Kids' Clothes Week: Day Camp Set by Peekaboo Pattern Shop

Today, I bring you more blurry photos with direct, middle-of-the-day sunlight! I took these the same day as the ones for my last post, so don't judge. Instead, feast your eyes on this handsome little man in his Day Camp Set by Peekaboo Pattern Shop!

Both the tee and shorts are FREE and come in sizes 2T-5T. I made both in a 2T for Ezra who is 20-19-21, about 34-35" tall and 27-28lbs. He typically wears 18-24mo in Gap/Old Navy clothing and is quickly moving into 2Ts. You know how I like to make my kids' clothes with a little room, so if you're questioning whether to size up if in-between on these, I'd go up. I've found that Amy's patterns are usually very true-to-measurement with little growing room. That's a great thing if you want a trim-fitting, nice-looking garment. The only modification I made was to lower the front neckline of the tee by about 5/8-3/4". As you can see, it's spot-on for him.

The yellow jersey (tee) and twill (shorts) are both from Fabric Depot in Portland. The geometric jersey was something I had left over from another project and came from Wanderlust Fabrics. The ribbing is from my stash. I did some decorative coverstitching on my Janome Coverpro 1000CPX. I regret not taking some close-ups of the stitching, but oh well. Such is life!

I actually made three of these tees in different color/print combinations, and they all look fabulous. I made the shorts in gray, khaki and navy. Perhaps I'll get around to photographing them all at some point, but for now, I'm just trying to get caught up so I can get back in the swing of blogging regularly. :)

SO, if you have a toddler/preschooler, go grab this free pattern! Both the pieces could work for a girl, too, with simple modifications (or exactly as they are, really).

Kids' Clothes Week: Oliver + S Swingset Skirt & Girls' Flutter Sleeve Top by It's Always Autumn

Whoop, whoop - Harper has finally decided she likes having her picture taken! And I finally decided to get my camera out! And no, I didn't sew and photograph this all in one hour! I made it weeks ago. But I digress. First, let's talk about...womp womp womp...my photography for this post.

A long, long time ago (last summer/fall)...in a far away land (Salt Lake City and surrounding)...I took great photos. Well, I took decent photos. I knew all the great spots and had golden hour figured out LIKE A BOSS.

Enter Portland. We moved last November, and despite my efforts to set up a little in-house studio, my photography has gone downhill really fast. There are several reasons.

1. My camera has basically been missing in action since November. I mean, I've known where it is. But I haven't used it much at all. When I took the pics for this post, I basically put it in auto and went with it. I had limited time, and I was so excited Harper was cooperating, the thought of figuring out manual again was the last thing on my mind.
2. I haven't figured out the lighting situation here just yet. Obviously, these photos were taken in the middle of the day - BAD, bad, bad...I know. But I did what I had to do considering I am now 38 weeks pregnant and basically can't get the kids to the park without help. Golden hour here is truly magnificent - especially on the rainy-turned-semi-sunny days, but you know...it comes kind of late now, and my kids go to bed at 7:30...and, well. It is what it is.
3. I also haven't scouted out any great locations. I mean, I'm surrounded by them. Portland is GORGEOUS. But I need to find those *perfect* places that are semi-secluded and that I can get to easily with two (soon, 3) small children.

So yeah. I know you guys get it. But let's talk about this out-of-focus outfit, shall we?

The top is a FREE (yes FREE!) pattern by It's Always Autumn called the Flutter Sleeve Top or Dress. It only comes in size 4, but that was perfect for us. I did shorten the neckline elastic a little because I found it was a little too spicy for my narrow-shouldered girl as directed in the instructions. Super easy to sew - super fast to sew - looks great - check, check, check.

The skirt is the Swingset Skirt by Oliver + S. I have only recently started sewing O+S because I don't know why...but I am loving the patterns. I think that maybe I find their pattern cover artwork a little distracting - like I can't really see what the garment looks like as they're drawn? Maybe. I'm more of the line-drawing-and-simple-photo kind of sewist when it comes to picking out patterns.

