Happy Indigenous People’s Day! And Day 1 of KCWC Fall 2012! What a fun day it has been! Did you get to sew?
For this KCWC, I thought for a long time about what I wanted to make. While you can spend the time making whatever you want or need, I decided to make it a little extra fun for myself and try to pick a theme or tie all the pieces into a collection (I think I’ve been watching too much Project Runway). I started thinking about what kind of clothing Yuki might need and I remembered her preschool mentioning that as she’s potty training, she’ll need to wear elastic waistband pants that are easy to pull off and on. And in general, she needs some simple clothes for school that is comfortable and practical, but with some style (of course ;)).
So I developed this idea into a list of fall separates that Yuki can mix and match with each other and other things in her wardrobe. And they will all be KNIT. Though it’s been almost a year since my first successful knit project and I’ve definitely tried using it here and there since then, I am still pretty intimidated by it and it is certainly not my first choice in fabrics. But it seems so practical for children’s clothing that I figured I should just tackle it head on. Plus it’s the perfect opportunity to force myself to learn how to use the lovely serger that has been sitting around oh so long without being touched because I was too scared!
So to describe my KCWC Fall collection (which only exists in my mind at this point), I’d say – fall separates, knit, unisex, simple/classic, bold colors, solids and stripes. I’m not going to be making anything breathtaking here, just a couple of pants and tops. Though hopefully cute ones 🙂
Here’s the pile of fabrics I was considering before I started cutting yesterday.
Today I was able to get TWO pieces done! I’m feeling super pumped. I only photographed one though, so the other I’ll show you tomorrow.
So the first is a Crossed Shoulder Vest. I want to make it very clear that I take no credit for this idea – I totally stole it from a Japanese pattern book called 男の子と女の子の服 (Clothes for Boys and Girls). I actually have the book but I’m saving it for a giveaway, so instead of using the pattern, I drafted my own. But the concept and construction were definitely taken from this book.
It was very simple to sew up and I love how it looks with different fabrics on the front and back. The only problem with the pattern that I drafted was the shoulders came out a bit too wide. I MIGHT go back and adjust it, but that’s pretty low on my priority list – it still fits her fine.
Oooh, check out my serger work. Actually don’t look too close cuz it’s totally wonky (I’m still getting the hang of it), but how fancy is that!? I’m psyched. I have a feeling I’m going to use a serger on everything I sew from now on!
Oh and you may notice no live model in these pictures. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this already, but the last two years of constantly putting my daughter in front of the camera has totally backfired and now she really dislikes having her picture taken. She yells out “No pictures!” whenever we pull out even just our phones and flails her arms in front of her face and/or charges the camera. Sooooo – to limit the torture, I’ll wait till I have a few pieces of clothing I can throw on her and photograph at the same time instead of doing one piece every day.
Woohoo – Day One went well for me. How about you?
you and mie 
Really cute! I have heard that book mentioned a few times, is it possible to use the book without being able to read Japanese?
I’ve only sewn two patterns from a Japanese book and I haven’t quite decided yet if it’s doable or not. The two patterns I picked had really simple construction, that I could have figured out on my own without directions, so I managed fine. Anything more complicated (like a jacket or button down) would be really intimidating to me. The pictures are great, but there is a lot of information that is written and if you can’t read it, I feel like there’s a lot of guesswork involved. Some people are ok with that – but it makes me feel nervous. BUT there are a lot of people would have written about it and given tips (like always add seam allowance to your patterns, because they don’t do it for you), so if you’re interested – you should read those first. Sorry for the long answer!
Hi, really love it. Will be great for my kids in merino woll and this minus Zero Celsius degrees. Here in Calgary, Canada start it all ready!! Two days last weak. Will you make a tutorial for the vest? Really love it. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!
Sorry, merino wool. This phone and the autocorrect option.
Thanks! I don’t think I’ll be doing a tutorial for the vest because it is actually from a pattern book (linked in the blog post). If you have specific questions, you can email me and I’ll try to help, but I won’t be publishing anything to the public – I think that’d be unfair.
I didn’t manage to sew yesterday so the fun begins tonight. I love your theme idea – I still don’t have a coherent list, just lots of ideas that are floating around. This top is really cute and the different fabrics back and front look fantastic. I hope your model will co-operate again soon 🙂
Thanks! I got some pics of her today! Good luck with your sewing!
love it! so handsome and cute ^_^
That is adorable. Love the shapes and the colors. And while its probably really annoying to you, I’m cracking up at Yuki’s new camera shyness. She’s like a movie star harassed by paparazzi!
Seriously!! She just waves her arms, “no pictures! no pictures!” and runs away – pretty soon she’s going to be knocking the camera out of my hands, maybe punching me and then trying to sue me and maybe needing therapy 😦
Absolutely darling. Even my picky clothes boy would be happy in this knit vest. I’m totally impressed you are sewing things from a Japanese pattern book. I’ve seen some wonderful bits of clothing coming out of Japan and Korea and always wish I could make them.
Nice!
Oh, goodness, love! Love, love!! Everything about it is cute: the awesome shoulder detail, binding, fabric choice, color! I can’t wait to see the rest of what you’ll make. Good luck and have fun!
🙂
Adorable!! I love the colors and details and it looks so comfy!
I love that! Simple with the right amount of detail to make it stand out – fun!
I love it! and that stack of knits is very exciting! I was eyeing the gray knit (fourth one down) at the fabric store. I can’t wait to see how it sews up.
Thanks! Yes, when I saw that gray knit I grabbed it because I feel like good print knits are so hard to find! I’m thinking cardigan at this point . . . we’ll see! 🙂
way cute. love the shape of it. and i like your self-imposed challenge, sounds fun!
ps – have you tried bribes? marshmallows, perhaps? you may note that O had some pita chip in his mouth during my photoshoot yesterday. 😉
Thanks Kristin. Hmm . . . marshmallows eh? Yes, I have recently started with the bribing (check out the last picture from film petit – that huge grin? From the piece of candy in her hand!). It’s still pretty hit or miss though – sometimes she gets so obsessed with the treat that is coming that she gets cranky until she gets it. For now, all of her pictures are going to be of her playing with rocks. Keeps her busy enough not to notice the camera.
this is adorable! i want one in my size!
Haha! Have you ever given sewing a try? I bet you’d rock at it.
our poor kids, all these modeling photos! marshmallows worked for us for awhile, too 🙂
love all those knits, and that’s a great little shirt. you people who draft your own patterns are my heroes.
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Hi Cherie. mind if I feature this on my KCWC faves post on Monday?
Of course not, Justine! I’d be honored!!
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