Kids Clothes Week 2017

Last week saw the first Kids Clothes Week challenge of 2017 where the aim was to sew for 1 hour each day for your kid(s). I knew that a whole hour every day would be pretty much impossible for me, so I was going for just a little bit each day, even if it was only 10 or 15 minutes.

I planned to complete three makes for Sophia and I almost did it - I just had to finish off one of them the following day so I'm really pleased. Sometimes I think its good to have a short term challenge like this to motivate you to actually just get on and do something....and ignore the washing up!

Hear the summery in my latest YouTube video, or read on to find out more.....

The first make is the really cute Mara Blouse from Compaigne-m (which is available as a pdf). I love the details on this make. It has an oval shaped yoke section with button loops and buttons, pin tucks in the front bodice and several sleeve options.

I choose the butterfly sleeve version which has a dainty little slit with top stitching.

I used this gorgeous Nani Iro cotton double gauze fabric that I've had in my stash for a few years so I was really excited to finally be using it!

The instructions say to top stitch the neck binding on the machine but the fabric seemed quite bouncy and I was worried it wouldn't be even so I decide to just hand stitch it instead. The cute little bunny buttons are from Textile Garden.

My next make is the Puff Ball shorts from the book 'The fox, the bear and the bunny'. The age range for this pattern is 12-18months up to 5 years and I made the smallest size. Sophia is 10 months and they do stay on her but look quite big and baggy at the moment so will probably fit better in the spring.

They have pleats at the front and an elasticated waist at the back.

To jazz them up a bit and make them match the Mara blouse I made, I embroidered some little flowers along the front above the cuff.

My only regret with this make is that I didn't really think though stabilising the fabric properly. I was initially going to put some interfacing on but I was worried it would change the appearance of the fabric too much so instead, in my haste to start the embroidery, I cut a section of some cotton lawn I had and tacked that onto the back of fabric and embroidered though that too.

The problem is I didn't finish of the edges of it or anything so now its a bit messy inside.

I think I'll just fold down the top section of it and hand sew it down so that the threads aren't exposed on the inside. The light pink shimmery thread I used is a bit rough so hopefully covering it up will stop if from being itchy or anything.

Anyway, I'm really pleased with this little outfit. It is all a bit big for Sophia just now but I'm sure she'll grow into it in no time.

My last make is the sweater dress by Brindille and Twigg. I used a plain marl ponte roma and then embellished it with some ribbon I've had for years and some more embroidery around the neck line.

As the shape of the skirt section is a-line, I attached the ribbon in before sewing the side seams to make sure it lay flat.

To make it gathered at the waist line, you make a channel for narrow elastic using the skirt and bodice section so it should feel nice and soft to wear.

For the sleeve and skirt hem, I used a straight stretch on my machine. I don't actually know exactly how it works but each stitch is made up of three stitches on top of each other, so the stitching looks more defined or bolder than normal, but I really like how simple it looks.

For the embroidery at the neckline, I stitched straight onto the fabric and then afterwards ironed on a small section of knit interfacing to help stabilise it and secure all the loose threads on the inside of the dress.

After all that sewing for the bab, I think I'm due a few things myself now! I hope this has given you some ideas for things you could make for any little people you know. I still get surprised by how quickly mini clothes stitch up so if you need a quick fix and really want to finish something, kids clothes really hit the spot!