Apple Loungewear Leggings

For this spring version of Kid's Clothes week, I made the Apple Loungewear Leggings.  It was 80 this weekend in my part of North Carolina, and Monday it was rainy and 45 degrees.  Then again today, was mid-60's so the weather is just crazy.  Either way, summer is not yet 100% here, so the little girl needs leggings.  

Pattern: Apple Loungewear Leggings by Shwin Designs, purchased end of November and finally made. 

Size: 12-18 months

Sizing: The sizing was chart was pretty good.  Technically, she would have been in the 6-9 month waist size, but I'm glad I sized up to her RTW size.  These fit more comfortably, and will be worn longer.  My daughter is a tall, thin 14 month old and these leggings fit her incredibly well.  The length is good.  Most purchased pants are too short on here, and they would not have needed the extra length I added.

The leggings even work well under a dress, especially for a new walker that still trips occasionally.

Fabric: Purple floral purchased from Girl Charlee forever ago, so it looks like they no longer have it.  It's a fairly substantial knit, I didn't write it down but I'm guessing it is at least 8 oz, maybe 9 oz knit.  It is a great weight for leggings.

Instructions: These leggings have three pieces, and are incredibly easy to construct.  They are a super fast sew.

Overall Impression: I like these leggings, and plan to make more pairs.  I wasn't sure about the fold over waistband at first, but it fits right under her toddler tummy and helps keep the pants up without requiring elastic in the waist.  This pattern is a winner!

Linking up to Anything Goes Monday.

Kids Clothes Week: Winter 2014, part 1

I am super excited for this Kids Clothes Week: Winter 2014. I have vowed to spend 1 hour per day sewing for my daughter. That means realistic sewing for me - and includes pattern prep, cutting out fabric, sewing, ironing, and everything else involved.  I don't have time to spend hours everyday sewing and pump out dozens of garments.

Part of this experiment for me is to realistically see just how much time these activities take.  I can't actually tell you how long it takes me to make a shirt or a pair of pants.  Even if I can estimate the sewing, I don't count the prep work of the pattern and fabric cutting.  This week, I will.

Day 1 - 1:00:42

I was 42 seconds over my 1 hour time limit, but I did manage to trace and cut out two patterns.  I will be making the Oliver + S Sandbox pants in size 12-18 months and the Hopscotch knit shirt in size 12-18 months.

Partway through tracing the tissue paper pattern on tracing paper, I was definitely cursing my cheapness thriftiness for buying the paper pattern on sale instead of buying the digital pattern at full price.  Those tissue paper folds are surprisingly difficult to get flat enough to trace over.

Day 2 - a little over two hours

I cut out the fabric for the pants, then started on the pockets.  Those pockets took probably 45 minutes - I would leave them off in the future, but they really are adorable and make the pants.  That took me to about 1.5 hours, but my daughter was napping, so I kept going.  At the end of the time, I had the pants mostly done, leaving the waistband to go.

How cute is it that the pockets even have a coordinating lining?  I love Oliver + S.

Day 3 - a little over an hour

The sewing is serious when the serger and regular sewing machine are sitting next to each other.  

My timing is getting worse instead of better.  I wasted some time first trying to figure out how to use the buttonholer for my vintage Singer.  Then, I discovered I did not have the cam for the 3/8 inch hole I needed to make.  Then I make the drawstring, which should be a quick thing, but with the stretch striped linen I'm using - took FOREVER.

By this point, I was frustrated and decided to just do the waist as an elastic waistband instead of the way the pattern called for.  Once again, I was slightly thwarted by my supplies because I only have 1/2 inch elastic, not the 3/8 inch required.  It fit in the waistband, but it just took a lot more time because it fit so tightly.  At least there was a bright spot today - I finished the pants!

The fabric is a linen blend from Mood NYC.  I picked it up when I was there after Christmas.  It's nicer fabric than any pants I own, but it is adorable, and I am considering remaking these pants in every size because they look that good.  The weight is perfect for spring, and I am very pleased with the fit - it was just too dark to get a photo of them being worn.

