Watercolor Dress {and tips for painting fabric}

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Cherie

So I have exactly one project coming out of this Kids Clothes Week, but I’m pretty damn excited about it! The (optional) theme for this season was Kid Art and while this dress was probably the last thing I needed to make, I got really excited by the idea of getting Yuki involved in creating a one-of-a-kind garment for herself. I had all sorts of ideas like fabric painting, stenciling, iron on transfers, etc. But I knew I didn’t have much time so I could only pick one thing. If you know me, you know that I looooove fabric painting (like this cardigan, this hat and bag, and this dress) and I thought Yuki should have a go at it since she loves painting too!

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Neon Dot Skirt

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Cherie

Hey! It’s Kids Clothes Week! No long lists over here this time. Just working on two things. First one was to finish up this skirt I started a week or two ago. I was going to make this springy skirt for a specific project and had the fabric cut out and everything before deciding to scrap it. Well, not scrap the skirt entirely, but just not for that specific project. But I couldn’t let this gorgeous fabric go to waste! So I finished up this double layered skirt and it was a pretty quick project.

The main fabric is Nani Iro Colorful Pocho – neon on dark green, but I’m not sure that you’ll find it available anymore. I remember snatching it up from Miss Matatabi immediately after seeing it and then, well, hoarding it for the last year and a half. It is a soft and lightweight double gauze and as dreamy as Nani Iro double gauze always is.

The bottom layer is a chartreuse cotton voile from Michael Levine. It’s very lightweight and a bit sheer, making it perfect for layering.

I basically used this Double Layer Simple Skirt tutorial except I added a separate waistband with two casings for elastic. It also has pockets which is really a deal breaker these days for Yuki.

Yuki has always said she loves this fabric – she would pick it out from my shelves and ask me to make her something, but I could never figure out what to make. I thought she would love this skirt, but she is a little unsure. Part of me is sad that I used up this long hoarded fabric on something that she may or may not wear. But I also feel like this neon trend (which I’ve fallen for) is not going to last forever, so I might as well go for it while it’s still hot.

What are you working on this week?

How I failed KCW Summer 2013

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Cherie

Well hello! Long time, no see! I thought it was about time I check in around here – let you know that I’m still alive and well. And how are you doing??

If you’re into sewing and blogging and kids clothes, (and chances are, if you’re reading my blog, you are), then you know that the first ever Kids Clothes Week: SUMMER is here and is, well . . . just about over! So where are all my KCW creations!? No where! ‘Cause there aren’t any! In fact, I haven’t sewn anything for my kid since this summery top back in MAY!

Truth is, I had intentions of using this week to get myself back into sewing kids clothes. Kids Clothes Week has this brand new spiffy website and I signed up and made myself a profile and everything. I had 1 just-for-fun project in mind and another for a guest post. Buuuut . . . things got busy. VERY busy. And for good reason! But I’ll share about that next week. So here’s what I got done for KCW this week:

On Monday I went to JoAnn and got some supplies.

On Wednesday I washed my fabric. At some point I even managed to get it untangled and folded.

On Friday, I drafted a pattern. After I took this picture, I actually ended up scrapping it and making a new one.

Since I clearly wasn’t about to finish two projects this week, I decided to save my “for fun” project for a later date and I’m working on something for a guest post. So even though I’ll finish it this weekend, I’ll have no finished projects to show you till next week. KCW fail? I think so!

But that’s ok, because like I said, I’ve been busy! And taking breaks and taking it easy once in awhile is good for you! And there’s always next time, right?

So what about you? Did you participate in the first Summer edition of KCW? What have you made? Do you like the new KCW website? I honestly haven’t had too much time to poke around yet, but it looks pretty nice!

Well, I’ll be back next week with some adult sewing, kids sewing and fun news. I’ve missed blogging and checking in with the rest of blogland, but it’s summer and things always slow down for me around this time, which is great. I’ve been able to relax a bit and enjoy time with my family. I hope you’re doing well too!

Bunch-o-shirts

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Cherie

So this was actually part of my Kids Clothes Week project list, but I didn’t quite finish it that week. I did finish the “All My Friends Are Dead” shirt and Yuki liked it so much that I was excited to get these done as well. If you recall, she requested a dinosaur shirt, a robot shirt and a shirt with stripes. So there you have it! Three more t-shirts for my tomboy.

I didn’t actually intend for them to be so boyish. I did make a bright pink one first but the rest of the knit that I had laying around happened to be dark. The pattern is the Flashback Skinny Tee by Made by Rae in size 3T. My daughter is more like a 2T, but since I wanted it to fit a little looser and fit for a long time, I went a size up. I would recommend doing the same if you want a less “skinny” fit.

