It’s a free pattern with no seam finishing – which is my least favourite sewing task.
The easiest pattern I’ve ever sewn: the Lazy Days Skirt by Oliver + S.
I don’t have many construction photos of this skirt because I made this years ago. This is actually the third kid to wear this skirt. Yay, for hand-me-downs!
A couple of years ago I made bat costumes for my kids for Halloween. The kids loved them and wanted to wear them all the time, but they were maybe a little costume-y for regular wear.
So this year, I used the same pattern, the Red Riding Hood from the book Oliver + S Little Things to Sew, to make capes the kids could wear this fall.
Red Riding cape from the book Little Things to Sew, as sewn by The Finished Garment.The small was lined in a purple and red floral print.
I made the capes in three sizes: small, medium and large. The pattern only comes in medium and large so I had to draft my own small.
The medium cape was lined with this fun turquoise print.
I didn’t make any changes to the pattern, and even hand finished the arm openings for a nicer finish.
The large size was lined with the very last of this pale purple print.
I used some wool suiting that I bought out of season ages ago and chose a different quilting cotton to line each one. These were also from my stash. I think my total stash busting for these was about 8 meters (about 9 yards). Even the buttons were lonely singles from my button jar.
Even the buttons came from my stash.I think this button had no siblings, so a perfect project for it.I love the large hoods in this pattern.
The kids love the capes, especially the big hoods, and they are really well suited for easily fall and late spring. My husband likes them too, though he thinks they look like little assassins from the video game Assassin’s Creed. So maybe they are still a little costume-y after all.
Spring has finally spring here in Montreal, so I thought I’d share my last winter sewing project before it’s embarrassingly late.
Here in Quebec, it isn’t unusual to see temperatures around -30°C (-22°F) in the winter, and then +30°C (86°F) in the summer. It takes two different wardrobes. So each year I box up all the kids’ winter clothes and bring out all the summer clothes and take an inventory. It seems that over the winter my kids have all gone up at least one size, and one thing everyone was missing was pyjamas.
One last pair of PJs before spring.This fabric has been in my stash for ages. I’m really glad to get all that space back. Flannel takes up a lot of room.I sewed little tags in the back to they know how to put them on.
Once again I used the Bedtime Story Pajamas sewing pattern by Oliver + S, for the bottoms, and store-bought t-shirts for the tops. I used flannel for the bottoms, which may sound a bit crazy if you live somewhere warmer. But here, it’s likely be chilly at night right into May. I finished these in March, and they’ve gotten tons of wear. This fabric was chosen by the kids and has sat for ages in my stash, so it was time.
They are getting so big!
I’m not sure how many times I’ve used this pattern anymore, but it’s a lot. So I was sooooo sad to see that it only goes up to size 8. I’m sewing size 7 now, so it looks like I’ll have to branch out pretty soon.
Fabric: Flannel Star Wars Angry Birds Flannel in Blue from Camelot Fabrics.
Sizes: 3, 5, 7 and 7.
Sewing Level: beginner, intermediate if not just the pants.
Modifications: None.
Results: Excellent! I’ve madethesemany times before. I would highly recommend this pattern.
Just to be clear: Angry Birds and Star Wars names and images are licensed to Camelot Cottons by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Rovio Entertainment Ltd. The pjs shown here are not official licensed products and are not available for sale. But you can always buy some fabric and make your own!
Nothing says Saint Patrick’s Day like a velociraptor! Amiright?
Velociraptor!
I wanted to make the kids something green and fun for today. I found some great lime jersey, and figured the Field Trip Raglan T-shirt by Oliver + S, which I’ve used before, would be a good match for the fabric.
Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Then I spotted these amazing dinosaur iron-on vinyl transfers on Etsy. They are pretty cool, and fuzzy! And so a very dinosaur-themed Saint Patrick’s Day came to be. So much fun!
Always joking around, these two.So much dino.Love these iron-on transfers!
Summary
Pattern:Field Trip Raglan T-shirt by Oliver + S available in sizes 6m-12. Fabric: Stenzo cotton-spandex jersey in Lime stars and lime solid from L’Oiseau Fabrics. Sizes: 2, 4, and 7 (not shown). Cost: Pattern: (gift). Fabric: About $10-20/shirt. Sewing Level: Beginner. Modifications: I added bands to the sleeves, and didn’t put pockets on the shirts. Results: Rawwwwr!
I’m not sure how your October was, but mine was crazy! October is when work gets busy, homework piles us and then, Halloween! I managed to get a bit of sewing done for Kids Clothing Week (KCW). But did I get around to blogging it? Of course not.
The Field Trip Raglan T-shirt sewing pattern by Oliver + S, as sewn by The Finished Garment.
I try to sew my kids what they need, so with the approach of crisp fall weather, some long-sleeved tees seemed like a great project. I used the Field Trip Raglan T-shirt pattern by Oliver + S, and sewed it up in sizes 2, 4, and 6.
