(Another) perfect polo for my littlest man

Kids Clothes Week was just the thing I needed to get my mojo back.  I've been sewing a little bit, but I haven't felt like it was going well--lots of struggles, some unblogged failures, that darn washed fabric. For me, kid sewing is like down-shifting: the sewing is fairly easy and the pay-off is pretty big.  So far this KCW, I've already sewn some Oliver+S Field Trip cargo pants (made into shorts) for my bigger boy and some pajamas for both guys (all using up stash fabrics, hooray!), but this top is the one worth posting.  

The pattern is Blank Slate's Perfect Polo, and I've made this top here and here already.  It's a lovely pattern, but I always need to increase the length of the collar--it seems to be about 3/4-1" short in my hands.

For the fabric, I used more of my stash--the putty cotton/Spandex is leftover from an unblogged Julia cardigan.  It's super high-quality--medium-heavy weight, washes well and doesn't look like it will pill. My little guy wore this shirt all day to daycare (even playing soccer and taking a nap) before I took photos.  The cotton print is from the Mod Squad collection.

I kept the shirt modern and left off the buttons entirely.

I know he's mine, but could this kid get any cuter??

After getting back into my sewing groove with this cute top, I went back to some selfish sewing with great results--I'll share soon!

KCW: Woodland creature PJs for both boys

A few more kid garments finished: some during the official "KCW" and the rest this morning. The boys can always use new pajamas, and they are fast and easy to sew up, so PJs it is!  Plus, who could resist either of these fabrics??

My older boy got some red fox pajamas (fox fabric from Girl Charlee, here and red ribbing to match) in honor of his favorite animal.  The pants are the "Sleeping Johns" pattern from Sew Liberated, while the top is a modified version of the Recess Raglan. 

The top could be a bit bigger, but the pants have room to grow (and jump!)

He wasn't so excited to try them on the moment he got home from school, but claims to like them, so score!

I even used my coverstitch machine to do some stitching along the neckline for his version!

My littlest man got the same PJs (scaled down) in a woodland animal print from Joann's.  It's a thick and soft fabric, and looks like it will withstand some washing without pilling.

Getting ready...

Jump!

Don't let the opening image fool you--this is what they are usually like:

Phew, that was rough...all that sewing for not myself!  And now back to the regularly scheduled programming.... 

KCW: knit pants and top

To be truthful, I started my KCW sewing last week, but considering I rarely sew for the kids, I think it counts :)  So, just a super quick post of some new duds.  (By the way, the word "duds" is kind of wacky, but I'm going with it.)

The first is a cute raglan t-shirt.  I absolutely adore the bicycle fabric, and used an old shirt of my husbands for the sleeves.  The neckline is dark gray ribbing, that somehow matched.  I used the Oliver + S Field Trip Raglan T-Shirt pattern and it's lovely.  For the 4.5 seconds it was on my child, it appeared to fit perfectly.  And then he refused to wear it for the rest of eternity (or at least until he forgets that I made it, which seems to be the only reason he detests it.)  The brain of a toddler is a mysterious place.

I also whipped up two pairs of pants in this knit style, the Nature Walk Knit Pants pattern, also by Oliver +S.  I didn't make a big deal about having made these, so they actually got worn!  As a matter of fact, the black pair I made were so dirty that I couldn't photo them until they get washed, so that's progress!  Can I say how much I LOVE this pattern?  They are fitted (perfect for both my skinny boys), they couldn't be any easier to sew and they have the tiniest bit of style.  They're like boy yoga pants.  I immediately bought up some heavy weight knit fabric so I could make more and more and more of these! 

After the refusal to wear my beloved bicycle top, I'm reminded, yet again, why I don't make clothes for my kids.  But, the pants are basic enough that if I just put them in the dresser, they might not be the wiser.  I may still sew up some PJs for the two of them, but needless to say, it will be back to sewing my own 'duds' soon!

