kcwc: his outfit

 A long sleeve raglan tee:

And a pair of Treasure Pocket Pants:

[just noticed this pic makes it look like I made one pant leg longer than the other, I promise they're the same length!]

A match made in boy heaven I do say.

I love knits for kids.  I love them most because they're the clothes my kids pick out more often than most of woven fabric garments I've made (at least tops that is).  I love these patterns (both in the Sewing for Boys book I reviewed earlier).  This knit shirt is the easiest shirt you'll ever make, no hemming, love that.  I think it took me about an hour to make the shirt and that includes pattern tracing and fabric selection time.  I had to add the little beep! to the front, sorry I'm such a sucker for cute.  And my nephew is such a little cutie, I can't wait to see pictures of him wearing these clothes (his mommy is always so good about showing me the things I make in action).

The pants weren't as quick to make, but I really enjoyed making them.  I didn't use a serger at all.  I kind of love that.  French seams and turn and stitch seams make for a super professional and sturdy pair of pants!  And the faux fly, it's over the top cute.  Lots of great details you won't find in many store bought clothes.

That about wraps up what I made for the kcwc.  Fun was had by all!  Hope you have a super awesome Sunday!  Thanks for reading.  ♥

[Fabrics: Pants, Honk Honk by Michael Miller, Kaufman shot cotton; shirt, random knits from Hancock fabrics]

sewing with knits mondays: where to shop, patterns, and wrap up

We're at the final wrap up for Sewing with Knits Mondays, Shannon and I have had such a blast putting fun projects together and feeling a little more confident sewing with knits.  I hope you give knits a try, it's really a pretty forgiving fabric if you give it a chance.

In case you missed out on any past Mondays here are the posts:

• racerback tank tutorial
• flora and fauna shirt tutorial (with Craftiness is Not Optional)
• soho maxi dress tutorial (with Sew Much Ado)
• quick tee tutorial
• t-shirt quilt

• the poppy top tutorial 
• one shoulder shirred tank/dress (with Picolli Piscelli)
• super speedy simple skirt (with No Big Dill)
• jane with a pop top tutorial
• awesome amy caridigan tutorial

And now for some knit fabric fun!  You might have found it difficult to find shops online that carry knits, so here's a little list of places I've found (feel free to add your favs in the comments).  And there's probably a descent selection at your local hancock fabrics, hobby lobby, or joanns, just check it out, you might be surprised by what you find! And I should mention that at Spoonflower you can design your own knit fabric or shop from independent designers.

• Girl Charlee
• The Fabric Fairy
• SewZanne's
• Harts Fabric
• Stitch Simple
• Sew Baby
• Etsy
• fabric.com
• denver fabrics

And if you're in the mood to try out some fun knit sewing patterns, here are a few awesome shops with plenty of knit fabric sewing patterns to try!

• patterns by figgy's
• make it perfect (be sure to check out her newest basic tee pattern)
• lil blue boo
• v and co
• mod kid boutique (patty young)
• ottobre design magazine
• oliver + s
• heidi & finn
• scientific seamstress
• dans la lune
• fishsticks designs
• owly baby
• dear my kids

Thank you for hanging out with us for Sewing with Knits Mondays!  I really hope you give them a try and try something new. And a huge thank you to Shannon for joining me, it was so fun to have a partner in crime.  ♥

sewing with knits mondays: t-shirt quilt

Welcome back to another Monday!  It's Sewing with Knits Mondays already.

Maybe this isn't an obvious knit fabric project, but it's one that's been waiting for me to finish for at least 3 years (probably longer).  You can read more about it in my post here. My mom had cleaned out some of my things from their house a long time ago and I had grabbed my old swim shirts thinking I would someday make them into a t-shirt quilt.

It was so fun revisiting all my fun swim team memories back from when I was 10 years old right up through my senior year of college.  Just looking at each shirt makes me think of the countless swim meets, thousands of hours riding in the Y van, and great friends.

And I'm not going to disguise anything here, this was definitely not my favorite project when I started.  I was intimidated working with both cottons and knits together and I had cut up my shirts long before I knew what exactly my plan might be.  With that said, I wish I would have tried to find a more uniform shape to each shirt, but some were so old and worn, I just couldn't make that happen.  Besides, I ended up really liking the top, but not until I saw it all pieced together.

