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Kids Clothes Week Challenge – Day 0 and 1


It’s Kids Clothes Week over at  Elsie Marley this week. The challenge is to spend an hour each day for a week making clothes for the kids in your life. There are over 300 participants to keep you motivated (and rumours of prizes…). Check out the Flickr pool here.

I’ve decided it’s time to get my son’s summer wardrobe organised (since I’m an Aussie). I’ve bought a few T-shirts and pairs of shorts here and there, but with a new baby on the way, I have a sneaky suspicion that the washing machine may not get operated as frequently as it should at times, so I better make sure he has plenty of clothes. T-shirts and shorts are the order of the day.

I recently subscribed to Ottobre magazine and loved the look of most of the clothes. In fact, while I was flicking through and commenting on how nice everything was, my husband said to me “We’ve got a lot to do before the baby arrives, and NOT ALL OF IT IS SEWING!”. Hmmm….Anyway, I’m giving at least a couple of the patterns from the Summer 3/2010 edition, starting with the raglan T-shirts. I decided not to get quite as fancy as the magazine, but used the basic patterns (since I really wasn’t confident about sewing with jersey/knit, and in my abilities to follow the patterns!).

I found the fabrics at my local chain fabric store (starting with S for the Aussies who are interested – I don’t like mentioning the name as I really detest my local store, but have few options for a walk-in store!). I was actually really surprised to find some cute boy prints (although I was worried they were a bit too pyjama-like for day-wear, so I’m using the prints just for the sleeves to start with). The ribbing was mostly from my stash, some of which I’d found in my local thrift stores (I don’t even remember buying the grey!). Here are my first creations:

A pretty good beginner attempt with lightweight knits, although it is a bit gathered in some places. I’m considering putting an applique on the front as well to make them a bit snazzier. We’ll see if I get the motivation (and courage – I’m a little nervous about the knit factor)!

OK, I’ll confess – I actually started the challenge a day early. My husband took our toddler for a long walk yesterday, and I made the most of the free time by jumping on the sewing machine. I made the blue/yellow/train top yesterday, and the gray/white/ghost top today (with cutting the material out for this one and another T-shirt last night). It took me about 2.5 hours to complete the first one (with some seam-ripping and swearing – sometimes I just don’t think!), and 1.5 hours for the second (including fabric cutting time).

One more photo of my cute little man:

The plan is to make one more T-shirt tomorrow, then start on some shorts. For people wanting some Fall/Autumn inspiration, check out my last Kids Clothes Week Challenge summary here.

5 Comments

  1. Fabulous job! I am really impressed! Sewing clothes intimidates me! Thanks for the inspiration though!

    Would love it if you joined my wallet giveaway!
    crazycraftbugs.blogspot.com

  2. Your little man is adorable! I love your little tees. I also think you’ve done a great job using the prints on the sleeves – it sets them off really well. I’m inspired – if only I had a little one to sew for! *sigh* 🙂

    x amy

  3. What a cutie, and I’m impressed that you find time to make clothes! Thaks for visiting my blog during my SITS Day!

  4. The fabrics you picked are really cute. Wish I had time to make some of these!! Thanks for linking to Craftastic Monday:)

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