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