This is a super fast project. The instructions are great and there are only a few pattern pieces. The only change I made was to add bands to the sleeves. Partly, this was because I like the look, and partly this was because my kids are on the tall skinny size and I wanted to be sure the shirts last through the winter. Next time, I might go up a size, at least for the three bigger kids.
I added bands to the sleeves for a bit of extra length.
I used my regular sewing machine, as a I don’t have a serger, but this worked really well.
Love those stripes.The polkadots are fun tooWho doesn’t love rainbows?Love this colour combination.
The kids picked these fabrics themselves ages ago. Mostly I used cotton jersey from the Riley Blake collection, but the dark grey is from the Robert Kaufman Laguna collection. The Riley Blake colours are really bright, which I love, and the kids do too.
This pattern looks great colour blocked, especially with stripes. I’m seriously considering copying at least one of these tees using a grown-up pattern.
Jersey is usually about 60″ (150 cm) wide, so I found I had a lot of extra fabric left over. But that just meant that I had enough for a couple more cute projects that I’ll be blogging soon. Yay!
This is the shirt in size 2.This is the size 4.This is also a size 6, but Kid No 1 is just a bit taller.This is the size 6.
I really, really love these shirts. Even though they were super quick and easy projects, I’m really happy with the results. It’s really hard to find t-shirts that are fun and bright but that aren’t pink with sparkles or covered with logos. I’ll definitely be making more.
Cotton Jersey in Heathered Knit Pepper from the Laguna collection by Robert Kaufman.
Cotton Jersey in small chevron in aqua, small chevron in rainbow, small dots in red, solid red, and 1/2″ stripes in red, all from the Riley Blake Knits collection.
Sizes: 2, 4, and 6. Cost: Pattern: (gift). Fabric: About $10/shirt. Sewing Level: Beginner. Modifications: I added bands to the sleeves, and didn’t put pockets on all the shirts. Results: Amazing. My kids love these shirts and wear them at least once a week.
We’re just experiencing the last bit of summer here, so I’m taking the opportunity to show you one of my very last summer projects – two fun summer skirts.
It’s a very quick, easy pattern, and makes a nice, basic skirt. I made this in sizes 4 and 6. The only changes I made were to lengthen the size 4 by one inch, and the size 6 by two inches, and lower the kick pleat to match. I also added the pockets from the Oliver + S Sandbox Pants, to the back of the larger skirt.
I lengthened both skirtsAfter I lengthened it, the skirt is just right for looking for chipmunks.
I used stash fabric for both skirts, leftover from otherprojects. This pattern takes a little under 3/4 of a yard of fabric, per skirt, which is what I had.
The print is really fun for summer. I’m glad I could get two garments out of the fabric I had.
It’s a great pattern if you have just a little bit of fabric left over. But unfortunately, it meant that pattern matching was out of the question. Since this fabric would have been wasted otherwise, and these skirts were meant for casual fun, that seemed fine, this time around. I settled for an absence of awkward print placement, but I had to trace out the pieces with chalk a couple times in the size 6, to get that right.
This print is Bella Flower in Blue by Lotta Jansdotter. And I swear I ironed it right before this photo was taken.This print is Scoot Scoot in Blue from the Havana collection.Each skirt took less than 1 yard of fabric.
The skirts are a big hit and seem to get worn at least once a week, which is a lot with my sometimes finicky kids.
Scoot Scoot in Blue from the Havana collection by Monaluna (organic).
Sizes: 4 and 6. Cost: Pattern: 0$. Fabric: 0$ (all was leftover pieces from other projects). Sewing Level: Beginner. Modifications: I lengthened the skirt, by 1-2″, depending on the size, and lowered the kick pleat. Results: Great. These were fast, are super comfortable, and are now in heavy rotation.
I didn’t make many modifications. I shortened the pants to shorts. I also left off the drawstring waist and used a simple elastic waist. I left off the buttons on the pockets as well. Kid No 2 is not a fan of either. Drawstrings and buttons are his kryptonite. They also take longer, so I’m not complaining!
The pattern calls for 1 3/4 yards for the pants, but I got these shorts out of 1 yard of fabric.
A nice basic short.
The print is Scoot Scoot in Blue from the Havana collection by Monaluna. It’s a really nice, smooth organic cotton. I love the print, but unfortunately it was printed slightly off grain, which made cutting and pattern matching a bit of a pain. I’ve used other prints from the collection, without any problem, so I guess I was just unlucky this time.
Check out the pattern matching with those pockets.
Kid No. 2 loves bright colours and fun, but age-appropriate prints. Unfortunately, most of the clothes in the stores for boys his age are in darker, and/or more serious colours – lots of navy, grey and beige (yawn). One of the great things about sewing my kids’ clothes is being able to make them the things they really like.
The pants were a big hit.
This is also a stash-busting project for the Stashbusting Sewalong. I bought this fabric maybe a year ago, so I’m really happy to get it into regular rotation.
, to make capes the kids could wear this fall.
