44. Kids Clothes Week April 2015 - Day 1, 2, and 3

Lets get this Kids Clothes Week started! Would you believe that this time I actually started 2 days early!

A friend is pregnant with a girl and I just had to make her clothes for her baby shower which was on Sunday. So I made a dress and a couple of pairs of footed leggings.

The dress is from Ottobre 03/2014 #8 Jersey dress which I modifed by leaving off the cap sleeves.  Now it is a bit more verstile and can be worn over onsies etc

I have been pushing myself using more knit fabric and this time I think I nailed the neck and armhole binding.

And the footed leggings which once again are Ottobre 01/2014 #11 Footed pants:

I didn't realise that all these photos were blurry :( and I can't take more photos as they have already been gifted!  I have made these in Polar fleece for Rohan here and here (here).  I made my earlier adjustment of lowering the waist by approx 3cm and this time I slimmed them down a little in the leg.

I am really happy with them.  I wish I could have found some nice pink knit by Spotlight was all blues, greens and oranges. 

43. Kids Clothes Week April 2015 - I have signed up!

Yay, I have committed again to sewing kids clothes for 1 hour a day for 7 days.  It is a commitment but I am up for it!

42. More FREE sewing patterns

So there I am on Pinterest and I saw these awesome Antro leggings from this Pin:

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 Aren't they beautiful - that fabric! Then further down the same Pinterest board I found this site which has HEAPS of FREE patterns:

Spit up & Stilettos

Just look at this leggings pattern:

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And this dress:

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And this blazer which looks a lot like the Salme blazer pattern that I have:

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 And lastly a very nice peplum top:

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Don't they look amazing!  There are also skirt patterns, trouser patterns, shirt patterns, singlet/camisole patterns - this list goes on!  They do have childrens patterns that you have to buy but they look good too.  The other bonus is that there are even a few sewalongs on the website.  I really want to give them a go.

But first I am going to embellish a sweatshirt for Julian.  Better get onto that now... 

41. Great patterns and some free patterns too

Since I am in Blogger, I thought I might as well write my 4th post of the day.  I have all these half started posts which I have never managed to publish for some silly reason.

I found this great round up of excellent patterns for everyday clothes from creative-counselor.
This list has all the classic patterns from Sewaholic and Colette along with a few other indie companies.

I also discovered this list today which has FREE patterns from the Great British Sewing Bee book - Sew yourself a wardrobe.  Very nice, thank you very much.

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Actually since we are talking about The Great British Sewing Bee, I am currently watching session 2 on Foxtel and I am so disappointed!  There are people on there who have only been sewing ONE year.  How could they be the best amateur sewer in the UK? Having said that, watching people so is giving me back my sew-jo :)

40. Boys leggings

Whilst I remember, I have been making leggings for the boys (who are now 1 and 4).  A friend had made some newborn leggings out of a fat quarter of organic cotton knit from Spoonflower, so I decided to give that a go when they had a "Buy 2 for half price" sale.  These are the fabrics I bought:

 Whale / Fox / Tiger / Circus / Panda

So far I have made the Whale, Circus and Tiger prints into leggings for Rohan using my TNT Ottobre leggings pattern (Ottobre 04/2014 Autumn #8. Playful Kitty).  It only just fitted onto the fat quarter widthwise, lengthwise they were about 2cm shorter than the pattern.

Ottobre 04/2014 Autumn #8. Playful Kitty

And before you ask, it does appear to be a girls pattern :).

Super Rohan with Whale leggings - look at those tummy muscles!

Circus pants - cracks me up that it says "Quiet please"

Tiger leggings for Rohan's first taste of cake.  He didn't look too keen on it!

Julian has also been keen on wearing some leggings, so I have made a couple of matching pairs.  Julians are Ottobre 01/2013 Chillax leggings which I have made so many times in nearly all the sizes!

Ottobre 01/2013 - Chillax leggings

I made both of these leggings in the photo below.  Rohan also has a pair that matches Julians.

The only problem with leggings is that Julian is going through the knees!  So I had to add in knee pads, which were too high in the first pair I put them on!  Julian chose the fabric from Spotlight as he currently LOVES fish.  Unfortunately it doesn't seem to wear well.

The second pair with knee pads hasn't been worn, so I don't know if I have the pad placement ok yet.  The fabric is a Charley Harper knit from Fabricworm and it cost a small fortune now that the Australian dollar isn't so amazing against the US dollar.  The knee pads are made from the closest blue knit that I could find at Spotlight.

