I’m back with some girly mini Hudson pants.  I love this pattern!

I also love the pattern name- I went to school (CIA) in Hudson Valley, NY- right along the banks of the Hudson river, and I also lived in Hudson Hall.  What a dirty little dorm that was… But so so fun too!

Anyway, unlike last time, these Hudsons were gladly accepted and patiently waited for by my darlings, Ellery and Corinne.

I changed them up slightly from one another, but used the same main fabric- pink French terry from Les Fabriques.  The dark coral knit is also from there, as is the cream- both of those cotton/lycra blends are my favorite to work with.  They are by a company named Elite knits, and they’re just perfect for most of my knit projects.

The sweet floral on Coco’s pair, is from Girl Charlee.

I kept thinking of strawberry desserts as I was sewing these up.  It’s about that time of year.

I sewed a size 7 for Ell, and a 3 for Coco.  Both fit pretty great, though I think the French terry is more apt to sort of stretch out and not bounce back as well while sewing- I think once I wash these they will fit a little better.

I also decided to forego the buttonholes again, and just tack on a strip of knit for a faux tie.  It works for me, and shaves a solid 15 minutes off of messing with my machine.

The girls are in their Team Wes shirts which my talented Mom made last year- for each family member!  She sews all the time, and currently is really into machine embroidery and applique.  She makes her grandkids the cutest little shirts all the time for every holiday and occasion.  She’s the best Grandma!  She even has a etsy shop – if you ever need a personalized shirt or some doll clothes, she’s your gal!

Ellery made a couple of “Wes” signs too as props.  She loves to write notes to Wes at school too- they usually say something like, “Dear Wes, I love you. I love playing with you so so so so so so so so so much. Love Ellery, To Wes.”  They love their little cousin!

That’s it for me this week- the KCW fairies didn’t show up so my house is a hot disaster.

I’ll leave you with a classic Coco dance move:

– Erin

Oh, I wanted these pants to work out.

Grant is my easy-going lounger after-all.

“But Mom, they look like leggings.”

Yes.  But, they’re spider-man colors, dude!

Oye.  I will be shocked if he ever puts these on again.  He took them off as soon as I said “here’s your marshmallow.”

 It’s too bad, because I love these on him!

They’re the Mini Hudson pants by True Bias. But, you already knew that because until now, everyone has made these but me!

I made a size 5, probably should’ve just made a 6 (he’s an average brand new 5 year old).  I mean, I can see that the ankle cuffs could feel like wearing leggings a little bit.

The pattern is really great though- I have 2 more pairs cut out and ready to go for the girls.  I envisioned myself at the end of the week just tossing mini hudsons into the air and yelling, “YOU get a pair! YOU get a pair! YOU get a pair!” a la Oprah and her car keys.

The main navy fabric is a cotton/lycra blend bought locally at Les Fabriques here in Charlottesville. The gray rib knit is from Joann and I love having it on hand for cuffs and things.

I had a hard time making buttonholes, so I just tacked on a long strip of red knit for a tie.

Oh well.  He likes the pockets.

Stud pose:

I shall see you back soon with some girlie versions!

Good luck with your KCW sewing this week.  May magical fairies clean your house, fold the laundry, play with your kids, and make healthy dinners for you so you can bust some awesome stuff out!

-Erin

Coco is very “3” lately.

Which is fine now because she actually is three.  But, a few months ago when I took these pics, I remember just seeing it coming at me like a train.  My agreeable, cuddly, smiley 2 year old was ch-ch-ch-ch-changing…

Now, whiny, clingy, shockingly inappropriate, wild, goofy, opinionated (MUST WEAR SOCKS AT ALL TIMES AND IF THEY COME OFF THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY), sweet, sassy, and sensitive- somehow all appear now within the same 10- minute period.

She likes to steal my iphone and run from me while asking Siri if she poops on the potty, to which Siri often replies:

“This is about you, not me.”

I honestly cannot keep a straight face- she does things Ellery would never dream of.  Ellery (almost7) still says that she heard Grant say the “S-word”.  At 2, Coco was slinging the word “Stupid” around like nobody’s business.

Tourettes-style.

STUPIIIIIIIID!!!!!

  I’m convinced that the third child (a-hem, I’m one too) gets the crazy genes.

Anyway, this dress is not for Coco- she’s not really into dresses at the mo.  But I had this sweet metallic bird fabric to use up, so I made this dress anyway.  I ended up giving it to a good friend’s sister with a little girl Coco’s age.

