Kids clothing- a progress report...

...not a wrap up, because it seems to be the start of a burst of sewing activity. The Kids Sewing Week Challenge officially ended over a week ago, but I'm still at it, with another project cut and ready for sewing, and a list of other things that I want to make to keep me going. I figure at some stage in the next couple of months my creative energy will burn out, and then I'll be time and energy deprived, so I'm trying to make the most of it while I can.

So what have I finished in the last couple of weeks?

A sailor shirt with an Oliver and S pattern. My first time sewing with Oliver and S, and I have to say the patterns are really well written- clear directions with illustrations and good tips for a great finish. Next time I would make this pattern with a stretch cotton (or knit fabric)- it's a close fit pulling it down over his shoulders, so we'll have to make some good use of it right now (which with the advent of some sunny spring weather is perfect). The fabrics have been in the stash for a while- I didn't have enough of the red stripe for the whole shirt, so I used a coordinating chambray that I'd bought at the same time for the back. To tie the design together I sewed the contrasting bottom hem facings on the outside. The sweet little number buttons were from the stash, a gift from a friend a long time ago.


To go with the top, I made the sailor pants. This fabric has a stretch, which it doesn't really need, but it does give a little bit more wearing ease. I'll definitely be making this up again, perhaps without bothering to make the buttons usable, as we don't need to use them to pull the pants on and off. And as an unexpected bonus pattern feature, there isn't anywhere for the sand to hide away when he's playing in the sandpit, so no unexpected piles of sand appear on the floor when he's getting changed or I'm doing the washing!


Continuing in the striped theme, this t-shirt was pressed into use the moment C saw it. I had been toying with the idea of putting some kind of applique on the front, but I haven't had an opportunity and it doesn't seem to be needed. I should make up some more of these for summer. So simple and quick, and so much cheaper than buying kids t-shirts!


And in a break from the striped theme I make another of Nicole Mallalieu's hats for a friend's daughter. She wears pink and purple, which I had none of in the stash, so I picked up this floral while I was enhancing my denim stash (always need some denim in the stash) at Darn Cheap. It was a bit brighter until I pre-washed it with the denim, which of course bled heaps and gave the floral a much deeper, bluer tone. At least it coordinates even better with the denim lining as a result. (Of course, no trip to the fabric shop is complete without an impulse buy- some checked linen that I thought would make C some great long shorts, but he seemed to have other ideas about what it should be used for...)