No matter how hard I tried, I just could squeeze out Julian's and Rohan's legging from 1 yard :( So these are Rohans modified version which I think look very cute!

Had enough of leggings yet?  I haven't.  I can make both pairs including the cutting in 1.5hours which makes them a very satisfied sew.  I have more Charley Harper knit, so I will definitely be making more leggings :)

39. Colours or Colour Me Beautiful

In October 2013, my mother's group had a "Colours" evening where a consultant helped us find what colours suited us, just like the Colour Me Beautiful of the 80's.  I discovered that I was a "Summer" which was a surprise as my entire wardrobe consisted of "Winter" colour clothes.  I found that I suited Lilac and a whole range of Pink - both colours that I had NEVER worn.

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This lead to a massive clean out of my wardrobe at the time and a shopping spree.  Admittedly I was 7 months pregnant at the time and I needed summer clothes as I had nothing that fitted.  Thankfully all the shops were stocked with "Summer" coloured summer clothing - score!  I found so many T-shirts at Jeanswest.

I can't tell you how much this one evening changed the way I thought about what colours suited me.  I had obviously been focusing on what colours I LIKED and not what colours LOOKED GOOD on me.  It was a complete revelation!  I bought the fabric swatch cards of the Summer colours and I take them everywhere.  I really don't care if I get strange stares in the clothes stores when I whip them out to check.  When I wear the colours in this palette my face brightens and I think it has the "pregnancy glow" even when I am not pregnant.

Since the consultation I have read a few articles on colours including from Busy Lizzie and Into-mind.  I have also been very tempted to buy a few books (Reinvent yourself with Colour me Beautiful, Colour your Style)  as my local library doesn't have anything on Colours.  I suppose I have the colour side sorted and now I just need to focus on my body shape and what suits me style wise.  Maybe a personal stylist is the way to go.  Or maybe it is time to strip down to my underwear and draw my own croqui (see LLadybird for how to do this) and try out some shapes this way.  Now to find the time...

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Speaking of colours, have you seen the latest Pantone Colours Spring 2015?  This is what colours we should be seeing in the stores very soon.  Surprisingly I am loving Strawberry Ice.

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38. Wardrobe planning

It is January (for another 2 days) so obviously I am thinking about the year ahead.  I have returned to work after my last ever maternity leave and this is my last week of only working 2 days a week.  Next week I will be working 3 days and this will be my "new normal'' probably until Rohan starts school in 4 years time! This has got me thinking about the life I want to live and what makes me happy.  Sewing definitely makes me happy.  However I haven't shifted the baby weight as easily this time around, so I am not the size I used to be, let alone the size want to be.  With the limited amount of sewing time that I have due to 2 small kidlets and working, do I want to be spending it on making clothes to fit my current body shape/size?  I fear that if I do this, I am accepting my current body is a permanent change.

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I really do hate exercising.  I have printed the picture above and stuck it in front of our treadmill.  I bought an app for Couch to 5k and I have used it only 3 times!  I know that running is the only thing that shifts weight for me and that is why we bought the treadmill in the first place!  I spend hours on pinterest trying to find printables to chart my weightloss (they aren't very good either) and then watch Martha Bakes on Foxtel afterwards. 

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 I just made this fantastic Devils Food Cake for my birthday (it makes 2 tall 20cm/8" cakes!) which also explains why I am the size I am.  In addition I finally gave up breastfeeding a week ago - a whole year!! - and I am so chuffed with this.

So the long of it is, that I must focus on the things that make me happy (sewing and baking) and suck up the things that I dislike (exercise).

Which brings me back to sewing.  I haven't read  sewing blogs in ages (thanks to Pinterest) and when I sat down last night to read them using Bloglines, I discovered that Bloglines no longer exists! At the time I cursed and grumbled as I had no idea what blogs I actually read as it had been so long, so how could I set up a new blog reader?  I tried Feedly for 1day and I didn't like it, so I gave Bloglovin' a try.  Wow, isn't it fantastic!  It was so easy and I discovered some new to me blogs which are awesome!

