These shorts were supposed to be done at least two weeks ago. But I guess that’s a good thing. I learned the hard, tedious, and frustrating way that muslins are so important. Even for kids clothes. Even for you. Even for me. Let me tell you about my epic failure, and why I’m here, making a case for muslins. These shorts were originally planned as part of the Kids Clothes Week, but because the tops took me a bit longer than I had planned, they were bumped to the following week. I printed out my pattern, taped it all together, and got started. These new summer shorts were turning out beautifully. I had them almost 100% completed – just the elastic casing at the waist band and the leg hemming needed to be done. I put them on Elise just to check length, really, and that’s when my blissful sewing (ha!) flew right out the window. These suckers were TIGHT. Really tight. Elise is just shy of 2 years old, and because of her cloth diapers, she’s really a 3T – 4T in RTW bottoms. We were on vacation last week, and had her in disposables, so she was fitting nicely in 18m, 24m and 2T bottoms – just to give you an idea of her sizing.
(more…)
We put our gDiapers through the ringer. Since we’ve got two in diapers, they are washed constantly, during which time I hear the “cha-ching” of dollars saved singing to me from the laundry room. In our effort to be ever more Mustachian, we recently took on GroVia cloth wipes as well. Needless to say, the cloth as served us well, and we use a lot of it. And we must be real suckers for laundry. Up until recently, we’d been using the gDiapers disposable/flushable inserts at night, placed on top of a cloth insert. The flushies are insanely absorbent; and lets face it, absorbency is important for my sleeping girls to stay sleeping so mommy can stay sleeping. I wanted to reduce how many of these we were using, and bought some organic hemp fleece so that I could whip up some of my own handmade gDiapers soakers. And if I’m going to all that trouble, why not make them look cute? It also gave me a good opportunity to play with sharp curves on my serger – something I’d been fearing put off learning for quite some time. (more…)
I had suuuuuch big plans, but then life happened, and all I got was this t-shirt (or 3 in my case). Isn’t this everyone’s lament for Kids Clothes Week? It was all set up so perfectly. Hubby was even OUT.OF.TOWN. for 4 of the 7 nights. You would’ve thought I’d be swimming in free time. Ha! Is any mom-of-two-under-two ever swimming in free time? These Oliver + S Class Picnic Blouses were cut out months ago, at the same time I cut out the After School Shirts. I thought that gave me a huge leg up and that I’d be on to other projects in no time. Because I sew at a turtle’s pace, you’ll get to enjoy all of my would-be KCW garments for weeks to come. Lucky you!
(more…)
I’m embarrassed to say that these Oliver + S After School shirts have been cut out and sitting around since October. We took a trip to San Francisco, then came the holidays, then a new baby, and my poor sewing machine sat neglected for quite some time. Simultaneously, Elise was rapidly sprouting, and all of her clothes are either too small, too short, or worn out.
(more…)
The Oliver + S 2+2 blouse has long been on my to-do list. I’ve been trying to get in the habit of making multiples whenever I sit down to sew. So much of the time spent crafting a garment is in the tracing, cutting out, learning the pattern, etc. Since time is of a premium now, I want to make the most of it. I picked out a few new prints and one of my favorite London Calling prints and got to work.
This first top was made with London Calling Paisley in spring. This 100% cotton fabric feels like Liberty of London – surely that was no accident.
(more…)
I really enjoy Oliver + S patterns. I certainly have my favorites, and while I have always liked the Music Box jumper, I have not loved it. That was until I stumbled across a picture of it made in dark chambray, and I was forever changed. When Elise was just a baby, I was at a craft sale at this super quaint craft co-op in Atlanta called The Beehive. It was there that I found this adorable corduroy. I haven’t the slightest bit of information on it, though, as the selvage was blank. Have you seen it before? (more…)
It had never occurred to me to make a Halloween costume for Elise. It just seemed like a fussy kind of project. But as I was browsing pictures of costumes online, trying to pick one out for the baby, I came across a Little Red Riding Hood costume. Nothing about it was fussy, and I knew I had the patterns for just about all the pieces already on hand.
(more…)
Onto the second batch of corduroy pants. The Oliver + S After School pants were an obvious choice for Fall pants. The first batch was such a success, that I was quite excited to get started on the second set. I had read on the Oliver + S forums about sizing these for cloth diapers, and was prepared to size these the same way.
(more…)
