Slouchy Cardigan

I'm not a fan of Fall. Mostly not because of anything Fall ever did to me, just because she is the predecessor to all that is evil in weather conditions... Winter.

However, I cannot deny there is a chill in the air here lately, especially in the mornings.

The Bug is not a fan of jackets but cardigans on the other hand. . . she loves. Go figure.

Please, someone, if you understand this child and her whims. . . help this Momma out!

At any rate, it's given me an excuse to try out some patterns I have on hand. This one, the Slouchy Cardigan by Heidi & Finn I purchased as soon as it was available. I tried to get in on the pattern test even, I wanted it that much.

This little cardigan is so stylish and so easy to wear. Despite the sullen look on her face, she loves this.  She's worn it nearly every day since I made it.

I want one for myself.

I made it out of a fairly thin sweater knit from my stash. I ordered it from fabric.com back in August and it looks like they are no longer carrying it. Bummer! The color of it is absolutely perfect. It's the Bug's favorite shade at the moment so it goes with all of her favorite outfits. (Including this $5 butterfly dress from H&M.... cute AND cheap!)

The back drapes just perfectly over her cute little bum and she kind of resembles the most adorable little old granny (in the best possible way) when she wears it.

This cardigan was not difficult to sew but it wasn't really a beginner project either. The lightweight of the knit I chose certainly added to the difficulty, as did my tendency to race ahead without reading the instructions just ASSUMING I know what's next. Yep. I made it harder than it needed to be. But it still turned out smashingly so I'm declaring it foolproof. 

Finally, I got a smile out of her. It took a gummy candy bribe but I got a smile out of her. We do what we have to do.

I suppose I can live with a little bit of Fall if it means we can enjoy this sweet little cardigan.  Just a little bit though. You hear that Old Man Winter? None of that frost or ice or the "s" word just yet. In fact, could you take this year off?

No?

Ah well...

~Lindsay

Heidi and Finn Ballet Sweater Pattern test

This weekend I had the opportunity to do a pattern test for one of my favorite pattern makers, Heidi & Finn.

To say I was excited about this one would be an understatement.

You see, I take these two little beauties to ballet and tap every Tuesday and more often than not their practice room is shivering cold.  Add the practical aspect in with the fact that these are just too darn cute and I jumped at the chance to make them each one.

And my models jumped at the chance to show off their moves at the barre.

There may or may not have been payment in the form of gummy butterflies involved.

I made each of them a 5T.  You can see the difference in fit on the two girls. My Bug would be on the large side of 5T. Most of her clothes now are in the 5/6 range. Ugh. Have you tried shopping in the "big girls" department? That's a rant for another day.  At any rate, the Bug's friend, K has a more slight build and is pretty much a more standard 5T.

So K has a bit of room to grow, but that's o.k.  since they both INSIST on growing. Sigh. . .

This is the first one I made so I went entirely "by the book". I found the sleeve length to be a bit long so on the next one I turned up the hem an additional 1/2" and that took care of it.

The Bug picked out this really thin, soft, tissue weight purple knit. I'm sure it is super comfortable but it was a beast to sew.  Thankfully there were hints and tips apleanty in the pattern, which reminded me to increase my stitch size if I was having problems. 

Funny how sometimes I need to be reminded even of the simple things.

But that's one of the things that make Heidi & Finn patterns so great.  They are very simple and modern and they do an exceptional job of photographing each step in the process.  So even though the instructions themselves are incredibly clear, for more visual people, you also have that visual cue.

This was a quick and simple sew.

It's hard to say how long it took since I never sit down and sew a whole garment in one sitting. But it was no more than two hours. . . and that includes time spent pouring over the pattern itself looking for grammatical and spelling errors.  So I'd say, for a confident seamstress you could whip one up in an hour and a half easily. But I think the pattern would be easy enough for even an advanced beginner, someone with a bit of experience sewing knit.

I highly recommend this pattern and any of the others by Heidi & Finn.

So far, I've made their Bubble Dress and their Cowl Neck Dress. Both are favorites of the Bug AND me and that rarely happens any more.

I just realized all three are purple. ha! Total coincidence. Perhaps that does have a bit to do with "favorite" status in the 5 year old's book.

The pattern will be released soon in big girl sizes too, so keep an eye out!

~Lindsay

Christmas Dress

Did you think I forgot about this blog? Whew! Between secretive sewing (for Christmas gifts), general seasonal running to and fro and being sick I have been gone far too long.

The good news is, I have a bit of a stock pile of posts.

If you've been here any ammount of time you know, this is kind of how I roll. Feast or famine.

Well, feast your eyes on this. . .

The Bug's Christmas dress this year was a bubble dress. I used the pattern from Heidi and Finn and it couldn't have come together any easier. And I'm in love with the results. This may be the Easter dress as well. I like it that much.

I feel inclined to add, the headband is from Crazy 8 and it's a simple fabric rosette (that I totally could have made myself but sometimes you need to know when to say when). In these pictures it resembles a tea cup and saucer, which is kind of whimsical and fun but not really the look I was going for.  The tights are grey with silver sparkly stripes that we found at Target. They are "itchy", so be forewarned.  She tolerated them for the sake of fashion but I'm not sure they will be in frequent rotation around here.

The back closes with a simple tie.
I like the simplicity of it (no buttons or zippers? I'm in!) and it brings a bit of interest to the back of the dress.

The Bug loves it.  We've had such unseasonably warm weather this winter that I didn't really think about it being sleeveless until the 11th hour. 