Kid's Clothes Week: Days 6, 7 + 8

I got started on one final project for Spring Kid's Clothes Week on Friday, a pair of overalls for my little man.  After working on them for what feels like an eternity, I finally finished them today (just a day overdue :).  Between constantly switching between regular and topstitching thread, having to sew each seam three times, and all the other details that went into these short-alls, they are seriously one of the most involved articles of clothing I've ever made.   But look how cute!  And they fit!

The pattern is Kwik Sew K3948, without all the crazy embellishments, and the fabric is charcoal grey heavyweight twill from Joann's.   I debated the gold topstitching, but glad I went with it, even though I had to rip out many seams that weren't just right (no double-needle was used here!).

I followed the pattern fairly closely, though I used flat-felled seams on the inside instead of just overcasting. 

The little man put them on and took photos (with a lollipop bribe, clearly), but I think he may actually wear them, even without the candy treat.

Inexplicably, moments after finishing the Epic Overall Adventure, I just had to make another Perfect Polo to match.  After making the green version, I was able to whip the new elephant version in just over 2 hours and without consulting the instructions.  Sweet!

I know this color is completely impractical, but I just love it!  And the pearl snaps?  So adorable!

I changed up the pocket shape and size, expanded the collar by about 1", and did a bit of a different construction on the collar stand (I'll go through great lengths to avoid hand sewing).  I'm seriously planning a version for my husband. 

The whole outfit just makes me happy! 

With my class canceled and daycare paid for through the end of the month, Kid's Clothes Week came at a great time.  I was able to put some serious hours in, and made a heap of clothing for my boys!  All in all, I made:

• two pairs of pajamas
• pairs of pants, shorts and shortalls
• one t-shirt and two Perfect Polos (green cars and cream elephants)!

On deck are two very different projects in collaboration with Britex...very exciting! 

Kid's Clothes Week: Days 4+5

Anyone who sews for boy children knows that there is a serious dearth of cute clothing patterns for little men, and big men, too, actually.  So I was thrilled to find the Blank Slate pattern company, which gives little boys their due attention in the cute clothing department, and I quickly purchased the Perfect Polo. 

The pattern comes in a wide size range, so with the one download, I can make perfect polos for both my nearly 3 and nearly 8 year olds.  The styling is modern and uses knits (for comfort!) and woven fabric as trim (for cuteness!).  The directions are easy to understand and follow, and I whipped up this guy in about 3 hours, which included ripping out the collar and making a new one.  Not bad!

I brought the little boy to the fabric store and he picked out the kelly green knit all by himself.  Not my first choice, it worked well enough with the car print. 

The collar piece is a collar stand and collar all in one.  The original collar didn't fit properly and the shirt puckered when I sewed it on, so I cut out a longer one and that worked better. 

I used a regular straight stitch for most of the trim pieces, flat-felled seams for the shoulder pieces, the serger for body construction and then switched to a double-needle for the hems.   I think this photo of the inside captures them all :)

Back view.  The little faux-epaulets are pretty cute, but you could easily adjust the pattern to omit them if you aren't feeling that look. 

I have no idea why he's posing like this, below, but he certainly loves his new shirt.   Which is a good thing because he may be living in these for a long time to come.  

Kid's Clothes Week: Days 2 +3

 

Two days, two sets of pajamas!  First up, shorties for my big boy, in the "babyish" lizard print.  Having bought only one yard, I didn't have quite enough to make a second shirt AND shorts, so I used the orange rib for the body of a raglan top and the lizard fabric for the arms.  I like the look a lot, since it breaks up all those crazy-colored lizards.  I used a RTW shirt to rough draft the pattern for the top and used a short-length version of the "Sleeping Johns" from Growing Up Sew Liberated for the bottoms. 

The shorts fit him perfectly, but the top is a bit short.  No big deal--he's got a younger brother, so it'll get use regardless :).  And he loves them.  The photo of him at the top of the post was in the morning, after a night of sleeping in his new jammies.

