Kids Clothes Week...so far

Sewing for one hour, every day, for one week. That's the aim of Kids Clothes Week. I'm doing pretty well so far.  Since Monday I've sewn, or prepared for sewing, for at least an hour a day, usually longer.  I braved it on Monday and started sewing during naptime (otherwise I'd never have got any done) and Harris didn't wake up - yay! So that's me got some sewing time now, for as long as he has a naptime, and I'm going to make the most of it.  Yesterday I didn't get anything done as I was working during the day then my husband surprised me with concert tickets for Grouper in the evening - a lovely surprise and such a good gig!

See Kate Sew Recess Raglan knit tee

I've finished one t-shirt - a gift for a 3 year old. Once again I used the See Kate Sew Recess Raglan .  A few years back a friend bought me a book of Sukie transfers which I'd been meaning to try out for ages.  Her daughter's third birthday seemed the perfect occasion to break them out. I did a few testers on scraps of this peach jersey, to see how long to hold the iron on & whether it would wash ok.  I put it through a 40 degree wash and it came out fine which was a relief as there'd be no point in a child's t-shirt that couldn't go in the wash!

This really is such a simple make and even done in little segments of time, it doesn't take long at all.  I used the vari-overlock stitch on my Bernina to finish all the seams neatly, and used a twin-needle on the hem.  After messing up the hem on my plantain tshirt (unblogged) I've learned to do a test with the twin-needle now to get the tension right. The only alteration I made was the same as last time, to lengthen the neck-band piece. This time I got it right first time. Let's just hope it fits the recipient now, fingers crossed!  I'm really happy with how this top turned out though looking at it now I wish I'd placed the tree slightly higher up but that's a minor quibble. Here's hoping the recipient likes it!

Pile of things to sew!

Still another 3 days left of KCW and I've a huge pile cut out & in varying states of sewing. 3 Recess Raglan's, an Oliver + S Sketchbook shirt & 2 pairs of Sunny Day shorts - all for Harris!  Hopefully I can get a wee bit done tonight.  I love how this challenge really makes me appreciate even the odd 15 minutes at the sewing machine and I feel like I'm so much more productive, here's hoping I can keep it up after the week is over!  How's it going for you if you're participating in KCW this time?

Kids Clothes Week July 2014

We're having a bit of a heatwave in London at the moment, in fact today we've got thunder and lightning which might mean the air is a bit fresher tomorrow hopefully.  I have been really enjoying the sunshine and love that I can get Harris out in the park everyday getting plenty of sunshine and fresh air.  However the heat has also meant not a lot of sleep in this household as it's just too hot for the wee man at night time.  As a result I'm pretty amazed by how much sewing I've done this week.  And it's all thanks to Kids Clothes Week.  If you haven't heard of it before (I hadn't until I was pregnant) KCW was started in 2008 by Meg Freeman. Like many new mums who are also obsessed with sewing she found herself thinking of so many sewing projects, then spending her evenings on the couch continuing to think about these projects. I know this feeling well! So she set herself a challenge of sewing for one hour every day for a week - KCW now runs four times a year, spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Having the focus of KCW has really helped my put aside a bit of time each day for sewing - some days this is nap time and other days it has been in the evening.  These are the first results of my sewing this week - 2 more Oliver + S reversible bucket hats.  Although I wouldn't mind if Harris had different hats to match his outfits I don't really have the time for that, instead I sewed up a hat for one of Harris's wee pals (the hat you see above with the apples on one side and below, the reverse in blue with orange top-stitching), and one for my nephew (the bottom 2 photos - he loves fire engines!)  You'll just have to take it from me - my nephew looks like one cool dude in his new hat!

I really enjoyed sewing these up as I knew what I was doing this time round and it was nice to be sewing up gifts.  I also just love sewing with this organic blue cotton from Ray Stitch.

The lovely red and white striped fabric was a gift from a friend - left-overs from a shirt she made. It goes so well with the blue and I knew my sister-in-law would like it too.

Don't worry though, Harris isn't being neglected, I have been sewing for him too! I've almost finished a pair of Oliver + S sunny day shorts and have a Brindille and Twig baby tee cut out which I'm hoping to get finished this week too.