Now I'll be getting it ready for quilting and soon I'll be snuggling under it watching Project Runway.

Any tips on how to quit it?  I'd love to hear your input.  I was thinking of doing some free motion quilting but with random shaped intersecting boxes.  Hmm, could be complicated.  :)

I think this would make an awesome Christmas present or a great guy gift, too!

Random note:  I fused lightweight interfacing to each piece of t-shirt before squaring them up.

Be sure to jump on over and say hi to Shannon today over at Luvinthemommyhood for some more knit goodness.  :)

sewing with knits mondays: quick tee tutorial

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Shannon and I are back today with another Sewing with Knits Mondays, we're just having too much fun.

Today I'd like to show you a simple quick tee!  I've seen them in every store, it's a simple knit tee that uses a single pattern piece.  You can draft it super easily from a t-shirt you already own and in about 45 minutes you'll have a cute and simple tee that you can wear alone or layer.

You'll need:
approx 1 yard knit fabric, depending on your size
a twin needle
polyester thread

Make your pattern:
Lay down a well fitting t-shirt on the fold.  Trace a simple shape that includes just a curve at the armpit area.  It'll look like your shirt has sleeves, but with less work!

Make note of the scoop of the neckline in the front and back.  Cut out your pattern piece. You'll cut 2 pieces on the fold, a front and back, then take the front piece and cut the neckline a little lower.

Sew (or serge) one shoulder seam together, RIGHT sides facing.

Press over the neckline about 3/8" and hem using your twin needle.

You can use Make It and Love It's suggestion like I did and wind two bobbins and load one in your bobbin case and one with your thread spool, who has two spools of the same thread anyway? right?

front using twin needle

back using twin needle

Sew (or serge) remaining shoulder seam.

Hem both sleeves the same as how you did the neckline.

Place shirt RIGHT sides facing.  Sew (or serge) down each side seam.

Hem bottom if desired.

That's it!  There are tons of variations on this same style.  It would be super cute to add some rows of shirring at the bottom too!  If you've sewn anything using knits go ahead and add it to our flickr pool!

Don't forget to stop over at Luvinthemommyhood to see what hot stuff is happening there.  Thanks for reading. ♥

sewing with knits mondays: with guest Abby of Sew Much Ado

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Sewing with Knits Mondays.  I'm so excited to welcome Abby of Sew Much Ado here today!  I just want to start out by saying how genuine of a person Abby is, she has been a really great friend to me and definitely someone who I turn to for advice or an opinion.  I'm really thankful to know her.  And of course she has a beautiful blog filled with tons of inspiration.  She has tutorials and patterns to make just about anything you'd ever want to make and she's not afraid of using knits!  

I love that she sews anything from quilts to clothes and everything in between.  Plus, just look at her - someone sign her up for a modeling contract!  And of course she runs a great linky party every Wednesday called We Did It Wednesdays!  So you'll have to join her this week.  Please help me welcome Abby!

Hi, Noodleheads! Anna is one of my very favorite blogging friends, and I'm thrilled that she asked me to be a part of her Sewing With Knits Mondays series. Anna's pretty much fantastic in every way - sincere, beautiful, creative, and I'm so happy that I can call her my friend! I hope you've been following along each Monday on Anna's blog and also Shannon from Luv In The Mommyhood's blog - they have both shared some great tips and had some super guests joining in. No reason to be afraid of knits anymore, ladies!

When Anna contacted me, I knew instantly what project I'd be sharing. I've been wanting to make a maxi dress tutorial for months now, but just didn't have the right motivation I needed to get it done. So thanks for the inspiration once again, Anna!

With a simple ruffle detail at the top...

The SoHo Maxi Dress is perfect for even a beginner sewer. No better way to build your confidence with knits than to jump right in! You can make this!

Come visit me at Sew Much Ado and see the full tutorial!

Thanks, Anna for letting me be a part of such a fantastic series!

