Friday, September 25, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 10

Can you believe it?! We made it to the last day of Sewing for Kindergarten this year. But we are going out with a bang (and a gif, ha) that's for sure.

My first guest is THE sweetest and I'm lucky to call her my friend. Inês from the great blog La Folie Sewing Booth
I guess we have found a worthy replacement for the overachiever award that used to go to Celina from Petit à Petit & Family that have participated in this series the last two years and who has now run out of kindergartners, ha.

Four outfits and one is more incredible than the other!

Let's hurry over and check them out HERE.


Thank you Inês!

****

My next guest is sweet Karly from Paisley Roots.
She is one of the most productive sewing bloggers I know and her style is amazing too.

Karly participated in this series last year too and I believe there has been a change in her  house from public school to homeschooling so let's jump over and read all about it AND see what amazing thing(s?) she has made. That teaser below is certainly making me interested. It looks amazing!

See Karly's full post HERE.


Thank you Karly!

And THANK YOU dear readers for your support of this series! I really really appreciate it

I have already gotten inquiries from participants who have kindergartners next year so I guess the ball is rolling again, ha.

 Below you see all the teasers from the amazing participants and their kindergartners.
SO amazing!!



Thursday, September 24, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 9

We have made it to day 9 and I'm not even going to mention that this is the second last day this year, wah.

My first guest is sweet sweet Christina from 2 Little Hooligans. We met in LA 2 years ago and we have been friends since.

Christina also participated in the series last year with her middle daughter and this year it's her youngest and so so cute daughter's turn. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say there was lots of tears involved...at least from from Christina's side.

Let's jump over and see.

See Christina's full post HERE.


Thank you Christina!

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My next guest is actually two-guests-in-one-post.
Al and Scary are sisters and they blog together with the third sister Jo at Shaffer Sisters.

So in others words we have a post with cousins both starting in Kindergarten the same year. How cool is that! And I have been told they are best friends. Seriously so cute!

See Al and Scary's post HERE.


Thank you Al and Scary!



Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 8

Welcome to day 8! 
Today turned out to be knit edition which you know I love and find especially perfect for school clothes.

First up is one of the sweetest and warm ladies around, Maria from My Cozy Co.
She is originally from Columbia but is now living in the UK.

I'm dying over the outfit she made for us today. The combination of quilted and printed knit is simply genius!

See Maria's full post HERE.


Thank you Maria!

****

Next up is Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts.
Stacey is very special for Sewing for Kindergarten because she is the only one that has participated in all three years....although she has later admitted that one of the years she didn't quite qualify, haha. And as much as I take that as a compliment (you know, she really wanted to be on this series) I now had to implement some though applying and qualifying procedurers to avoid situations like this in the future. 
(You know I'm totally kidding, right!)

SO this is Stacey's last year...please remind me if you see her on the participant list next year, hehe.

See Stacey's full post HERE.


Thank you Stacey!


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 7

Welcome to day 7 of Sewing for Kindergarten.
Both my guests today were snatched up while working on Stylo issue 4. I guess I have Celina to thank for a lot of my guests this year, ha.

My first guest is Bethany from I Married Superman.
Her blog is fairly new to me but she always make super wearable and cute clothes for her kids. Oh and go read her About page - it's funny!

And excuse me but now I have to go see what that adorable dress looks like from the front.

See Bethany's full post HERE.


Thank you Bethany!

****

My second guest is Erin from Brooklyn Pattern Company
As the name reveals Erin started making patterns first and then started blogging. I think the majority is usually doing it the opposite way and I love when things are not 'as usual'. 
Erin used to work as a pattern maker on Broadway and I feel like I need to make a post about her in my Industry Insiders series because I'm curious to hear more about that past!

Let's jump over and have a closer look at what Erin have made her adorable son.

See Erin's full post HERE.


Thank you Erin!



Monday, September 21, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 6

Welcome to the second and last week of Sewing for Kindergarten 2015.

Today both my participants are second timers in this series but for two different reasons.

First up is the lovely and always spot on stylish Jess from Craftiness is not Optional.