Oliver + S patterns are so wonderful.  They cost a little bit more, but from what I have seen, they are worth it.  The finishes are always professional, there are no errors in the pattern instructions, and the forums are active if you have any questions or issues.

Although, I just realized I still have not made one of their patterns as written.  This pair of pants is on my projects page.  Let's see what gets done the rest of the week!

Kids Clothes Week, Fall 2013

I was very excited to participate in Kids's Clothes Week for the first time!  This is pretty much what I got done for the week, but I was showing real time progress over on Instagram throughout the week.

First, the plan.  There have been many versions of the plan.

Version 1 - make 3-4 bonnets to last through winter into spring, 2 O+S seashore dresses, and a fall themed pinafore.   Now, why did it seem like a good idea to make two O+S summer dresses in October?  I wanted one as her Army vs. Navy outfit, and figured while I was at it I should also make the next size up for next summer.  I wanted the upper portion embroidered with the Army logo, but after many hours of searching I realized West Point has its copyrights locked up so tight you can't even find a legitimate way to do what I wanted to do.  Also, realistically we are going to be sitting on our couch watching the game so it doesn't matter what she wears.  Seashore dresses out.

Version 2 - I bought a serger (yay!), so what better time than the present to learn how to use it?  I saw Bimaas and leggings in my future.  Turns out the serger doesn't come with thread and the instructions I need to watch on a windows computer.  My windows laptop died over a year ago.  Moving on...

Version 3 - Get ready for a Southern Winter Kids Clothes Week.  This still includes a bonnet and pinafore.  Now, I added flannel lined Quick Change Trousers, baby mittens, lumberjack hat, scarf, and O+S hood.  Neither winter hat was completed.

Pinafore: The pinafore needs two buttonholes.  In my defense, my regular machine decided it doesn't want to sew without leaving huge thread nests from the bobbin so this was/is on hold while I bought a vintage buttonholer off eBay for my Featherweight, which is what I'm sewing on this week.

The pinafore is using the free pattern from Smashed Peas and Carrots.  I added the pockets on one side, and fall appliqué on the other side.  It is made of linen, and once I get buttons put on will be super cute. These in-progess pictures show the idea.

Side 1:

Side 2: 

Baby mittens- version one and two complete.  The concept is good, but my daughter has really long fingers so they just barely fit.  This was my priority because it was 40 degrees several mornings this week and she doesn't like to keep her hands under the blanket.  I used the tutorial from Speckled Owl Studio.  The only challenge was that tutorial was really meant for newborn mittens to keep babies from scratching themselves as opposed to winter gloves, so I had to do some adjusting.  I used corduroy and fleece to warm them up.  I am still working on sizing because my second version was too large and she just pulled them off her hands in two seconds.

Bonnet- this bonnet makes my heart heavy.  I absolutely love how it turned out!  The problem is that it is huge!  Her old ones were getting small so I decided to go up two sizes, and it will not fit this winter.  Maybe next week I can face making another smaller one.  This matches the pinafore perfectly, so it would be a shame to not have her wear them together.

Winter Quick Change Trousers: I used the pattern from Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner.  The last pair I made was huge, so I reduced the front piece by an inch on each side.  This was probably a little too aggressive, about 1/2 inch would have probably been perfect.  I also added the tuxedo strip for some fun.  The butt is also the gray elephant fabric, and I love the elephant butt on these!  The inside shown is flannel.  The large size is nice in winter because they do fit over her knit pants.  I used the width reduced 9 month size with 12 month length.

Fleece Booties: Also a must in the cold.  I used the tutorial from Dorothy Was Here.  I used the size exactly as is, and they fit my 8.5 month old perfectly.  I will probably have to size them up for another pair before the winter is over.  I would also like to try using the non-stick fabric on the bottom like she suggested, but I couldn't find any at my fabric store during Kids Clothes Week.  

The combined result of this efforts is my little warm girl below :)  Although, we did add two more blankets because it was freezing this morning.  Not too bad for a week's effort!  Kids Clothes Week has been a blast and I can't wait for the spring version!

Edited to add:
Linking up to Show and Tell, Made By Hand, and Make It, Wear It.