I discovered the most perfect elastic ever.  Seriously.  If you make elasticized bottoms, buy this elastic.  It's nicely stretchy, and sewing through it doesn't make the elastic all wonky.  Beautiful stuff for pajamas (and hopefully pants, too!)

As usual, I used a 3-thread overcast for the main seams and double-needle with wooly nylon in the bobbin for the hems. 

Little man got a pair of PJs too!  His are in a colorful owl print, with the ubiquitous orange rib knit for the trim. 

I scaled down his brother's raglan shirt pattern and used size 3T of the "Sleeping Johns" pattern for the bottoms.  Wow, I love that pattern!  With only two pieces, it's super easy and fast; I timed this pair, and they took 30 minutes (including tracing and cutting out the pattern, measuring ankle ribbing and visiting my son's "pet store" to buy a stuffed dog). 

I altered the pattern by cutting off an inch or two and adding a rib knit cuff at the bottom so I could make them long and not cause problems when he's walking around.  Plus, that's what all the rest of his store-bought pairs have! 

I attached the ribbing before sewing the inseam, which worked great.  Really, I can't say enough about this pattern.  Unfortunately, much like when I made my first PUL diaper cover, I've realized that I can probably no longer purchase pajamas when they are so incredibly easy, fast and cheap to make. 

It took some cajoling to get a photo, but swinging with Daddy helped :) For the rest of the week, I have two projects planned:

• basic knit shorts for little guy
• this ridiculously adorable polo shirt.  I have to buy fabric!

I'm getting antsy to get back to selfish sewing...I have some patterns and knit fabric of my own waiting patiently...

Kid's Clothes Week: Day 1

I'm going to preface this post by divulging that I have been home without children for the entire day.  Compound that with not having to deal with fit issues (yay for kid's clothing!) and I was a very productive seamstress today...as should be expected under the aforementioned circumstances, right?

On to the daily report!  First up, I wanted to make a pair of pants for my super skinny big boy.  I had purchased the Dapper Dillinger pattern (Figgy's patterns) a while back, not realizing that the pant is designed to be super baggy (on a regularly-sized child).  So I scaled the back piece to about the 3T waist size and kept the length for his actual size (about a 6).  Hadn't hemmed them for this photo, but they are all done now!

I also decreased the waistband width and added some back patch pockets. Pants just don't look right without back pockets!  I had to remove and reattach these after I began sewing the waistband and realized that the pockets would hit into where the waistband would be sewn!  Helps to read the instructions all the way through, apparently!

Embarrassingly, I sent my younger son to daycare in PJ shorts because it's about 80 degrees today and we had no clean pairs.  To redeem myself, I made him a pair of shorts (from the same material as his brother's pants, of course :)  I used a pair of pants to estimate the shape and sketched a basic pattern such that each leg of the pant is a single piece of fabric. 

I had to add side pockets because, even at 2.5 years old, he actually uses his pockets and it's the cutest thing.

Some double-stitching (with a single needle) for detail.  Love this contrasting fabric (also on the inside of the pockets of the pants, above):

Finally, to round out the afternoon, I busted out a t-shirt.  Using a RTW top for the pattern, I serged it up in no time.  I still don't have an elegant way to deal with some of the issues of sewing with a serger, but pulling out the hand needle to tuck and hide threads works well for now!  I finally got to try out clear elastic to reinforce the shoulder seams and it worked great!

After much cajoling, here are the two boys in their mom-made duds:

After telling the eldest to lift his shirt so I could get a photo of the waistband, little brother wanted to copy.  Too cute!

Incredibly, even without the kids around to check sizing, everything fit super well!  Little man's shorts could be bigger in the bum to accommodate his cloth diaper, but *finger's crossed* he'll be out of those sooner than later.

My older son loves animals and I could tell he wanted a lizard shirt like his brother.  After some discussion, it came out that he thinks the print is a little "babyish", but he's thrilled to get lizard PJs instead.  Looks like I have my next project for the week!