STATS: Bohemian Babydoll, size 3, main fabric is Flight in Mint by Violet Craft, lining fabric is Cotton Couture in Orchid.

I love this kid so much.  I really see myself in her- I’m sure my  mother would agree!

-Erin

I’ve had some people say to me, “your kids must have a TON of clothes since you sew…”

Um, not the case at all!

Here’s my problem:

I talk myself out of buying things all the time because I sew.  Sometimes I look at my sweet children and the rags they are dressed in, and just shake my head.  I see a cute shirt at store and contemplate buying it until I see the price- I then say to myself ‘pah… I can just make it.’

Shirt never gets made.  Kid keeps on growing.

It’s just not a good system.

I decided to bust out a couple of staples this week to tie Ellery over until the next growth spurt.  The Lulu dress is a fantastic wardrobe addition.

This is a pattern by Jess of Craftiness is Not Optional. It’s a fairly easy sew- I think a great beginner pattern, especially if you’re new to sewing with knits.  Jess has great tips, and there are also several options to play around with. This one here is the pretty basic capped-sleeve version (size 7) made with a burgundy interlock from Joann’s, and grey and coral floral knit from Girl Charlee.

I love the waistband of this dress.  A casing is formed when you attach the bodice to the skirt, and you thread some elastic through to gently cinch this area together.  Brillz.

Another great feature of this pattern is that the skirt can be made from knit OR woven fabric.  This next version here is my favorite- long sleeves!

Since there isn’t a long sleeve option for the Lulu, I used the sleeve pattern piece from my Skater dress pattern and widened it a bit at the shoulder cap so I could gather it into puffed sleeves.  Eh, it kinda worked.

Anyone know of a good puffed-sleeve tutorial out there?

On this Lulu, I used Kaufman Laguna knit in cloud for the bodice, and some nice lightweight chambray for the skirt.

I added a pocket and the tie at the front- both options that Jess includes in the pattern.

Oh, one thing I wanted to mention is the length of this dress- I almost always add an inch or so to my girls’ dresses.  The Lulu is just perfect the way it is.  I love the length, and I just feel like she’ll get more wear out of it.

We loves it!

-Erin

 

A month ago, I blogged this flannel Voila blouse.  I wear that one often- it’s so comfortable!

But, this plum double gauze version is the one I made first.

Sweet sister Caroline insisted I give her ALL of my kids on my birthday (a.k.a. New Year’s Eve), so I could have a day to myself.  SO nice, right?!  So, I dropped my kids off with her in a parking lot sometime after 9 am, came home and sewed this shirt before grabbing a delicious pizza-and-prosecco lunch with my main squeeze, then meeting for coffee with my buddy, Taylor (who always reads this blog even though she doesn’t sew and claims to have “baby seals for thumbs”.  Shout-out to you, T-bone!), and then back to Caroline’s house for dinner and birthday cake.

It really was the perfect day.

And while I don’t wear this one quite as much as the flannel one, I still like it a lot.  I learned a couple of things making this one, and applied those to the second.  Mainly, on the flannel one I cut my skirt pieces smaller by about a third- I think the reason I’m not totally in love here is because it’s still just a bit too wide, even though I chopped a few inches off… maybe 5 on each panel?

  I’m all for flow-y, but 1st triemester? Not so much.  I mean, unless there’s a real baby in there. 😉

This is my first time sewing with double gauze.  I GET IT, FRIENDS.  IT’S THE SHIT. I mean, when it first came in the mail, I was like, eh… I guess it’s nice.  But once I washed it up, I could see why it’s a favorite material for many.  It’s like wearing a fluffy cloud that just gets softer and more cloud-like the more you wash it.

 I purchased mine from the Imagine Gnats shop during a 20% off sale- I don’t see the plum colorway anymore, but Rachael has several more to choose from, and she often has great little sales.

Anyway, I do still recommend the Voila pattern… just be careful about that skirt piece width or you might end up looking like you’re carrying quintuplets.

Bye!

-Erin

Erin and I are both married to chefs.  Strange, I know.  We also look alike, sound alike, and drive gold minivans.  Oh, and then there’s this sewing blog we share too, but you already know about that ;).  Anyway, Erin and I find ourselves husbandless on most weekends, and certain holidays, like V-day, so we team up a lot.  Today we tried to go rollerskating about 30 minutes away, in “a town that time has forgotten”, and we FAILED.  The rink has been closed for 2 years.  Erin was all, “I think they have matinee prices on Saturdays, like $4 a person.”  Um, maybe that’s why they were forced to CLOSE THEIR DOORS FOREVER!  Two years ago!  The kids were not happy.