Jess participated in the serie's first year sewing for her oldest adorable daughter and now two years later it is time for middle adorable daughter.

See Jess' full post HERE.


Thank you Jess!

****

My next guest need no introduction either. Hayley from Welcome to the Mousehouse.

And the alert reader might have noticed that Hayley participated with her daughter Ainsley last year too. The short story is that she missed the cut off by a week, so she was in a private Kindergarten the last year and this year she is finally ready for Kindergarten in the same school as her big brother.

Hayley has made two items but is cleverly showing how to style those two items several ways.

See Hayley's full post HERE.


Thank you Hayley!




Friday, September 18, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 5

We have made it to the last day of week 1 but do not fret we have 10 more participants and their cute kindergartners next week.
And let's not forget the two amazing ladies we have today Friday.

First one is Bethany from Lil'Bit Beth.
I actually had the pleasure of meeting Bethany in LA a couple of years ago during Fabric Weekend - super super sweet!
Bethany has amazing style as you can see below and I can't wait to see the more!

See Bethany's full post HERE.


Thanks Bethany!

****

Our second guest is Terri from Sew Straight & Gather.

She told me that this series was exactly the kick she needed to get those school clothes made - which is exactly (one) of the reasons why I started doing this series and keep it going. And by looking at the teaser photo below she certainly got started. Wow, that a lot of great great school clothes! 

See Terri's full post HERE.


Thanks Terri!



Thursday, September 17, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 4

Today's participants are two seriously creative ladies.

First one up is Tara from Girl Like the Sea.
Tara is homeschooling her kids and she has a very refreshing and honest approach to the whole thing. If you follow her on IG you will know what I mean.
Her style is amazing and like I already mentioned, seriously creative. Have you seen her paintings? Holy smokes amazing!! Her photos are always little pieces of art too and I think it is time to jump over and see more, am I right! 

See Tara's full post HERE.


Thank you Tara!

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Next up is Jane from Buzzmills.
I'm still blown away by her DIY Fruit Bowl post for the latest issue of STYLO. Wow! 

Today she is showing us her son's first day of school outfit and I can't wait to check out all the details. This looks so good...and that backpack! (emoji heart eyes for sure!) 

See Jane's full post HERE:


Thank you Jane!



Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 3

Today's guests in Sewing for Kindergarten are two of the nicest ladies around...and they have great style as well.

First one is April from Modern Handmade.
Every time I see photos from April's home I'm jealous of that bookshelf which you can see below and I have a feeling April's daughter will be in good hands being homeschooled by April.

I know her daughter also requested sewing lessons from April and again...yup, she will also be in good hands in that area, ha. Lucky girl!

See April's full post HERE.


Thanks April!

****

And we are continuing with the genders being equally represented with Heidi from Handmade Frenzy sewing for her son.

It seems to me, looking at the teaser below, that Heidi has hit the head on the nail by making cool and practical school clothes. 

See Heidi's full post HERE.


Thanks Heidi!



Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 2

Welcome to day 2 of Sewing for Kindergarten.

My first guest is sweet Saskia from the Netherlands who blogs at Vera Luna.
Her style is very practical yet cool which is an aesthetic that I appreciate very much. Her clothes always has lots of great details and I can't wait to have a closer look of what she has made for her son.
I think you can see from the teaser pic what I'm talking about.

Please go visit her blog HERE to see her post. 


Thank you Saskia!

****

My second guest is my good friend Marta, living in sunny Portugal and blogging at DoGuincho. She works as an architect and her style is impeccable. Like somehow she always manages to add some sort of detail to the clothes or choose a certain type of fabric that is just the perfect touch. 
Marta is actually participating in this series with a bit of a compensation because her daughter started the Portuguese equivalent to Kindergarten last year but since this is her youngest daughter and therefor last chance to participate, I had no doubt that she needed an invitation for sure. 

And I think you will agree when you see below that she belongs to this series.
Gosh, I can't wait any longer...jump over and see her post HERE


Thank you Marta!