BUT: I'm so glad I started using them because they really are as great as people say they are. Harper's measurements are all-over-the-place for O+S; she's 21-20-22 which translates to anywhere from a 12-18m to a 2T, but her height (38") puts her pretty squarely in a 3T. (She is almost 4 and weighs around 32lbs in case you're trying to compare your kid's size/age to mine.) I had heard O+S patterns run big, but I am one of those annoying people who errs on the large side when sewing for my kids, so I went with the 3T. I also lengthened the skirt a hair - maybe 5/8" - but as you can see, that probably wasn't necessary. The great thing is that the skirt has a drawstring waist with light elasticity, so she will get to wear this one for a long time without looking sloppy.

The trickiest part of sewing the skirt (and I use that term loosely) was lining up the buttonholes in which to feed the elastic/drawstring. They are pretty tiny buttonholes, so that could be a deterrent for some. You could probably substitute some grommets there for a different look if you so chose. I love doing buttonholes though!

Both garments were quick and easy, and I highly recommend either/both.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet so I have some time to go back and read my camera manual tonight (hahaha), but I've been sewing a ton for the kids these last few months and hope to have some more to share with you soon.

Until next time...

TOP FABRIC: London Calling (voile) in SWEET by Robert Kaufman SKIRT FABRIC: Lightweight denim in Bleach Indigo Wash by Robert Kaufman SHOES: Cherokee Brand Joan Glitter Sandals @ Target (the similar-looking ones from Old Navy are of inferior quality! Trust me!) All fabrics purchased at Fabric Depot in Portland, Oregon.

Aster Cardigan to Quilted Jersey Dress REMIX!

You can read my original review of the Aster Cardigan by Vanessa of Willow & Co Patterns here. Or, you can just enjoy these photos of one of my favorite garments I've ever made for Harper. Or ever. No really. It is that good. I'd had this dress idea in mind for quite some time, and after picking up this quilted jersey from Mood Fabrics in NYC (which is sadly out-of-stock thanks in part to yours truly - but here is a blue version), I knew it had to happen.

I'm not one to re-create the wheel if it already exists, so when I saw the fit of my first Aster Cardigan on Harper, I decided to remix it a bit to make my quilted-jersey-dress dreams come true.

The remix was really quite simple; all I did was fold the center front of the front bodice piece inward at the foldline notch so it was the same width as the back bodice piece. I then taped the front bodice pattern piece onto a larger piece of tracing paper, and I marked a point 22" down from the shoulder (to create a 20-21" dress which is the standard shoulder-to-knee measurement for a 2-3 year old plus a little for a hem).

Starting at the underarm, I drew an angled line down to the 22" point creating an A-line shape. I drew in the bottom hem with a slight curve, and that was about it. Of course, I had to also draw in that A-line dress section for the back. Okay, truth be told, I used the same pattern piece as for the front...I just made sure to the the higher, back neckline instead.

Oh, I also lengthened the main sleeve piece by about two inches to hem it instead of creating cuffs. And then, I simply cut all the pieces out on the fold. For the neckline facing, I just cut a long strip of the same fabric with a width of about 2".

Before I did any of the main garment construction, I created a facing piece the length of my zipper and applied it to the back bodice piece - creating this adorable exposed zipper. I also skillfully created completely improvised a little flap behind the zipper to protect Harper's skin from the metal teeth. It actually turned out quite great considering I had no idea what I was doing.

For the front pocket, I traced off a 6x9 envelope - the kind in which I keep my traced pattern pieces. I eyeballed the cutouts for the hands, and I got really lucky with my pattern matching. Seriously though, if you are going to do this sort of pocket on a patterned fabric, it's really cool to match up the pattern. You will get lots of high fives for this sort of thing.

The photoshoot location was a vacant lot I spotted on the way to Harper's preschool one afternoon. It worked out quite well, and we'll probably be making lots of stops there...until, you know, a house gets built or something.

So yes, I am quite pleased with this little number. What do you think? Are you swooning over this quilted jersey like I am? I, ahem, may have ordered an additional three yards of the blue version this afternoon...