sewed for Charlie to model on the new pattern cover. Since he only wore it one time for our little photo shoot, I definitely could not let this one go to waste! A little cutting and a little sewing, and it’s ready for those toasty summer nights, too.
I’m still moving forward on the boys’ Summer Wardrobe Lists. I didn’t set an actual deadline for myself, but the weather is heating up fast here in Dallas, so I’m feeling like I need to work towards finishing before too much longer!
It’s a bird . . . it’s a plane . . .
It’s Super Jamie . . .
and his sidekick, Super Charlie!
They’re on a mission . . .
. . . to keep playgrounds safe . . .
. . . for fun and adventure . . .
. . . in their neighborhood . . .
. . . and around the world!
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Super Mom has marked two more items off of her little super heroes’ summer wardrobe lists!
2011 Summer Wardrobes–5 Tops for Jamie
Moving on to Jamie’s Summer Wardrobe list . . . here’s the first half of the tops that I have planned for him.
First up is a Hooded Colorblocked Charlie Tee in Michael Miller Dino Dudes and stripes. You might recognize this one although it looked a little different the last time I blogged about it.
It started its life as the long-sleeve tee that is displayed on the new cover for the Charlie Tee. This is actually a great way to keep your little one’s wardrobe going from winter into summer. As long as the top still fits, just cut the sleeve off and hem.
Next is a simple two-color Charlie Ringer Tee, also in MM interlocks.
The last three tops were sewn as testers for the Rockin’ the Raglan Tee which I promise is coming up soon! It’s ready to go–I just need to coordinate a few things before I can release it.
Jamie chose this football fabric . . .
. . . and this snake fabric.
And the last top in this post is actually the one that you’ll see on the cover of the Rockin’ the Raglan when it’s released. (In a much nicer photo, though.)
Treehouse Fabric Designed by Me(!) Charlie Tee
A few weeks ago I posted a picture of the treehouse fabric that I’d designed on Spoonflower. Now you get to see the actual fabric! It’s been here for a little while, but I’ve been too busy to do anything with it.
I had the design printed on Spoonflower’s organic cotton interlock, and it is incredibly soft! Here’s the Charlie Tee that I sewed up for Charlie with it.
The colors were a bit more muted than my original design, but I expected that since Spoonflower says up front that their color range is limited. The colors faded a bit in the wash, too, but I actually really like the look of it now. It has some character. (Hopefully, it won’t continue to fade, though.)
I ordered two fat quarters–one of the print and one of the stripe. That was plenty to create a size 18-month tee with a bit of leftover. I did supplement with a solid interlock on the neckline. If you used a coordinating solid for the sleeves, too, you could get a size 18-month or smaller tee out of just one fat quarter.
I love that the colors and the design are different than anything else that’s readily available. No cars, trucks, sports, puppies or primary colors, yet it’s still very boy. (Not that I’m against any of those things! It’s just nice to have something a little out of the ordinary sometimes.)
I don’t know how often I’ll design my own fabric at Spoonflower because it could get very expensive, but I can definitely see me doing this every once in a while!
This tee wraps up Charlie’s Summer Wardrobe Top list. On to bottoms, pjs and rompers now . . .