Monday, September 14, 2015

Sewing for Kindergarten 2015, Day 1

Hello, and a big ginormous welcome to day 1 of my annual series Sewing for Kindergarten.

This is the serie's third year and the concept is the same: Sewing bloggers who has kids starting in Kindergarten* this year sews some fun and school appropriate clothes or accessories while they sprinkle their post with a little bit information about how they and their Kindergartner feel about this big, exciting and maybe slightly scary change in life.

*Which in my definition means first year of mandatory school although I know that is a bit of a grey zone and rules and traditions are different from state to state and country to country.

See the complete line up of amazing ladies in the end of this post. You will for sure be as excited as I am when you see who I have snatched up for the next two weeks.

Let's get started with the first participant who is Carla from Small & Friendly.
Small & Friendly is not just a sewing blog, I guess you can call it a lifestyle blog. You can find posts about her latest vacation spot, homemade baby food and the cutest DIY's. I absolutely love her style and I'm sure you will too. I 'met' Carla when we both contributed to Stylo Magazine's 4th and latest edition. Carla showed us how to create your own fantastic fabric. See that post HERE.

For her post for this series she has made a blanket and pillow tutorial. Her son choose the wolf fabric and I'm sure he will feel well protected during rest time in Kindergarten.

Go see the post and tutorial HERE


Thank you Carla!

****

The second participant is....yeah, that me, ha.

My youngest daughter started in year-round school with a dresscode this July and I have basically sewn school clothes since June. 
I'm showing you four of those outfits is my post which I choose to make separate from this introduction post.


See my post HERE.



Sewing for Kindergarten 2015

Since I also have a kindergartner this year and therefor is participating in the series myself, I decided to split up my participating post from the introduction post (which you can find HERE). I hope that makes sense.

So this year it was littlesister E's turn to start Kindergarten and she was very excited for this new adventure because whatever big sister is doing she naturally wants to do too. 
She started in preschool 2 times a week when she was 18 months old and the last year she went in 5 days a week from 9-1pm. Her preschool did a great job preparing her for what to come in Kindergarten so I didn't feel like this was a GIANT change for her, but a change for sure! Her school day certainly got a whole lot longer (school starts at 7:40 am (zzzz) and ends at 2:50 pm. Homework was another change. And bigger expectations over all. One of the best changes was of course the fact that both our girls are now in the same school. Everyone - especially the driver (me!) - loves to only have one destination and one carpool to sit in each morning and afternoon.


All participants will answer these questions in their post and here are my answers.

- Is this your first time sending a child to Kindergarten? If not what number child is this?
Nope, my second and last. Big sister W started 2 years ago and is now in 2nd grade.


- Do you feel like crying or celebrating?
- And what about your child?
Celebrating! She was excited which made me excited. The school urged us to use the carpool from day one and she jumped out without even saying goodbye, ha.

We are in a year-round calendar school so the year started in mid July and we are one week away from our first 3 week track out and reality has certainly hit now. She still jumps out happy from the car but I get lots of hugs and kisses first and she has definitely tried to pretend to be ill a few times to be able to sleep a bit longer in the morning (and then of course waking up super early on the weekends where she could sleep in, gah).

- What kind of school does your child attend? (public, charter, private, homeschool)
We have changed from public to private school this year. We were not unhappy with our previous school but we are very very happy with the new one.

- Question to your kindergartner: What has been the best and worst part so far?
E: Best part: recess. Worst part: homework.
(Hehe, surprise surprise.)


Our school has a dresscode and I have a permanent bookmark to that page on my computer, haha. I have always loooved sewing school clothes for my kids because stylish but comfortable and practical everyday clothes is my favorite thing to make. So I decided to grab the challenge, embrace the restrictions and get the best out of the new situation. I have been sewing school clothes on and off since June, some I have shown you on FB and IG and some I have saved for this post.

The general gist about our dresscode is this:
Dress pants and shorts, knee length skirts and jumpers (sleeve- and collar-less dress). Woven materials only. Solid colors in navy or khaki. Which in my world means just navy, ahem. I'm sorry I'm just not a khaki fan unless we are talking a Burberry Trenchcoat, bahaha.