The first one is a simple tee with contrasting arm cuffs and neckband. This was the easiest one to make not only because I didn’t paint anything on it, but also because adding cuffs is way easier than hemming sleeves (in my opinion). Rae has a tutorial for making a short sleeved FBST here.

The second tee is the robot tee! Simple solid black knit with hemmed sleeves. I just used the same fabric for finishing the neck. For both this tee and the Stegosaurus tee, I just searched for simple images/silhouettes on google image to use as a stencil.

I printed them out at the size I wanted, cut it out to use as a stencil, traced it out on contact paper and cut the shapes out. I know everyone talks so much about freezer paper stencils, but honestly, I have no idea what freezer paper is! I really need to find out though, because contact paper does not work all that well. It doesn’t stick to the fabric as well as I’d like, so it leads to wobbly lines and such, if you’re not careful.

Yuki’s favorite of the three is by far the “dinosaur shirt.” Between this, the pink “dinosaur shirt” and the original (store bought) red “dinosaur shirt,” now she has three dino shirts!! And I honestly think that I have to make 4 more because she wants to wear them EVERY DAY. When we get dressed in the morning and give her some options for clothes she can wear, she keeps asking for “dinosaur shirt!”

This is honestly my favorite too. It’s made from a super thin, soft and comfy knit. The stegosaurus wraps around the side slightly and I just used a bunch of different fabric paints in blue, green, silver and white to give it the multicolored look that it has. At the last minute, I decided to take a quilted paper towel and lay it over the painted area. I pressed it down on the paint to pick up any excess and when I lifted it, it gave it this really cool textured look. Like a real dinosaur!

So, no pics of Yuki in the shirts, but I can tell you the dinosaur shirt is getting really good wear. The others are comfy too, but they aren’t getting as much love. 😦

BUT I LOVE THIS PATTERN. So basic. So quick. So many ways you can mix it up. As of now, I’ve used this pattern at least 6 times and that’s more than any other pattern I own. It comes in two size ranges: 12-18 months-5T and for bigger kids, sizes 5/6-13/14! If you don’t own this pattern yet, I think you should go get it now.

I didn’t actually finish all the projects that I had lined up for Yuki during KCW, but the rest are on hold for now. I have two fun projects coming up for next week – one is for the Roly Poly Pinafore Pattern Tour (a pattern by Imagine Gnats) and the second is my post for Elegance and Elephants‘ fun series, Knock it Off (the series is already underway, so go check it out!)

AND ALSO . . . I’m trying to sew more for ME! So if any of it comes out decent and I work up the courage to model them, you may get to see some of it 🙂 We’ll see!

(Oh hey! Did you enter the Zakka Sewing Book and Fabric Giveaway yet? There’s still time! The giveaway is open until Friday, May 10th at 5pm PST.)

KCW Spring 13: Something Tiny

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Cherie

One last project, for a little someone . . .

Someone new to make clothes for! 🙂

(pattern: Little Man Shoes by Shwin & Shwin with modifications)

KCW Spring 13: All My Friends Are Dead

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Cherie

Ok, so I feel like I need to tell you a little bit about this shirt. A lot of different little factors went into the creation of this shirt, so bear with me.

So not too long ago, Hideko bought a red T-rex shirt for Yuki at the store. She hadn’t necessarily shown too much interest in dinosaurs, but it was a cool shirt and maybe because we loved it so much or maybe because one of her classmates also had the same shirt, Yuki decided it was her FAAAVORITE shirt. She wanted to wear it every day. She would ask about it even when it was no where to be seen. I’ve never seen her so attached to a piece of clothing before and I decided that I wanted to make something for her that she loved and wanted to wear as much as that dinosaur shirt.

When I was planning for KCW I decided to make her a bunch of t-shirts since that’s what she wears 90% of the time. I asked her what kinds of things she likes or what she’d want me to put on a t-shirt. She said . . .

1. Dinosaurs
2. Robots
3. Stripes
4. Boxes (we’re currently receiving all my sister’s wedding gifts while she’s on her honeymoon, so we’ve got a tower of boxes in our living room that Yuki is obsessed with)

But seriously – proud mama moment!! I love this kid. A dinosaur, robot and striped shirt!? I can do that!!!

So I cut out 4 Flashback Skinny Tees (3 solid colors and one striped) with plans for stenciling on a dinosaur, a robot and maybe stamping some triangles on the last solid one (and the striped one would just be plain ol striped). But when I was talking to Hideko about my plans for a dinosaur shirt, she told me about this book that one of her alumni had written, All My Friends Are Dead.

