KCW Day 2

Phew! Finally finished the bodice. I'm excited to add the layered skirt portion tonight.

It's not too late to join in the fun. Visit the official Kids Clothes Week blog for inspiration and how to share your projects. What are you working on?

KCW Day 1 - Rule #1 Never Sew after 10pm

In my first hour of work, everything went perfectly. I was so pleased with how nicely the seams unpicked and that I had enough extra fabric to create bubble sleeves, that I decided to set aside grading the shirt pattern for myself and keep working on the Kids Clothes Week project.

Bad idea! I hand basted the wrong sides together and had to rip that out, but not before I had already serged one of them. Argh! Then I serged the left sleeve onto the right shoulder and had to rip that out. Grrr. After ripping that out I called it a night.

Looking at it this morning, by the beautiful spring sunshine, filtered through the blossoms of the pear tree, I'm feeling optimistic once again. It's going to take real restraint not pick it up and finish it before the kids get home from school.

Are you following Kids Clothes Week? I love checking out all the pictures in the Flickr pool. I've been on the lookout for a project for my son and Shantel Jones at Sew Boy had some awesome boys shorts upcycled from a men's shirt. I think I just may have found my next KCW project.

Shirt to Shorts by Sew Boy

I'm excited to stumble across her blog. She has a wealth of resources on sewing for boys. It was a no brainer adding her to my reading list. 

Kids Clothes Week Spring 2013

Kids Clothes Week falls right when I have convinced myself it is time to start sewing for myself. In the last year I have made countless items for the kids, home and gifts; but nothing for myself. So while in past seasons my aim has been a garment a day, I'm only committing the single hour each day to making an item for the kids.

First up, my daughter's choice:

She found a print on our last trip through the fabric store and insisted it was perfect and I picked up a small amount thinking I might make a simple elastic skirt. I had been inspired to try the Boardwalk Skirt by Andrea Pannell of The Train to Crazy.

When I sat down to look at the pattern (Go To Patterns) I started thinking about my daughter's tendency to sag her waistband in an oh-so-unattractive-fashion. Browsing the through Andrea's other patterns, I really liked the keyhole detail on her Carousal Top too. I decided to attempt some of the cute design features of both pieces in a simple, easy dress that could not be sagged.

I have gathered my materials, and am excited for my evening of sewing. I hope there will be something worth photographing for you in the morning.