Sewing for L: a chambray shirt and some not so summery pants

Pattern: Oliver + S Sketchbook Shirt

Fabric: 100% cotton Robert Kaufman chambray (used here and here)

Notions: interfacing, white thread, 10 buttons

Size: 2T

 

Pattern: Oliver + S Art Museum Trousers

Fabric: leftover piece of brown corduroy, scrap of fabric for waist band facing

Notions: coordinating thread, 1 button

Size: 2T

 

Another Sketchbook Shirt (I believe this is my 5th!) and a new pair of pants that are perhaps not the most summer friendly, but well, we do get those occasional chilly days, and they should still fit so as to get lots of use this Autumn.

 

I had planned to make this Sketchbook Shirt shortly after I made L's Nature Walk Pullover for KCW Spring 2014 but it got put off until now! I made the shirt with view A sleeves, added button tabs as in L's linen Sketchbook,  and sewed it up with version B's band collar. I decided against putting a pocket as I wanted it to stay quite airy, with simple lines.
 

I made my usual flat felled seams which were a pleasure to sew (yay for cooperative fabric!) and so satisfying to look at once finished, especially knowing that it makes for a sturdy shirt. These Sketchbook shirts get worn several times a week!

 

I really surprised myself during the making of the shirt by finding myself really, and I mean really, enjoying the process of blindstitching the collar down. I'm really looking forward to having more handsewing to do!

 

The pants were a bit of an experiment. I had pulled out a bunch of fabrics that could potentially look nice with L's newly made chambray shirt and asked my husband to pick out the one he liked best. He came up with a small piece of brown corduroy. I believe it was about 75cm long with all sorts of weird shapes and cuts into it. Challenge! I was able to make it work with the nap always in the same direction but I did have to encroach on the seam allowances in a few places, which I had to keep in mind for later while sewing.
 

I modified the front pockets because I found that in the first two versions of the Art Museum Trousers I made last year (not blogged), the pockets gaped quite a bit. I rounded out the pockets and I also chose to apply patch pockets to the back instead of welt pockets for a more relaxed look. The patch pockets I used came from the Fieldtrip Cargo Pants pattern, also by Oliver + S. I particularly like the patch pockets on these! (The pockets are lined up even though they don't look it in the picture.)

 

I finished most of the seams with flat felled seams again because these are going to get a lot of active wear! Everything was really smooth to sew and I once again did a narrow line of stitching at the top of the waistband to prevent the elastic from twisting. The only part I didn't enjoy, as usual, was putting the elastic in. Ugh, bodkin, please hold onto the elastic!

 

My husband was really surprised when I showed him the finished pants and asked me if I had really sewn them up from that small piece of fabric or had I rather gone out and bought them. I'll take that as a compliment and I must say that little L looks adorable in his new outfit and as usual, I'm so glad to see that they work perfectly for him, lettting him move, stretch, jump and who knows what to his heart's content!
 

I'm ready for more sewing for L with Kid's Clothes Week Summer 2014 edition right around the corner and I look forward to seeing everyone's amazing projects!

Another Sketchbook Shirt for L

 Pattern: Sketchbook Shirt by Oliver + S

Fabric: 100%  linen, natural color

Notions: coordinating thread (off-white), interfacing, 10, 4-hole buttons

Size: 2T

Modifications of note: Added tabs/straps to sleeves to easily hold rolled sleeves up

Another Sketchbook Shirt for L but what can I say? I love this pattern and the results are always so beautiful. It can either look fancy or relaxed and don't little boys look so cute in dress shirts? This is the fourth one I make, but he has outgrown the two from last year.

This time I chose to work with a 100% linen. Although I find linen to be exquisitely beautiful and its quality of softening through wear and washing fantastic, I have not had the chance to work with it very much. So, this was a great opportunity to learn about working with linen.