Let’s take a look at it shall we? No really, go and google image it and you’ll be able to see pretty much all the pages of the book. Is it not the funniest thing you’ve ever seen!? No? Then you should probably just stop reading and go somewhere else, cuz really? This ish had me cracking up!!!

So then I was pretty much obsessed with making it into a t-shirt. Totally inappropriate for a toddler? Perhaps? Totally awesome? I think so!! I love it.

I wasn’t sure how to make it into a shirt at first – stencil it and hand paint the details? Nahh . . . too much work. Luckily I had some iron on transfer paper for dark fabric, so I used an image I found online and added the speech bubble myself (so I wouldn’t have to cut out the individual letters) and ironed the design on. Looks waaay better than any stenciling/painting I would have done. We’ll see how the transfer holds up through wash and wear.

The pattern is Rae’s Flashback Skinny Tee in size 3T (Rae has a post on how to make the FBST with short sleeves). Normally I’d make 2T for Yuki, but I wanted these shirts to last awhile and not be so “skinny” on her. After talking to Kristin and seeing the awesome Back to the Future/DeLorean shirt she recently made for her son in 3T (our kids are about the same age/size), I figured it was the right choice. And I’m so glad that I did! It fits Yuki perfectly (though I coulda made the neckband a little larger) and it will hopefully fit her for awhile. AND . . . she LOVES it!! Of course, she has no idea what it says, but it’s a dino shirt and it’s bright pink, so she’s happy. None of her classmates or friends can read, so I’m hoping this shirt doesn’t get me into too much trouble. Weird looks from other parents? Maybe . . . but it’s worth it.

I’ve still got three other shirts to assemble and paint, but those may not get done this week. I’ll definitely share them when they are done but let me tell you, it feels so good to make something that my kid is actually TOTALLY excited about. And maybe after making all these t-shirts I’ll finally feel more comfortable sewing knits??

Well the week is winding down for me, although there is technically two more days to KCW. I MIGHT have one more project in me for tomorrow, but I’m not sure. You still sewing or are you calling it a week?

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KCW Spring 13: Toddler Swing Tank and Green Parsley Pants

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Cherie

My third sewing project was this Toddler Swing Tank. It’s a free pattern from true bias (in size 2T only) and a super simple sew. Are you starting to pick up on my “super simple” theme here??

It’s only got three pattern pieces (front, back and a button loop), I added the pocket myself. It fits Yuki perfectly when it’s on but because the fabric has no stretch, it’s a bit of a squeeze getting it on and off of her. 😦

There aren’t any pictures for the pattern, just numbered instructions, but because the construction is so simple, I didn’t really need any. I just kinda made it the way that made the most sense to me. It’s a lot like the Wiksten tank for women.

The back is made with 2 pieces and sewn up the middle with and opening and button/button loop to close at the back of the neck.

These pants were not really meant to be part of this outfit, but they were project #4 and I figure I might as well get it all photographed at once. In fact, these weren’t part of the original KCW pile at all, but got added to help with some last minute testing stuff for Rae. They are the newly released Parsley Pants! And fittingly, in green!

It’s the same awesome pattern I sewed up a few days ago as shorts. I added the pouch pockets again and this time tried the pintucks too. It’s a fun lil detail, no?

The pattern is great – I rave about it a bit more in my last post and you really should check out Emmmy Lizzzy’s collection of Parsleys if you haven’t already. My only piece of advice after sewing this pair is that if you’re going to do the pouch pockets, stick with lighter weight fabrics for the pockets (at least for the lining). I used bottom weight fabrics for the pants and both layers of the pockets so when it came to folding over the waistband it started to get crazy thick and my machine didn’t appreciate that much!

Well I had two more versions of these pants cut out and ready to sew, but I’m not sure if I’ll get to them this week. I’m about to attach a stack of t-shirts I really want to get done! But I’m also starting to feel a little burn out aaaand my crazy allergies have started to morph into a cold. Booooooo.

How you doin’?

KCW Spring 13: Little Letter Halter and Parsley Shorts

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Cherie

Quick post for the outfit I made yesterday . . .

I started with a super cute and simple halter top from the Japanese sewing book, あかちゃんの服、てづくりの服 (Baby clothes, handmade clothes), (also available on Amazon here).

Robin so kindly sent me this book with the clothing swap outfit she made because her daughter had grown out of the sizes already. It’s got a lot of baby stuff, but some great basics for toddlers too. When I saw this picture in the book, I nearly died from the cuteness.