Polostyle shirts and dresses only. Cardigans, fleeces and sweatshirts. No hoodies. Solid colors red, navy or light blue.

There are of course more details but these are the things I can sew and I feel like I have quite a lot of possibilities. 

Finding fabric have been the most fun. When you are forced to sew only with solid colors then texture, quality and drape matters extra much and I have found some great apparel fabrics I would otherwise never have ordered. I will tell you more about them during the post under each item.


Here we are with the first outfit. A store-bought polo (they are required under jumpers) and a navy jumper. This is pattern 'm' from the Japanese sewing book Girly Style Wardrobe by Yoshiko Tsukiori. The sleeve 'wings' are a very popular details with this little lady and has already been worn twice this last week after the dress made it into her closet.



The fabric is me re-discovering cotton gauze. Double gauze gets all the attention these days but if you are looking for some more drape, gauze is your friend. Yes, it is a tiny bit see-through but since she will always have a polo plus knit play shorts or tights under it is not a problem. It's really perfect for garments with lots of gathers. 

The yoke with the square neckline is made with what I think is Belvedere Cotton
The reason why I'm not sure is simply because I have ordered so much different navy fabric and yes, I did save the order summeries BUT it was only after awhile that I realized that it would have been smart to cut out tiny samples and attach to the order so re-ordering favorites (like this one) was easier. Now I have a list of 10 navy fabrics to choose from, gah. I can of course exclude some that I know is not this one but yeah, I'm fairly sure this is Belvedere cotton. It looks like sateen but with a shirt fabric's weight and drape. I also made THIS school jumper dress for big sister in this fabric.



I made my yoke double layered instead of following the pattern's suggestion with a neckline facing on the inside. It makes cutting easier and it certainly makes the inside much more beautiful with hidden seams all over.


The next jumper is a remix of The Antalya Dress by Coffee & Threads Patterns.
I didn't do massive changes. I curved the neckline more so there was room for the polo shirts' collar under and then I cut away the cap sleeves to make it sleeveless. Boom, you got a jumper.


I added seam allowance to the back bodice piece and put in an invisible zipper in as opening.  The fabric is Cambridge Cotton Lawn from Kaufman. The quality is amazing like any other Kaufman fabrics although an overall ironing before the photo shoot would probably have been beneficial to the overall look, haha.


Big sister was a helper on this shoot and she was standing behind me suggesting poses to her. I'm guessing this is one of them, haha.

And a quick tip for drafting sleeveless dresses. Remember to make the sleeve opening a tad deeper than you normally would if you plan on it being worn with shirts or tees under it. I know that is super logic but I thought I would mention it anyway.

Oh, and I also drafted a full facing to finish neckline and armscye.

If you want to see my version of the original dress and read the review THIS is the post for you. (It's a good one, you really should.)


Next up is a 3 piece all handmade outfit.
The Goodall Cardigan which is a free* and brand new slouchy cardigan pattern from Petit a Petit Patterns
*Join Celina's FB pattern group to receive it for free.
The Rowan Tee turned polo from Titchy Threads
And a skirt with big pleats and an elastic waist (pattern #19) from the Japanese book A Sunny Spot - Girl's Simple Clothes.


I have always said that there was no way I was ever sewing polos - especially because you can buy them in okay qualities for not a lot of money....so honestly I'm not quite sure why I decided to do it anyway. I guess it was the pressure of my own sewing series or something, hehe.

I decided to start with my favorite kids tee pattern The Rowan Tee because then I knew I didn't have to worry about getting the fit right too. Since The Rowan Tee is drafted for a hoodie or knit rib in the neck opening I knew I had to make the neck opening smaller for my collar and a classic polo look. I added 1 cm / 3/8" all around the neck opening and that was it. I drafted the collar and added a classic button placket...which I got the math wrong on and cut the slit too deep and a landslide of problems happened. BUT I do have a tutorial for one with the right math...maybe I should have consulted it too, haha. Find it HERE.