It's just beautiful Abby and I can't wait to try it myself.  Thanks for sharing.  And don't forget to check out what Shannon has going on today over at Luvinthemommyhood.

sewing with knits mondays: lil blue boo pattern giveaway [closed]

[this giveaway is officially closed, thank you to all who entered!]

I'm sure you know Lil Blue Boo as the queen of knits.  Really, Ashley's got her own clothing company.  Her shop is filled with tons of cute clothing.  Not to mention Lil Blue Boo is an awesome blog, she's always got something creative to share, whether it be sewing, painting, or crafting.

And of course you probably already know she also sells some amazing patterns, most of which involve knit fabrics.  Perfect!

the perfect short (on my to-do list, gotta love comfy shorts!)

the maliboo romper

the pieced tunic/dress

recycled t-shirt hoodie

And don't worry there's tons more at her pattern shop, so be sure to stop by and check them all out if you haven't already!

I really do recommend her patterns, Ashley makes it very easy to sew with knits and always includes great tips for sewing with a regular machine as well as a serger.  You can check out the things I've made using her patterns (my girls have loved each knit fabric piece of clothing I've made them):

leggings

hoodies

Ready for a chance to win?  Today Lil Blue Boo has been generous enough to offer up 3 patterns to 3 winners!  Now if that won't get you started I don't know what will.  Go find some t-shirts to upcycle or even nab some knit yardage at Joanns, just do it!

To enter:

• One entry per person.  Please leave your email address in your comment. You can leave it in a format like this if you wish: anna [at] gmail [dot] com
• There will be 3 winners chosen, each winner will get to pick their choice of 1 Lil Blue Boo pattern.
• Open to international entries.
• Giveaway ends Wednesday, August 3rd at 10pm (central time).

Oh and don't forget to stop in at Luvinthemommyhood for Shannon's Sewing with Knits Mondays post!!!!

sewing with knits mondays: with guest Jess from Craftiness is Not Optional

You know Jess' blog right?

Well, if you're in the mood to sew up just about anything (especially little girl's dresses) you have to check it out.  Tutorials galore! Plus she's got a ton of sew-a-longs you can follow along with (Rachel Wrap, Sadie Shirt, Lucky Dress, Leah Tunic, Charlotte Dress, Anna Dress.)  Whew, I can hardly keep up already!  :)

Jess is full of energy (hence the massive amount of things she can get done in a single day - even with two little girls in tow), she's funny, and I just love how kind and caring she is.  

She's even started to do more sewing for herself.  Yay for that!

And of course I had to ask her to help with out with Sewing with Knits Mondays, she's got sewing with knits down pat.  And I knew she'd come up with something ultra cute.  Let's hear it from Jess!

I'm so excited to be participating in Anna and Shannon's Sewing with Knits series!

Both Anna and Shannon are both such fabulous and talented gals, not to mention so sweet. :) Anna is a long-time blogging pal of mine and she never ceases to amaze me with her awesome projects. 



Soo...It took me forever to settle on a knit project to do-I had just come off of an obsession of my own with knits, so I was kind of out of knit ideas for the time being, lol. Pinterest to the rescue!

I quickly found (thanks to my best pal), and was enamored with the simple style of this top from Garnet Hill:

 via pinterest.

So I set out to figure out how to make it myself. I used my raglan tee pattern and tutorial for most of the construction, so I'll refer you to that tute a few times.

 

It has a cute keyhole neckline, with elastic casing around the neck and button closure (though not that necessary because of the elastic, mostly there for the cuteness factor), and 3/4 sleeves with a bias tape trim. I used a jersey knit sheet set (Target clearance-$6), so I used the finished edge for my hem. 

I think Sadie looks like a little woodland nymph or something. Grass nymph? What's a nymph, anyways? I'm pretty sure it's like a fairy. I hope. Am I thinking of a sprite? Anyways...that's neither here nor there. Get on with the program, Jess!

 One more pic, cause the sleeves are too cute! Ok, ok. 
Come on over to see the full tutorial today, on Craftiness is Not Optional!


...and be sure to say hi to Jess for me and let her know how cool she is...
Thanks Jess, you ALWAYS amaze me!

And don't forget to stop by Luvinthemommyhood today to check out what knit goodness she's got going on today!