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A Little Non-KCWC Sewing

10/15/2012

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For those of you who don't follow Elsie Marley, last week was KCWC. That stands for Kid's Clothing Week Challenge- in order to participate, you agree to spend one hour a day working on making kid's clothes for one whole week. I did not officially participate, but I did sew some clothes for 5 last week!
If you've never heard of it, you should definitely check out Elsie Marley and her KCWC flickr group.
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5 is still a huge fan of spending as much time outside as possible, regardless of the weather. With the increasingly colder weather, we've been trying out some new warmth-inducing outfits. The boys reached a consensus on overalls with a long pants, long sleeves one piece underneath. We only have one of each of these, so Fred requested some more for dirty outside playtime...
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I'll have more (and better) pictures of these soon, but for now, here are the details:
The Pattern: I drafted a pattern from his existing ones, simplifying a few of the extra fussy details.

The Fabric: The outside is from Jessica Jones' Outside Oslo line, and the inside is brown cotton flannel from Joann's

The Sewing: I decided a flannel-lined overall would be the best for cozy-ness. I only ended up using 1/2 yard of each fabric, which was super exciting.
They came together surprisingly easily, probably 2-3 hours total sewing time. My pattern for the legs turned out a bit wonky, so I had to re-cut and then bind the hem. I really liked the result though.
I used snap tape on the inseam and replaced the buckles and standard overall buttons with regular buttons. That was a bit of an adventure as I sewed the button holes completely random sizes and then just tried buttons from my stash until I found ones that fit. Almost all of them are different sizes.

Overall, I'm calling them an unmitigated success. 5's reaction- "wooooooooow"!
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The long pants, long sleeve one piece was way easier and faster- I will definitely crank out a bunch more of these! Again, proper model-y shots coming...

The Pattern: drafted from his existing one, minus the hood and button placket on front, converted to raglan sleeve.

The Fabric: recycled T-shirts and red cotton ribbing from Joann's (plus snap tape bought online from an Etsy shop a few years ago)

The Sewing: This is like a fancy version of his raglan shirts that I can whip out in about 15 minutes! This one probably took me 30ish though, because of the snap tape. Seriously, I cannot stress enough how easy this was- sew sleeves to body, minus last seam, add ribbing and top-stitching around the neck, sew up last seam, sew side seams, sew crotch panel, add snap tape, sew on ribbing around the bottom of legs, done!

Overall, super fun with bonus sense of accomplishment!

Coming up in the next week or two- a new recipe and a perfect holiday/ baby gift tutorial!

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Mama Sewing

8/12/2012

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Earlier this summer, I was despairing over the lack of perfect tank tops laying around. Then I realized that I make clothes. Duh. I copied my perfect raglan T pattern from the armpits down and then added a bit of winging it for the neckline. Voila! Perfect racerback tank!
On the prototype (not pictured) the straps nearly outwitted me, but I think I have it figured out now. I have been so happy to have these few that I have made in the last month of near 100 degree temps, especially as I'm ridiculously picky about my tank tops. I prefer everything to be a racerback and it has to be fitted but not clingy etc etc.
Now I just need Joann's to have my favorite teal ribbing back in stock...
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Happy Friday

8/10/2012

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Happy Friday friends! I'm currently so far under the weather that I am using it as a blanket to help me sleep. While I'm busy recovering, I thought I'd share this little house I made for Five. I used AmbrosiaGirl's simple tutorial to transform one of our leftover moving boxes into Five's favorite hiding spot. It took about 15 minutes and some of my excessive tape stash. Yay!

On a side note, Fred's been trying to teach 5 to play hide-and-seek. 5 has three hiding spots; under the desk, in the house, and under the laundry basket. When it's Fred's turn to hide, he tells him where he's supposed to hide, counts "one too six six six" and then yells "boo!" at Fred. Best. Game. Ever.
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August!