So there we were in Random-ville with nothing to do.  We wandered into a couple stores, raised some proper six-kids-in-tow hell, grabbed a pizza and got heck out of dodge.  As we pulled out of the parking lot, and Avery broke her dollar store slappy-hand, she declared, “this is the worst day ever”.

Oh well, you can’t win em all.

Let’s see, how does this story relate?  Well, I made a Valentine’s skater dress for Avery!  So, there ya go.

She really loves it!  It’s made from some ultra stretchy knit that I picked up at the Michael Levine wholesale store in Los Angeles last year, for 2 dollars a pound!  That place is fun, and nuts.

I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t my favorite to sew with.  The stripes are tough to match up with the fabric being super stretchy.  But I had fun with it anyway.  I’m not sure if you can tell that the gold stripes are sparkly?  Scoring points with the little girl!  I had some scraps of an old, sparkly-gold, sweater that matched up well for the cuffs and neckline.

 I cut a scrappy head-wrap for myself, but Avery claimed it.  Looks better on her anyway.

I have so much love for MY FUNNY VALENTINE.

While I had the pattern cut out in a size six, I busted out another skater for a special friend of Wes’…

This one was sent off to the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia, where Daphne is staying during her treatment.  We love her!  She was like a substitute Avery for Wes and when we all stayed there together.  Please pray for her cure!

This fabric was MUCH nicer to work with.  It’s from Girl Charlee.  If they don’t have it anymore, there are lots of other cool knits there.  This one was also well complimented by the gold sweater remnants.  You can see that I attempted to put a size tag in, but was totally off center with it.  Phooey.

I hope all of your Valentine’s dreams came true today.  But, if they were shattered like ours, well, I hope that you can laugh about it!

I know.  Another dress.

::yawn::

My good friend, Catie gave me this really pretty vintage botanical print that her mom had saved for a long time- her mother told her it is probably 40 years old. Wowzers! I contemplated making a bunch of bibs or something with it.  The fabric (which I found here on etsy) is divided into all these panels- I think it was intended for easy pillow making?

 But, because I’m totally predictable, I made a dress.

Another Charlie, size 3, fully lined.

I used cotton couture (obvi) in gold for the flounce, and a cool gold button at the back closure.

Not much more to say.

Other than that I just love this one on Corinne.

But I think she’s done with me.

Peace.

-Erin

Heeeello friends!

I’m back today with a project for me.  This is the Voila blouse by Cali Faye Collection.

This is the second voila that I’ve made.  I took pictures of the other one as well, but I’ll save it for another post so I don’t inundate you with my awkwardness all at once…tee hee.

Anyway, this version is my favorite of the two- which ended up surprising me because it’s flannel and I had no clue how it would hang in this style.  But, it is THE COMFIEST. And, it just kind of goes with my winter wardrobe (a.k.a. jeans + cardigans + runny noses).

I cut my pattern between the M and L lines, which is generally what I’ve been doing when sewing for me.  The bodice fits great- most importantly, it feels perfect around my arms and chest…it doesn’t pull tight when I reach for things, or when I’m bending down to get something.  Really, it’s just a nice, forgiving fit.

Now, the skirt piece.

Holy lotsa fabric! Would you believe me when I say I narrowed these by cutting 8 inches from the front piece, and 8 inches from the back? Can you picture this with 16 more inches of width?!?!! I know!  It’s nuts… I’m not sure there is a perfect fabric out there that would look okay with all that width.  Luckily, the flannel isn’t all that billowy, but I think you should also consider narrowing the skirt pieces significantly, regardless of your fabric choice if you happen make this pattern.

Oh, and I did lengthen this because I lengthen everything.

I purchased this flannel locally at Les Fabriques, and it was a no-namer.  I liked the thin yellow lines running through, and I happened to have a yellow gauze shirt in the same shade, so I hacked up for the bodice lining.

I love how the neckline is wider at the back.  Thank you, old self for not tattooing anything scary back there!

So, I would definitely recommend this pattern to a beginner.  It’s really an easy sew.  However, the directions are a bit sparse.  No one is telling you to press anything or finish a seam, so you just have to use your common sewing sense- no biggie, but I could see how that could bother some of you type-A’s out there.

I’ll be back soon with another Voila (hint: first ever double gauze!).

Ciao!

-Erin