Almost an Easter Sweater

Well, this was almost an Easter sweater if you think finishing something almost 3 weeks after the holiday counts. Ha!

It would have looked so cute with her Easter dress, but instead Lu will have to settle for wearing her new sparkly pink sweater over her new school dress. I think she’ll survive.

I used Brooklyn Tweed’s pattern Petal. The first minute I saw the pattern it was begging to be knit. So feminine and delicate a pattern. Something my girly girl would love. Then on a wet and soggy day I went shopping at The Yarnover Truck and spotted Anzula Nebula in Petals. Kismet? Yes, I think so.

Unfortunately Petal is kind of a pain to knit. So much patterning. Patterning on every single row. Twisted stitches. Lace. Small gauge. Almost everything I dislike in knitting, but yet the finished sweater is nothing short of perfection. Totally worth the nearly two months worth of knitting.

Her new dress is pretty cute too! I know you cannot see most of it in these pictures because Lu was too excited about her sweater to remove it, but trust me when I say it looks and fits nicely. There are (poor quality) pictures of the dress in this post.

For the dress I used Oliver + S’s pattern Hopscotch (same pattern as the skirt I posted recently). It is fantastic. Really I have yet to find anything bad about Oliver + S patterns in general. They are nothing but professional quality with clear directions.

Fabric is nothing fancy. I only recently started sewing with knits, so this is some inexpensive cotton/poly blend interlock I bought at JoAnn’s. I bought 3 yards and even after making a skort, a dress, and a skirt there is still more than a yard left!

Anyways, looking back I know realize I haven’t shared modeled photos of most of my Kids Clothes Week projects! Sorry about that! We’ve had a wee bit of drama at preschool and it has been a major distraction in my life, but hopefully I’ll have more brain space for writing very soon. I’ve been sewing up a storm as an outlet for the stress.

27Apr2015

Kids Clothes Week: Day 7!

by alwaysacraftylady

Ta-da! Last day! Here on the West Coast I suppose I still have 90 minutes, but I’m calling it done. Today I managed to fit in one last project. Another Geranium Dress for my younger daughter Charlie.

My friend Erica gave me a completely random package of fabric. It turned out to be maybe several eighth yards of the Moda Grunge collection as far as I can tell from what I could read from the selvedges. And I had lots of small pieces of fabric left over from the dress I made from Cotton + Steel double gauze. The little slip of Moda fabric was exactly as much as I needed to cut out the bodice of the dress.

It was also the perfect color match. I even had buttons to finish it off and a husband who took Charlie to run errands while Lu took a nap. I almost had it totally finished by the time he returned.

And I love that it is lined with double gauze. Nothing but softness for my pretty little baby.

So here is the full lineup of what I completed this week.

And everything even has buttons.

Happy Kids Clothes Week!

26Apr2015

Kids Clothes Week: Day 5 and 6!

by alwaysacraftylady

Okay so late night I was all set up to make a new school dress for my older daughter Lu. And there I am tucking her into bed and telling her I’m going to start a new dress for her when she starts talking about how she doesn’t like dresses and wants a skirt. Kids. She’s slowly becoming more interested in wearing skirts and that is difficult because I started putting her in dresses because I couldn’t find pants or skirts small enough to stay on her waist. Anyways, now she likes to wear skirts more only I have all these dress patterns ready to sew for her.

Last night I didn’t sew. I knit instead. At least I was knitting for Lu so I think it still counts for Kids Clothes Week. I was able to bind off the sweater and now is only needs ends woven, buttons sewn on, and a good bath.

This is Petal from Brooklyn Tweed in Anzula Nebula. The color way is Petals so I figured the combination was meant to be.

Anyways today I decided that I’m the parent and I know Lu has to wear navy and red to school so I made the dress.

This is from the same pattern as the umbrella skirt Olive + S’s Hopscotch. It is made with some awful poly blend interlock I bought at JoAnn’s. I hate this fabric. I still have half of what I bought left over.

But it will make a serviceable school dress and that’s the point. Now what do I make tomorrow for the last dat of Kids Clothes Week? I’ve made more things for my older daughter, but she was also more in need of clothes. Should I sew the baby some love tomorrow?