The linen I chose has a slightly looser weave which meant that as I would stitch it, it would sometimes stretch out a little bit, with one layer stretching out more than the other. Pinning helped but what seemed to work best for me (while still pinning heavily) was to slip a piece of tissue paper underneath my fabric, between the fabric and the needle plate. That really seemed to limit the stretching as it allowed the fabric to travel easily, especially with the edgestitching of the button band, which otherwise, wanted to distort itself. I'm very happy with the result but if you have any suggestions on some good ways to stabilize linen, I'm all ears!

Because I was working with linen (hello, fraying!) I wanted robust seams at the shoulders and side seams, which meant flat felling. All the other seams are already neatly encased and hidden away. For my flat felled seams, I increased the seam allowances on those edges to 5/8" and because the linen presses so beautifully (I used the high temperature linen setting on my iron and steam) it was easy to do and gave an incredibly smooth and crisp finish.

The pattern was a dream to work with, as always. The fiddliest bit, as usual, was the sleeve placket, but that too went well. I really took my time stitching it, taking just a few stitches at a time as I got closer to the bunches of fabric at the top of the slash line, readjusting, moving excess fabric out of the way, a few stitches, moving fabric, stitching...I'm happy to say no puckers!

I did not put a pocket this time for two reasons. The first is that I was concerned about how the linen would do as a patch pocket because it might not hold its shape as well. The second is purely aesthetic. I wanted the shirt to be very neat, refreshing, and simple.

I drafted a tab piece to help hold up the rolled sleeve, which I attached to the wrong side of the sleeve, and on the corresponding point on the right side of the sleeve, I attached a button. After all, he's a toddler and loves to have his hands and wrists free of contraints to play. I have no illusions. I know that this shirt won't remain in its pristine state and that shortly, lovely little touches of pink, blue, green, and brown (to name a few) will inevitable adorn it and liven it up!

I really enjoyed making this shirt. I took my time but it came together in a jiffy and I am thrilled with how the fabric made up. It's just what I wanted. Airy, summery, comfortable. The buttons are simple but catch the light just enough to be interesting. I think I'd like to use these buttons for something for me too. I have about 2 yards of this linen left and I was hoping I could make a lightweight summer jacket for me out of the remaining material. Any suggestions for a pattern?

Ah yes, I nearly forgot, but because the linen looks exactly the same on right sides and wrong sides and all the seam allowances are neatly hidden away, I kept having to check which side I was working on. I can tell you, I gave myself quite a few frights when it came to trimming for seams! Wait, did I just sew and trim my seam on the incorrect side? Phew...no, it's ok! Carry on!

And a Me-Made-May update: I am very proud to announce that I have worn one self-made garment every single day so far! 

KCW Spring 2014: Day 2

Just a little check-in to report on my progress. Yesterday, I talked about starting on an Oliver + S Sketchbook shirt for my little boy and I'm happy to report that the the shirt is moving along nicely.

 

In fact, I think all the practice I got last week sewing my husband's Negroni shirt is making a world of difference! Not that my first two experiences with the Sketchbook shirt were bad ones. Far from it. I love those shirts and I think they look great (sadly, L has now outgrown them) but I feel so much more confident about my abilities to be precise, follow AND understand the pattern.

For today, Day 2, I'm hoping to get close to finishing. First thing to do today: edgestitch that collar!

Well, off I go. My sewing machine calls. Happy sewing and hopefully I'll have another update for tomorrow!

KCW Spring 2014: Day 1

It's here! I can hardly believe it but it's Day 1 of KCW Spring 2014! I'm looking forward to a whirlwind of kid sewing this week and I've planned for far more sewing than I can ever hope to accomplish in one week. But isn't that part of the fun?

These are the fabrics I'm hoping to use this week but we'll see how far I get as the week progresses. Gah, I really would like to get to those knits!

So, for today, Day 1, I'm starting with the KCW theme, mini-me, by  making a mini version of the Negroni dress shirt I made my husband last week. I had enough fabric (it's the second from the bottom in the stack pictured) leftover to comfortably cut the pieces for an Oliver + S Sketchbook Shirt. And I still have a bit of fabric left!

Well, I better be off to get some sewing done! Hopefully, I'll have a few moments to spare tomorrow to give a progress report!

Happy sewing, everyone!