So that became my inspiration for outfit number 1. The construction of the top is very simple and I made it even more simple by using a piece twill tape instead of making the strap out of fabric like the pattern instructs you to (although I may go back and change it), so it was a really fast sew.

I used the beautiful Nani Iro Little Letter double gauze fabric that I bought from Miss Matatabi (though I can’t tell if that’s the exact same color as the one I used), and I only had half a yard, but it was just enough to cut out the pattern AND the strap if I wanted to. The color band at the bottom of the halter was a last minute add. When I saw the picture in the pattern book, I thought the top looked a little short. And when I was tracing the pattern piece, I also thought it looked a little short. And then I totally forgot about it and just cut it out anyways. Well before I was going to hem the top, I really thought that it’d probably hit just at her tummy which would be adorable, but probably too short. And besides the length, this halter would probably fit for a long time! So I decided to add some fabric to the bottom and luckily I had some shot cotton leftover from the dress I made Sanae’s daughter and the color (and weight) happened to match perfectly! I’m glad I added it – it’ll definitely add many more months to the life of this top.

The shorts are from the ~~soon-to-be-released~~ JUST RELEASED Parsley Pants pattern by Made by Rae. Rae was awesome enough to let me help test out the pattern and let me tell you, this pattern lives up to all of the other amazing Made by Rae patterns awesomeness. After seeing all the versions that Emmmy Lizzzy made, especially her cute shorts, I was inspired to make some for Yuki too.

I used a linen blend, but accidentally cut it against the grain (if you look closely at the picture of the shorts hanging on the line, you might be able to see the lines on the pockets go up and down but the grain on the rest of the shorts goes horizontally). I don’t exactly know what that means. Will it wash up funny or change it’s shape? Well, we’ll find out.

The pattern is fantastic. Super simple sew, so many variations to make, excellent directions and images and great fit too. I’m planning on sewing up a couple more this week if I have time.

So that was day one. I only got a little bit of sewing in this morning, but here are a couple little peeks.

I’m off to sew a little more before bed! How was your day two? Get much done?

KCW Spring 13: Getting ready

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Cherie

My partner said to me yesterday:

“I’m not a big fan of KCW . . .
except for all of the cute clothes that comes out of it.”

HAH! Kids Clothing Week is here and it’s definitely caught me off guard a little bit. Not because I didn’t know about it, but I’ve been so busy with other things that I didn’t really start thinking about it until the weekend and I barely had a chance to get prepped.

So I’m taking it a little easy this time (or so I say) and I’ve made three simple challenges for myself:

sew with patterns I already own
sew with fabrics that I already own
sew super simple projects (so far each project I have planned has only 3 pattern pieces! score!)

And of course, hopefully I’ll be making things that my daughter will actually wear. That basically means t-shirts and pants. No ambitious patterns like the Jump Rope Dress or the Swing Coat this time around.

So here’s my pile o projects. Yes, it looks like a lot and honestly, I probably won’t get through it all. I should also point out that 7 of the projects come from only 2 patterns. That’s right – lotsa t-shirts and pants.

Day one was very productive! I started with a fun but simple Japanese pattern which I’ll share more about tomorrow when I get some pics of Yuki in it. I was able to bust out a pair of shorts too! Sticking with simple patterns can be extremely rewarding 🙂

How was your day one?

Geranium in Feathers!

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Cherie

Kids Clothing Week Spring 2013 is starting in a few days and Meg invited me to share my favorite pattern over on the KCW blog as part of the weeklong wind up. I chose the Geranium Dress/Tunic pattern by Made by Rae. There aren’t a lot of patterns that I make more than once, but this one is so classic that I find myself coming back to it again and again. You can see my full review and my past Geraniums over on the KCW blog.

And in honor of the post, I made a fun new tunic for Yuki!

There are a ton of different variations of this top you can make, but I decided to go with something simple – sleeveless tunic, scoop neck, and a gathered skirt – since I had chosen such a busy print.

I bought this feather print by Martha Negley awhile back from Stonemountain and Daughter because I loved it, though I wasn’t sure what I was going to use it for. One of the great things about the Geranium pattern is how much you can change it up – pick a detailed print and keep the style simple, or choose a simple fabric and really play up the details.

The tunic bodice is lined with some aqua fabric that I had in my stash and I made some piping to match. The back closes with three blue buttons, which I realize now are totally crooked! Oops! 😛

I love this pattern!! And now that the weather is warming up, it’s the perfect time to fill someone’s lil wardrobe with Geraniums!

Have you started planning or prepping for next week? I’ve barely had a chance to think about it, but my goals are to not buy any new fabric and to sew with patterns I already own. We’ll see what I come up with!

So what are you going to be sewing next week for KCW??

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