knit

Gramercy + Chambray Lulu Dress

~ hungie gungie ~ 7 Comments

Today it was downright chilly (by August standards).  It drizzled all day, we had the windows in the house wide open, and it was just a nice break from the usual.  The kids were amazing and played together so nicely for few hours in the afternoon, leaving me some time to sew.

They played babies and babysitter, camped in a fort on the couch and ate lunch, and my personal favorite, Guacamole!  Guacamole is the best.  They simply take every chair in the house and put them in the living room to make a restaurant.  Then, they take every single bowl we own and every kitchen tool, and “make” guacamole for each other, tableside.  Ole!

We must be eating a lot of Mexican lately.

Since Ellery has grown 6 inches in the last two weeks, I decided to make her a dress from one of my favorite patterns- the Lulu by Craftiness is not Optional.

I drew the pattern between the 7 and 8 lines.  It’s a pretty perfect fit.  (She had her bathing suit on underneath, so that’s what you see through the bodice.)

The bodice fabric is this great Art Gallery knit by Leah Duncan (city lights in day from her Gramercy line.  I purchased mine from the Imagine Gnats shop and literally got the last 1/8 yard during one Rachael’s great sales).  The skirt is a lightweight Kaufman chambray.  This time, we went the capped sleeve route, and added pockets too.  Girl loves some pockets.  A long strip of coral knit creates a faux tie at the front- it’s a nice touch.

I really recommend this pattern if you’ve got a school-aged girl (it goes up to a size 8).  It is the perfect school dress, so comfy and cute.  Ellery wore her last two (blogged here) at least once a week.

My girl!  How can she be wearing a size 8???

Sniff.

-Erin

Plaid Raglan

~ hungie gungie ~ 15 Comments

There’s a great thing over at the blog, Crafterhours called the Friday Fiver.  Every Friday, they offer a $5 deal on an indie sewing pattern, good only for that day. I’ve taken advantage of a few of the deals over the past few months- Noodlehead’s divided basket, LBG Studio’s Aster Cardigan, and most recently the Lane Raglan by Hey June.

All are patterns that I’ve had floating around in my mental “patterns-to-get” list– I just needed a reminder about them (in the form of a one-day only $5 deal).  😉

Oh, and I apologize to Lane Raglans everywhere for being awkward.  It’s not the shirt’s fault.

Do I look like I’m going on a camping trip?  Cool.  That’s what I was going for.  Someone give me a thermos and a stick with a hot dog on it!

So, anyway I cut my pattern right between the M and L lines, but followed the L for length on all the pieces, and the fit seems great.

Hey June designer, Adrianna (who also happens to be one half of the Crafterhours duo) has great tips for sewing the neckband and mine seemed to come out pretty good, BUT… I totally messed up and started sewing it at the wrong point- which means my neckband seam is on the front of my shirt- not the back.  My bad.  Luckily, you people can’t tell in these pics… but in real life, if you look close enough, I’m totally the girl with the homemade shirt.  Trust me. It’s kinda obvious.

My main fabric is this vintage tartan plaid knit from Girl Charlee, It’s so fun- I *might* have enough to make a matchy matchy one for a kiddo or two.  The cream knit is really great stuff, bought locally from Les Fabriques, and the Navy spandex knit for the cuffs (also from Girl Charlee).

 I decided not to add the waistband piece, and instead lengthened the shirt a couple of inches- I had intended to hem this, but once I tried it on it seemed just right so I left it raw.  Tall Girl Problems, as usual!

I think this is a really great pattern to have in your stash- it comes together so fast!  You could change it up by making it in all one fabric, or playing around by mixing some prints together.

I really love Sabra’s version made from French terry- so cozy!  And this one from Ashleigh…Love!

Alrighty y’all, thanks for reading!

I’m off to pitch my tent now.

-Erin

Birthday Dress (a little late)

~ hungie gungie ~ 8 Comments

Avery turned 5 a couple weeks ago!  She is such a dynamic girl.  There are many dimensions to my girl Avery: smart, determined, tenacious, dramatic, hilarious, honest, sweet, loving, mysterious and wild (good luck future boyfriends).  This face kind of says it all…

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She recently started watching the runway portion of Project Runway with me. I know she has craftiness in her future, its in her DNA, so I thought I’d jumpstart her interest in sewing by letting her watch the show.  She really likes it.  She asks me, “Mom, which girl do you want to win?”  I explained that those girls are just wearing the clothes that the people made, they are not the ones who will win.  “Oh…I want to be one of those girls,” she says.  “A girl who wears the clothes and walks in them,” I ask?  “YES,” declares Avery!  Great.  I just helped my daughter aspire to be a walking mannequin.  Fabulous.  She will have to work at that modelling career, because this was about the least awkward pose she was offered me during our shoot.

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We headed to the playground to try for some candids.

DSC_7734 (2)She was dying to show me how she learned to use the monkey bars!

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DSC_7726 (2)That’s my girl!  She is really athletic, and she loves to wear DRESSES!  I knew that the skater dress would be an instant hit in the comfort department.  I sewed a size 5Y/6Y and I am so glad that it is roomy enough for her grow into it.  I increased the width of the skirt pattern piece and gathered it before it was attached.  Avery really appreciates a dress that she can twirl in.  What 5 year old girl doesn’t?

photo (3)If you’ve seen this dress before, its because Rachel from Stitched Together made an almost identical one before I got to it.  Ha!  I didn’t mean to be a copy-cat (even though I’d copy what Rachel makes all day long if I could)!  When I bought this knit months and months ago from Girl Charlee, the skater dress was on my agenda.  But, alas, my sewing productivity is very low these days! DSC_7737

Thank you for stopping by!

