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.
So where have I been, you may be asking? Each I year I co-organize an open source tech conference. It was on June 29-30. It is huge and crazy and getting through the pile of laundry afterwards is an amazing feat. But I am officially back in my usual, crazy, mum-of-four swing of things.
My first job has been to tame the email, and what was awaiting me there? A prize!
Yes, I am one of the official winners of the shorts on the line giveaway. My prize is the Kid Shorts by MADE. It looks really cute and I can’t wait to try it out. And since it fits kids 12 months to size 10, that means I’ll have to make four. Shorts, shorts, shorts! Thanks to Rachel of Imagine Gnats and Carla of Small + Friendly for organizing both the Shorts on the Line contest (which I also entered) and the giveaway. And thanks to Dana of MADE for donating the prize.
Kid Shorts by MADE (used with permission)
And what else did I get to now that life is getting back to normal… the fabric store!
It’s about 40 degrees with the humidex during the day here in Montreal – unbearably hot and humid. I kept seeing all the local mums in these fabulously comfortable jersey maxi dresses. I’ve been having babies for so long now that my (non-maternity) wardrobe is just pitiful, so I figured it was time for some summer sewing for me.
McCall’s M 6760 Misses’ Dress and Jumpsuit and some spongey bamboo jersey.
This is some really soft, really spongey bamboo jersey and McCall’s M 6760. The photo makes the fabric look darker than it is. It’s actually a medium grey and medium-weight. Now that I’ve blogged it I will be forced to sew it. No procrastinating allowed!
I know, I know, all the dresses on the pattern envelope are made of georgette or some other airy fabric, but definitely not knit fabric. But there it was on the back of the envelope, “jersey”.
And the bonus is that with jersey, I won’t need to line it or use an invisible zipper. I’m just a bit concerned that the jersey might be a bit heavy and weigh too much on the waistband, but we will soon find out. The waistband is meant to be interfaced, but then it won’t be as comfortable. Hmmm. dilemma, dilemma. I love the fabric, but I could also do a glorified t-shirt maxi dress instead. Maybe a bit dull, in grey though. What would you do? Suggestions welcome.
These are the Parsley Pants (as shorts) from Made by Rae, and the fabric is Bella Flower in Blue. I made the pattern as shorts, added pintucks, box pleat pockets and a flat-front waistband.
I am really happy with these. They aren’t your boring, everyday shorts. The pattern has a number of variations included, and there are additional tutorials for this pattern on the Made by Rae blog. I opted for added pintucks on the front and back, box pleat pockets and a flat-front waistband.
I top stitched and edgestitched the pockets and pocket flaps. You can see the pintucks here as well. I also used flat felled seams inside (sorry, no photos).
I also followed Made by Rae’s instructions for how to make shorts from a pants pattern, and partially followed the tutorial for how to make super seams where the Parsley shorts are used as an example. I used flat felled seams for the inseam on my shorts.
I was going for a surfer girl look, and I really like how these turned out.
Here are the shorts are on my 6-year-old. I was going for a surfer girl look, and I think this is a success largely because of the fabric. It’s fun and not too precious for my big girl. I made the shorts in a size seven, though according to the pattern sizing my daughter should be in a six. But seven fits perfectly and should last the summer. I’m so glad I opted to go bigger.
Just the right length!
I used a 2.5 inch inseam when making the shorts. They end up being long enough that the box pleat pockets have enough room, but still look girly.
I love this pattern! And kid #2 has already requested his own pair of shorts, so the kids like it too.
There was quite a bit of extra fabric, so I decided to make a headband to match. I used this German pattern from Erbsenprinzessin. But things went badly awry. The headband turned out to be way too small. We don’t have a shortage of small heads here, so I was hoping it would fit my two-year-old, but no!
The first headband was so small that only my smallest could wear it. And she has no hair!
The only head that would fit is my 11-month old, and she has no hair! I’m not usually one for headbands on babies (I think she looks a bit like a ninja), but since I had already sewn it up, I figured it should be worn at least once.
I also made a matching headband.
So back to the drawing board! I made the whole thing again much larger and it seems to be a big hit.
The headband is in two pieces with elastic in the back only.
Now that I have the sizing right, I’ll probably make this pattern again.
Sewing Level: Intermediate (with the modifications below), or beginner.
Modifications: I followed the included instructions for added pintucks on the front and back, box pleat pockets and a flat-front waistband. I top stitched and edgestitched the pockets and pocket flaps. I also used flat felled seams in the inseam.
Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.
Summary 2
Pattern Review: Haarband für Kinder by from Erbsenprinzessin (in German)
The Finished Garment 