I also learned someting else while making this. I wanted to cover the seam where the collar is sewn to the neck opening and I thought I had seen it done with narrow grosgrain ribbon sooooo that's what I did. Except it didn't work because the neckline was too curved and the grosgrain ribbon obviously does not stretch. So I had to rip that out and put in bias tape. Lesson learned! And I'm sorry I didn't think of taking any photos of it for you but you can just spot a hint of neon orange in the neck opening.

The fabric is another from Kaufman. A cotton denim jersey knit Indigo. It is not very stretchy which makes it quite perfect for all the stitching you have to do when you make a polo (collar and button placket can obviously only be sewn on your sewing machine not the serger.) The original type of fabric for polos is called pique. Apparently it comes in all types of textures but THIS one is the one I would consider 'classic' polo pique.

HERE is the link to my post about the original Rowan Tee.


The cardigan has the most amazing slouchy look and it is such a fun and easy project...made even more fun with my Janome cover stitch, whoop. I was helping with the testing of the pattern and we realized during the process (but after I made this one) that if you use knit with stretch (and this fabric has quite a lot) you should size down. I made size 5 and it is big but not so she can't use it right away. I kind of love it like this but now you know if you like cardigans to be a bit more 'fitted'. 
It is made with my new favorite type of fabric. It is French terry made from bamboo rayon and cotton, it is thinner than normal French terry, stretchy, has amazing drape and it comes in a lot of great colors. How is that for a winner fabric! 
And regarding colors I have a little epilogue to the faith of this cardigan because as you know my kids are not allowed to wear the clothes I have made them before it has been photographed (if I'm choosing to blog it...which I usually am) SO big sister W wore it to school a few days after this photo shoot (it kind of fits her as a 3/4 sleeve length summer cardigan, ha) and was told that the color red was not the school appropriate one (it's too light)- waaaah. And the most stupid thing is that this fabric also comes in the perfect red, I even bought that too (it's sold out now) but I just choose this lighter red because I liked it better, ugh. That will teach me to try to bend the rules for fashion, haha.
SO I have bought some fabric color and see if I can get it darkened up at bit. That should work.



The skirt is one of those example why I love Japanese patterns so much. Simple and yet with a perfect detail. At first glance it might look just like an elastic waist skirt but it actually have big pleats. And I learned something new - something very very logic but never the less would I not have thought of it myself I think. They placed the pleats with a little distance so that when I pulled the elastic through and gathered the waist the pleats got pushed together and are now placed right next to each other. Genius!

The fabric is a linen and cotton blend which I'm slowly warming up to. I have never really been a linen fan but I must admit that it is quite perfect for this type of school clothes. It's Kaufman again again.... Essex Linen Blend. It comes in 46 colors and prints and I'm linking to the full collection.


And last but not least a more structured jumper. The pattern is the not yet released Miss Polly Pinafore pattern from Sewpony.
When I saw the preview of the pattern I just knew it would be perfect for school so Suz was generous enough to send it to me so I could sew it for this post even though it's not done yet. Thank you so much Suz!

I'm sad that the dress looks so big on E in these photos because it really looks good in real life. I made it a little bit big so there is room for the growing kindergartner but it's not too big.
Another thing that makes it look bigger than it is, is my fabric choice. It's made with a cotton twill which is a rather stiff fabric type.

I almost skipped the piping because I feel like I have had nothing but trouble with piping lately. But I decided to give piping another chance and I'm glad I did because the sewing went so well and I actually sewed the whole thing in one go. It's rare that I start and finish a garment in one go, so that is a compliment to Suz's pattern pieces since everything went together perfectly.


I love those shoulder flap details. I obviously had to make this in solid navy blue but I'm dying to have fun with some color blocking and/or prints. This pattern is screaming for it. But first I have to make another navy blue one because big sister has asked for one too.



Okay, we made it through. That was a lot of school clothes.
I hope you are inspired.

Dont forget to check out the other participant today Carla from Small & Friendly HERE

Thank you!