~Caroline

 

Peacock Feather Skater Dress

~ hungie gungie ~ 15 Comments

Behold!  This is the skater dress pattern by Amanda of Kitschy Coo.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen this pattern circulate all over blogland many moons ago.  I have admired the simple, practical style of this pattern- it just seems like the perfect dress for a busy young girl.  It’s comfy, it’s a little swingy, and cute to boot!

I’m so happy I finally made one.

So, this pattern is sized in 2 year increments… 3Y/4Y. 5Y/6Y. 7/Y/8Y, etc… My kid is 6 and almost a half and pretty average, so I drew my pattern lines right between the 5Y/6Y and 7Y/8Y.  I think it’s just perfect- she will be able to wear it next year too.

The peacock feather fabric is from Girl Charlee, though it looks like it’s out of stock. Sorry peacock feather lovers (Caroline)!

The crazy-blinding-coma-inducing-neon pink binding is from a mistake purchase never-worn tank of mine (yikes.  what was I thinking?!?!), and I think it completely overshadows compliments the feathers fabric.  Am I right?

I sewed this entire dress on my regular machine, a pretty basic Kenmore from Sears that I’ve had for 4 years and not ONCE had an issue with (LOVE you, Kenny!! mwah!). I used a jersey needle using my stretch stitch, and I’m really happy with the result. I haven’t had the best luck with my serger for knits because the seams just don’t feel as sturdy. I haven’t found my serger groove yet I guess.

Oh, and using a little spray starch helped immensely when it came time to sewing the hem.  I spritzed a little on, ironed up 1″, and then sewed 2 rows of regular stitches.

I’m happy to report that this dress really is a quick sew.  The pattern is clear and really easy to understand.  I can’t wait to make more.

Ellery loves anything knit, so she immediately put it on and goofed around in her room.

Want to be hilarious?

Lose your two front teeth at once.

I can’t even look at her with a straight face.

-Erin

kcw day five: flashback dress

~ hungie gungie ~ 11 Comments

 There are plenty of times (like weeks at a time) that I don’t feel inspired to make anything, or my kids don’t need anything, or I just have no creative juices.  But I’m feeling super-charged this week and I think it’s because I’m conquering my fears about sewing with knits.  And it’s mostly because I have too- since it’s all my kids want to wear.

Caroline commented on my flashback tee for Coco the other day, “Congratulations, you are now a Flashback addict.”

Yup.  I am.

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I made this late at night, and could’ve been way more precise about sewing it all, but I wasn’t.  Basically, I cut the shirt off a couple of inches under the arm pit and added a nice big gathered rectangle (I stitched that to the bodice by using zigzag stitch and then I serged it). There is some definite wonkiness (at the gathered seam, and the hem), but Ell loves it!

(a-hem.  This photo shoot was a DOOZY.)

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This rib knit was pretty stretchy and even though I cut a size 5 for my kid, it really started to stretch out by the time she got home from school when I snapped these pictures.  The gray baby rib is from Joann and it’s awesome- great stretch recovery (like all my new lingo?).  It’s great for necklines and cuffs.

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The coral floral (hehe) fabric is from fabric.com, but I can’t seem to find it there anymore.  I got it for $3.49/yard and I am willing to take my chances on cheap knit from an online store.  I am not one of those “have to see it/feel it in the store” type of people.  There is excitement in a little risky fabric shopping!  I did make sure it was mostly cotton, with a little lycra, and I think that’s a good little rule to go buy when buying for basic shirts/dresses.

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Girl is growing like a weed.  Those high-waters and worn-out knees are being taken care of tomorrow, fyi.

Stayed tuned.

-Erin

KCW day one: flashback skinny tee

~ hungie gungie ~ 14 Comments

Another KCW is upon us (or as Caroline refers to it, “Neglect Your Household Week”), and I am jumping right in.  My plan this week is to sew things I know my kids will wear.  Comfy, practical stuff.  I spent a few hours this weekend cutting fabric and setting aside patterns.  You know, gathering my Mise en Place.

Up first is a flashback tee for Corinne in some incredibly soft brushed knit, size 2T.

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GRANT PHOTOBOMB! (he reeeeally wanted to take a “bwog” photo too. hehe.)

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GREAT pattern.  This would be the first time making this pattern using yardage… the past couple of times I sort of cheated by using my husband’s old shirts and keeping the existing hems.  This time around, I put it all together with the serger, and then switched to my sewing machine with a walking foot and zigzag stitch to hem the bottom and to attach the neckband (which came out hella perfect if you don’t mind me sayin’).  I might break out my twin needle sometime this week, but I do like that walking foot/zigzag combo.  So what if it isn’t totally profesh!?

Also, I would like an entire wardrobe made out of this fabric.  It’s fabulous stuff, I tell you.

See you tomorrow!

Erin

(p.s. Caroline is busy this week making NINE little minion outfits for Jet’s Despicable Me-themed Birthday party this week!  Good Mama right there…)