Kids Clothes Week – Day 3

It’s Kids Clothes Week at  Elsie Marley. The challenge is to spend an hour a day for the week making clothes for your kids. Here’s my Day 3 update. You can find Day 1 and 2 here.

Another day at the sewing machine and serger/overlocker, another day getting the seam ripper out! I really should concentrate a bit more, I think. At least I don’t make the same mistake twice – I find completely new ways to stuff things up. Enough of that for now…

Today, I started on some flat-front pants for my little man, in green striped material (Garden Magic twill in sage, from Moda to be exact, purchased from Whipstitch). I drafted the pattern from a pair of jeans, and am hoping the fit turns out ok! I spent the first 10 minutes of my sewing session debating whether I should try flat-lock seams for the side seams. After much to-ing and fro-ing, I decided I should get some more practice in with the overlocker before I venture into “decorative” work. I did a test run on an off-cut, and was pleased with the result, so started doing my first side seam. IT WAS TERRIBLE! The stitching was loose, all over the place, and the fabric wasn’t feeding through properly. After a minor freak-out and more disastrous test-runs, I discovered I’d left the foot up. I swear it’s much more obvious on my sewing machine!

Out came the seam-ripper, threads went everywhere, and I was back on track. After an hour and three quarters, here is the end result:

I still have to hem the legs (obviously), but need my little man to try them on to finish that. I think I will put a cuff on the bottom. When I cut out the pattern, I didn’t realise that the stripes were actually going the opposite way for the waist-band, but I really love the look of it. I also used a decorative stitch on my machine to create fake pocket and fly lines – I was feeling brave and decided to get fancy. I’ve never actually used any of the decorative stitches before.

I also love the button that I found in a local craft store. Nice to have a decorative but boyish button.

I’m loving these pants already and can’t wait to see them on my little man! If they fit well, I’ll make another pair and create a tutorial.

Next up: Tracksuit pants