a workweek's worth of sewing

Elsie Marley's kcwc inspired me to focus just on kids clothing this week. Which by default means clothing for the niece. The fabric requirements are small and the fabric I have on hands lends itself to girly pieces.  Not so much for the 11 year old nephew.  I'm recapping my first 5 days now, while I'm home during daylight hours and can use a proper camera and natural light. Instagram can only do so much.

I finished the long sleeve Ayashe. I really like this pattern. I really wish I had enough of the yellow fabric to make longer ties. Moving on...

Next up a simple elastic waist skirt. Which is simple unless you are me. I wanted pockets, mainly because I thought it would be cute to line them with Birch Organic orange polka dots. Right? That would be so cute! And while I loved the idea, I didn't like my execution. The pockets had to go because now I wanted French Seams on the inside. While the Ayashe looks nice on the outside, I think it's a little messy on the inside (my own doing, not the fault of the pattern). I could avoid all that with the skirt. So I cut off the seams I had sewn and redid it pocketless with tidy little French Seams (not thrilled I lost skirt volume by doing that). The elastic waist does not have enough give, I was oddly stubborn about using the fat quarter width and not adding extra fabric. I have Amelia's waist measurement and this should fit her for about 5 minutes. There was also that time I sewed the waist band in facing the wrong side, but let's not talk about that.

And that brings me to knit fabric. I tried earlier this week and it wasn't pretty. I promptly ordered a walking foot and that was a game changer. Finally! A use for my countless boxy mens fit cotton race shirts. I turned the Al Gordon Snowflake 5K and Staten Island Half Marathon into a 3T pajama top.  I used Made By Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee.  Great, great pattern. I used the existing shirt hem and managed to not sew anything backwards or inside out. It was a good Friday.

KCWC day 1

The day 1 of KCWC plan is to finish my second Ayashe. Things of note, the top stitching on the cuff shouldn't slice straight through the middle.  I know this. And the too short bias stings. Sure to do nothing but annoy the wearer. But I had the worlds smallest piece of fabric (from my Grandma's stash) and I was determined to use it. Amelia may never get to meet her GG, but she will be wearing clothing made of cloth she picked out. I'm even toying with quilting (my Grandma's passion). I'll need a tutorial from my Auntie Karen for that.

As for the rest of the week. Knits. I shall tackle knits. Which thus far has done nothing more than waste a whole lot of thread. Tension? I think? I called my mom for advice. I went to Purl Soho yesterday. To touch the Liberty of London prints in person. So pretty! So not going home with me at this point. I did buy a tiny bundle of Birch Fabrics. Who doesn't love elephants?

sewing above my skill level

I'm happy to say it can be done. I can follow a pattern and end up with a wearable thing, as long as I have the patience to remove stitches over and over again AND OVER again. It's embarrassing. Anyway, as long as Amelia's head can fit through the opening, success!

The collar tried to break me. The nice inside yoke did not trip me up at all, but the collar became my nemesis. See, that's just ugly. I can't topstitch, that's obvious. But even if you ignore that, it's all wonky.

At this point my stitch remover grew red hot from use and I eventually had to walk away.

I picked it back up on Friday, finally relenting and cutting new fabric entirely. And why not go contrasting for the inside? Nothing to lose at this point (maybe my sanity?). It's still not perfect, but it is so much better and I am more than OK with that.

The Figgy Ayashe Blouse, complete!