I also did a search on "Capsule Wardrobe" and "Wardrobe Planning" as that is what I really want to do. There is the brilliant 2014 Wardrobe Architect series on Coletterie and the 2015 revision which is just starting; the excellent Wardrobe planning post on Grainline; the SewMamaSew post from IndieSew for a Handmade Wardrobe; Into-Minds whole website!; Make me a Wardrobe on My Make do and Mend year; SewOutnumbered and her Capsule wardrobe planning...Phew that was a lot of links!  So here it is, I think I am finally going to commit:

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I was just looking through my Pinterest and discovered more Capsule planners and Wardrobe builders which I must list here for completeness:

Project 333
Unfancy
Sewing plums

And how did I ever forget Sewing Pattern Review Wardrobe competitions.  There are lots of great ideas there and I see that there is a Travel Capsule competition starting 1st February!  Maybe this is a bit soon for me.

37. Geometric tracksuit pants

  And now for photos of Rohan in the tracksuit pants.  The waist is still quite high but should allow him to fit them for a while.

The legs bunch up a bit around the crotch which shortens the leg but thankfully the long cuffs mean his little shins aren't exposed.  I am hoping this isn't a problem as he grows. 

Overall I like them and they are very cosy.  Next pair I plan to coverup the back seam and to add knee patches just like the Oishi-m Juxtapose legging:

Image from Oishi-m

Image from Oishi-m

Absolutely LOVE these but they are already sold out :(

36. KCW - Day 7 and beyond

Finally photos of Rohan wearing the elephant pants:

They fit really well and even though they are a bit long in the leg, they are not unwearable now.

I did manage to get the top for Julian cut out of some nice thick green polar fleece from Spotlight.  This is the Ottobre 06/2012 Winter 14. Manni Zipper front top and I cut out size 116cm:

Ottobre 06/2012 Winter 14. Manni Zipper front top

Ottobre 06/2012 Winter 14. Manni Zipper front top.  Green polar fleece.

I also cut out the long sleeve T-shirt for Rohan using Ottobre 4/2013 Autumn 6.David.  Once again I cut out size 68cm:

Ottobre 4/2013 Autumn 6.David long sleeve T-shirt

I chose this pattern as I had the merino wool scraps from my SIL and the lovely Maze and Vale sample packs for the elbow patches.  The sample packs are great as the scraps are a usuable size - good for clothing embelishment or quilting. I see that the next lot is available on August 15 if you are interested:

After a bit of trial and error with the sleeve patches, I eventually chose the teal blue:

I have a little scrap of the print left over and I am thinking of adding a little pocket on the front for interest.

And that is it for Kids Clothes Week July 2014.  I wish I could have done more but there are limitations when there is a baby in the house. In all, I am happy with what I managed to get done.  The best part is that Julian loves his tracksuit pants and he was excited that I was going to make him another top.  Fingers crossed I can keep my sewing mojo :)

35. KCW Day 4, 5 & 6

Sometimes the best laid plans don't work out and unfortunately this was such a time :(  I was too tired to contemplate fixing the overlocker or risk making a mistake cutting out something new, so nothing happened.  Thankfully today was better and I managed to re-thread the overlocker and whip up a pair of tracksuit pants for Julian.

I used the basic sweatpant from the Autumn 04/2013 Ottobre (Love the hoodie too!):

Ottobre 04/2013 27. Ultimate Casual basic Sweatpant

I made the executive decision that a 4 year old does not need pockets, so I omitted them.  Might also have been due to laziness...I used some blue sweatshirt knit from Spotlight that I have also previously used for trackpants.  It wears well and best of all if/when it gets a hole in the knee, only a small ladder is created not a gaping hole.

Ottobre 04/2013 27. Ultimate Casual basic Sweatpant - Front

They are not very exciting but are perfect for childcare and mucking around home.  It is difficult to differentiate between the front and back, so I added a piece of ribbon to help when dressing.

Ottobre 04/2013 27. Ultimate Casual basic Sweatpant-Ribbon detail

As you can see this blue is closer to black, so I should have used black overlocking thread.  Might not have looked so messy if I had done.  Oh well, it is the inside of a pair of tracksuit pants so I am not too stressed about it and Julian wont care either!

Tonight I am going to cut out a polar fleece top for Julian.  This will be my second attempt at this pattern as on my first try I cut to line up the pattern and NOT the stretch on the polar fleece. 

Looks great doesn't it?  However I needed to dislocate Julian's shoulder to get him into it!  Lesson learnt.  I salvaged the zip and turned the jacket into legging for Rohan which he has already grown out of.

  My SIL gave me remnants from a woolen knit top she made herself and I am thinking of using it with a couple of Maze and Vale fabrics to make a top for Rohan.