8/5/2012

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The summer is flying by so fast! It's a bit late, but I thought I'd try to catch up a little...
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While I'm away at work all day, 5 and his Dad go on adventures! Every day! They go to the river, fish, bike all over town, walk to the coop for bananas, and get up to all kinds of mischief.
(5 is wearing one of his most recent mama-made tanks, refashioned from one of my favorite old T-shirts).
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Also, since my last post, 5 has become obsessed with "counting". His method of counting is whimsical at best- there's usually a color or two thrown in and he repeats his favorite numbers at will. So far, I am loving 21 month old math.
He has become an avid copycat, repeating the most entertaining words uttered in any given sentence (read: watch. your. mouth. mama.)
My favorite August development though is his newfound use of the words big and tiny. Tiny especially, because it's all his. Fred and I don't say tiny. Our books don't say tiny. We're really not sure where it's from. But we love to hear everything in our lives that is now big or tiny.
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The best parts of my day? The hugs and kisses I get leaving and then returning from work. The boy has really learned to show some love.
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Summer Sewing

7/21/2012

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What small amount of sewing I have squeezed in in the last few weeks has been thoroughly summer-y. With triple digit temperatures and all three of us spending so much time outside (some of us for work, some for play...), 5 and I have had need of more tank tops! There is a whole parade to be modeled and photographed, but that little dude is rather uncooperative while sleeping, so I'll just show you the one for now...
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I'm so happy this one worked out. It's made from an old shirt of mine that is so ridiculously small I can't really believe I used to wear it. I loved this shirt and it makes me feel kind of magical to be able to change it into something my son can now love.
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Here's a nice detail shot where you can see I took my time and did a little zigzag stitching so the ribbing would lay flat. I don't think I did it on the other ones I made for him, but I was feeling pretty proud of this one.
I also just perfected my own tank top pattern- all the things I like in a tank top, together, at once! Sometimes it takes me a really long time, but sewing for myself is soooo satisfying. It may just be enough to get me through another hot hot sweaty exhausting week. Hooray!
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Days 4 & 5- Sunhat and Tank Tops

4/27/2012

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As it turned out, I needed to take Day 4 kind of easy. I had already planned on doing the smallest project that day, but then, I just couldn't muster up the energy to even write about it. Instead, I joined 5 for the last part of his nap. Mmmmm naps.
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My day 4 project was a new sunhat for the big-headed boy. He still tries to wear his hat from last year and it's too small by about 2 inches. Comical? Yes. Effective? No. I used this pattern from Sew Much Ado with only one major tweak- I added an elastic chin strap. It's very windy here in the Copper Country and we like to be prepared...
I agonized for what seemed like forever over how to do a chin strap on a reversible hat and in the end, I'm super happy with my crazy easy solution. The chin strap just hugs the back of the head above the brim when the hat is inside out. Pretty simple.
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The tank tops were a breeze and so fun to throw together. Each one only took me between 10-20 minutes from start to finish. Gotta love that kind of garment... Plus, 5 turns into an extra big ham when he's wearing one of these muscle-baring shirts. I think he just likes to let the pythons loose.
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All three of these tanks are made from old T shirts and they were all made from an Ottobre pattern. I had so much fun choosing which shirts to repurpose for these. The top one refers to a local historic smelter that my husband has done some committee work on, this one is a local festival in my childhood neighborhood, and you may recognize the bottom one from an earlier post this week...
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This dragon top may be my favorite. I used the sleeves for his cardigan from Day 1 so I ended up with just the tiniest pile of scraps from this shirt. I love a really thorough repurpose! I remember buying this shirt at a bag sale at one of our local thrift stores- it was way too short to ever wear as is, but the print was so fun I just knew the perfect project would come along.

Even though there are technically two more days in the KCWC, I decided weeks ago that I would probably only do 5 fast and furious days because I believe wholeheartedly that a weekend is a beautiful thing. If you want to see more inspiring handmade children's clothing you should definitely check out the elsiemarley flickr pool, there are some really amazing creations up there!

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

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Day 2 - Pants

4/24/2012

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Day 2 of the Kid's Clothes Challenge and we are off to a super great start! First, my houndstooth cardigan from yesterday was featured on Elsie Marley's blog today! Go check it out! Marvel at how it looks just like it did on my blog, but famouser! And then look at the rest of the amazing and wonderful things that Elsie Marley does!
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Today, we did pants. Pants are a comfy, happy place in my sewing land- sometimes irritating, but rarely mystifying. Just right for day 2 of 7. This first pair are Big Butt Baby Pants from Made By Rae, a pattern I whole-heartedly recommend. I made 5 a pair of these, in this same fabric, in this same size, for Christmas, or his birthday, or something. Which leads me to why this pair was made. Originally, I cut out two right legs. Hmmph.
Luckily they're the cutest thing with two legs and they're still! huge on him, so I happily made him another pair today, un-flannel-lined, and with a butt-accentuating contrasting panel.
The main fabric is Echino cotton/linen blend and the butt panel is something out of print from my scrap stash.
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This is the only repurposed pair of the day - GASP! It's true, almost all of my sewing is with repurposed materials, but I also have a slight fabric obsession so I've been trying to use some of my favorites that I've been (ahem) hoarding....
Made from one of his Dada's old concert Tshirts, normal baby 5 is transformed into hip, too-cool-for-school, Beck-loving 5! Kind of.
These are made from a pattern I made myself.
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Finally, the fancy pants. I've been dreaming of making these pants since I bought this fabric. The fabric came from India and is a cotton silk blend. Aren't the selvedges gorgeous? I used Rae's BBBPants pattern for these as well, but I only had a half yard of fabric, so I had to modify it a little. They fit perfectly right now, but they're probably going to be fancy shorts by Summer's end.