So I thought a quick cape might be a good solution.
I had the perfect piece of purple wool in my stash of fabric from Grandma.

I used the Simple Simon Audrey cape tutorial. I think I should have made the smaller version. This one was a bit big on her.  And somehow my collar was too small. Still. . . it turned out super cute.

I think my favorite part is the vintage button.
It's so fancy.

Turns out, the Bug was not as enamoured with the cape as I was. She wouldn't wear it at all. She said it wasn't warm. She's probably right. I lined it with lining fabric so it was slick and cool inside. I should have used cotton or flannel for added warmth. Live and learn.

She did like it a tad bit better when she realized it spins. So there was at least that.

~Lindsay

KCWC Days 1 & 3 Finishes

I had a chance to photograph my two "finishes" for the KCWC so far.

The first one was a simple "fix" to a too short pair of pants.  It seemed simple and cute.

It wasn't simple. It should have been. But the ruffles weren't long enough if I followed the tutorial. So I wound up cutting and hemming a completely unusable strip of fabric.  I hate hemming.

It's not the patterns fault, I'm sure it was mine. But it made me cranky.

 And then when they were finished? It just wasn't my thing.  I don't think I'm a "boutique clothing" kind of a girl.  But we decided to give them a whirl at Kindergarten today and the Bug likes them.  She said her teacher did too. 

  So obviously, I'm the one with the problem.

This picture is cute. They might be growing on me.

I do love that I'm giving a pair of jeans that were too short before they were ever worn a second life. That appeals enough to my inner cheapskate that I'll keep these in the rotation.

 I feel the complete opposite about this dress.

I'm in love with it.

I want one for myself. 

 The pattern is the cowl neck dress from Heidi & Finn.

I bought it a while back and have been dying to make it.  KCWC was the perfect excuse to give it a go.

I made the 6T and it fits perfectly. Whew! Good thing I made this one up since that's the biggest size it comes in.

 It's super cute for fall with a pair of tights.

I think it would be equally cute dressed down as more of a tunic over leggings or jeans.

 It ties in front. I wasn't sure if I'd like that but once I saw it on, I preferred a front tie to a back tie.

The neck turned out to be more turtle neck than cowl neck but it's still really cute and warm.

Tonight I start the Oliver + S Puppet Show Tunic! Wish me luck!

~Lindsay

KCWC Days 1 - 3 (and a couple of bags)

I imagine I had very typical "first time participant" expectations for this Kids Clothing Week Challenge.  An "eyes bigger than stomach" kind of deal.  

Although I still think my list was fairly realistic (we're talking an hour a day, so seven hours of work here!).

I wanted to finish lengthening a pair of too short jeans (by adding ruffles per this tutorial), make a cowl neck dress and start an Oliver + S pattern (maybe the school days jacket) and then maybe some simple leggings--but only if there was time.

Monday I got a half hour of sewing in. In two 15 minute increments. Yikes. Not what I was expecting. And they were frustrating 15 min. increments because something just wasn't quite right with the ruffle hem jeans. Maybe it's just not my thing? I'm not in love with them. I can't even bring myself to take a picture.

Tuesday I knew I'd have more time because the Bug would be at dance class with her BFF.  But instead of hitting up my list, I worked on some alterations for a friend.  I did manage to get the cowl neck dress cut out but the sewing would have to wait.

So last night. . . finally I got to start sewing the cowl neck dress. It's such a simple sew I'd really planned to be done with it by now. But I'm not.

So here's my 11 pm, thank God it's almost done, Instagram photo of the thing (and my awful, disorganized fabric storage as well).  My dress turned out looking more turtle neck than cowl neck but we'll see how it looks on.  I still need to hem it. Bottom hem and sleeve hems.  It's knit so I could get away with not hemming but that's not really the look I'm going for.  I also am trying to think of something to do with those ties. They are too thick for my liking. I think I may have her tie them in back, not front. Maybe that will help.  I do love the fabric. It's this amazing color (that just doesn't come through on a cell phone photo in the dark of night, imagine that!), a grey-ish purple heather knit. I love it. And I had JUST enough to cut this dress out. There are no scraps left.

Hooray for the Vogue remnant section!

So that's been my Kids Clothing Week thus far. Highs and lows.

I did finally get a chance to take photos of a bag I made for a friend! It's been done for  week (maybe two?) and just waiting to be photographed.  What is my problem?

Anyway, it's the same pattern as my own purse--you know, the Granny Bag?--with just a few changes.

But first, lets all take a moment to appreciate this gorgeous fabric. 

AMH, you are a genius.

The bag is from a pattern in the book, Carry Me.  It's the cover pattern actually.

This time, I made it with a bit stiffer interfacing and way more pockets inside.

She's planning to use this to carry her crochet projects so I made skinny little pockets all down both side for her hooks.

And there is a big zipper pocket too.

I think the bag will be great for carrying some yarn, some hooks and whatever she's working on at the moment.

I also made her a smaller project bag that she can either carry on it's own or put in the big bag as further help organizing everything.  This pattern as well is in the Carry Me book although it's simple enough I think I could have made it without a pattern. 

I did make the bag a bit bigger than the pattern at my friend's request.

Added bonus, this one is reversible.

Cool.

Totally unintentional. It was a fun little discovery.

(Love that Amy Butler fabric too! Thank you FQS 50% off sale!)

So there you have it. More KCWC info to come I hope! (I hope, I hope, I hope!) 

It can only go up from here, right?

~Lindsay