Tomorrow- Shorts!

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Day 1

4/23/2012

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Elsie Marley's KCWC begins today! I decided to start the week off with a pair of cardigans- something I hadn't tried before, but really the only thing on my list that 5 will be able to wear right now. It'll be a while before we'll be wearing shorts and tank tops...

So, I've seen this trick that bloggers use when showing a piece of clothing they've made where they tape it to the wall and I'd wondered why they did that. Today, after trying to get my little ham to stand still for even 1 second and only managing the surly above picture for our troubles, I realized, that's why they tape it to the wall.
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I made this, the macho-est pink houndstooth cardigan you ever did see, from a big, shoulder-padded, ladies cardigan. I was able to cut in a way that preserved the existing trim (yay) even for the hood (double yay). The only thing I had to get rid of in the original was the buttons. They were big shiny metal ball guys and they just screamed out for mall-bangs somehow. So I removed them and replaced them with some saved Land's End pants buttons.

The pockets got really a lot smaller once I made it 5-sized, but they will still hold sticks, or pens, or something else sharp and pointy, and therefore beloved by my darling boy.
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The other cardigan was slightly less successful, but I think I might be able to fix it. Somehow.

It's made from two different women's shirts and purchased ribbing for the trim. The orange one was actually a henley and I used the rest of the body on a project earlier in the year. After I cut the bottom off, I held it up to 5 and just knew it had to become a little jacket of some kind.

The only issue is that the neck is just too big. The original shirt was a scoop neck and I broke some synapses trying to un-scoop it with no luck. It's awfully cute on him though.

Day 2 = Pants!

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Pouf Experiment

4/16/2012

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Please pardon my brief and unexpected absence- 5 and I caught the bug going around and I kept thinking I could still get everything done. Turns out I couldn't. We are starting to feel better and consequently, my to-do list is getting shorter!

Last week, I made this little experimental pouf. I had been inspired by something similar on etsy a few weeks back, and when I revisited it, I thought perhaps I should just give it a go. It's the body of an old cotton sweater with the armholes sewn shut, stuffed and then gathered at the top and bottom. Nice use for an armless sweater I thought.
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It still needs some tweaking- I couldn't gather it tight enough to get the bottom hole all the way closed and the armhole seams are a little lumpy. The other unfortunate thing about this project is that my husband hates it. Hmph. He says pillows should be "regular-shaped". Hmph again.
I'm currently brainstorming ideas to fix all of these problems (and more)! Any suggestions?
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New Pants!

3/22/2012

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I noticed the other day that 5 has kind of a lot of capri pants... funny, because I never got him any- oh yeah! He keeps getting taller!
What a perfect excuse to try out the pants pattern from Hammer & Thread! I found it a few weeks ago and have been meaning to try sizing it down for 5. Mostly, I just made it shorter. I'm well aware that my little dude is a bit of a tank.
Their pattern is pretty basic, but it's nice and high in the back and it's designed to be made from a Tshirt! Who doesn't love a good Tshirt repurpose?
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They came together crazy fast- just 3 seams plus the waistband. I think I'll need to make the next pair even shorter, they're about an inch too long, but he hasn't tripped yet, so we're good for now...
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Another related and exciting (at least to me) thing- I signed up to participate in Elie Marley's Kid's Clothing Week Challenge 2012! If you've never heard of it, you should definitely check it out. For you Rispoklife readers, it really just means that the last week of April will be chock full of new handmade clothes for 5. Yay!
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    My name is Ansley Knoch. I am the creator of Rispok, a line of accessories for big and little people made from repurposed materials. I live in Madison, Wisconsin with my husband, Fred, and our son, also Fred, better known as 5.

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