And just like that the summer is over! Somehow I let it pass by with hardly a blog post. Our summer, though, was packed. We hiked and swam and hiked some more. We endured a couple nasty sicknesses. We took a big trip to visit family. I sewed up a big project on commission. We’re working toward some goals that are filling our home with buzzy energy. Overall, not a bad summer.
The girls started school this last week and while they don’t need new clothes, it seemed like a fun opportunity to whip out some quick clothes for them while using some of the more stagnant pieces of fabric in my fabric stash.
I pulled out a bunch of pieces for them to choose from and they each chose 2 fabrics: one for a top and one for a dress/skirt.
Total spoiler, but Wendy absolutely hated the dress I made her:
I don’t begrudge her at all as I run into hating the things I make for myself quite often. The reason she hates this so much is because it’s too big for her. I didn’t think this would be an issue because the pattern (Simplicity 9661) is meant for knit fabric and this is a corduroy with zero stretch. But maybe that makes it more rigid and bulky where a knit would have given some softer drape. In any case, she wants me to fix it by taking in the sides, which won’t work (assuming we still want it to be, you know, take-off-able), so I’ll have to do more brainstorming on it.
Spoiler over, let’s talk about the other things I made, all of which were a success. Three out of four ain’t bad!
The other items were made from Simplicity 8807:
I love that Simplicity often includes several patterns for different items. And, in this case, the items were basic enough that I could make small changes where I saw fit. My only complaint is that the size range is kind of limited at 3-6 years old, but since I’ve got a 6 year old and a 7 year old, I did use this fact to unabashedly hack right into the tissue paper rather than tracing my needed size. I cut the size 6. Sizing in the Big 4 patterns seems slightly large to me, that and my kids are on the smaller end. If I was being fussier, I might have made more adjustments on size, but if I’ve learned one thing it’s that kids keep growing. So having something a little big isn’t a bad thing.
You’ll be able to tell pretty quickly who a) liked her clothes more, as well as, b)who enjoyed taking pictures more.
Anyway, Wendy selected a rib knit (given to me from my sister’s stash) for her top. I told her it wasn’t the best fabric to make an entire top from but she was adamant. I didn’t alter the shirt pattern at all for this. I was a little disappointed by the wavy hem lines, but considering it’s a rib knit, it’s not as bad as it could have been so I think I’ll take it! At first Wendy was also frustrated at how big this felt on her, but after wearing it she decided she really did like it, especially how cozy it is. We are still in the heat of summer but even so, Wendy finds herself freezing, so this is a good match for her.
Greta chose this sage green knit fabric (also, technically rib knit, though wider) that I bought from Hobby Lobby with a different project in mind, but it got scrapped so the yardage was up for grabs. Greta is more sensitive to pesky fabrics. She does not abide lace, denim or sequins. She chose the fabric specifically because of how soft it is.
I altered the pattern slightly by turning the long sleeve into a short sleeve and by removing about 3 inches of length off the bottom for a better fit. Lettuce hems are very popular right now and I kind of wanted to try out doing one on my serger. I also thought the lettuce hem might also help with comfort since it doesn’t have threads on the inside of the garment that could potentially be itchy. Greta gave me the go ahead so I gave it a try.
Getting the right settings on my serger to make the lettuce hem was a bit tricky. I had to remove a needle as well as a piece from the inside of the machine and adjust and test the settings several times. But I really like how it turned out! It’s not perfect, but pretty cute, in my opinion. You can see the hem pretty well in the picture at the top of the post.
The fabric for the skirt (as well as the aforementioned hated dress) is a no-stretch corduroy, also donated from my sister’s stash (thank you!). Greta wanted a skirt, but her specifications were, “kind of like a jean skirt with buttons.” I could have done faux pockets, belt loops, and the works…but adding a a quick faux placket seemed like good enough, so that’s what I went with! We used the skirt pattern from S8807 but I created a placket out of 2 strips of fabric. I pressed seam allowances to the inside, topstitched them together and then added buttons to them, for a not-at-all-functional placket. We also ended up cutting about 3 inches off the bottom of the skirt to make it the length she wanted.
I can’t say anything about the instructions, as I didn’t look at them at all (nothing too complicated here!). I did use a 1 inch elastic for the waistband instead of the 3/4 inch for a bit more heft. I made a channel to insert the waistband to make the itty-bittiest of a paper bag effect, and I did topstitching on the elastic to prevent it from twisting. So a couple minor tweaks, but nothing too time or labor intensive.
Greta loves her new clothes and has already worn them twice! She had me take about a million pictures of her in her new digs, she was so pleased with them. She’s a pro!
Anyway, all in all, I’d say these projects were a success (minus the hated dress, ha!). I spent almost no money (I want to say no money, but here’s the fine print: I bought 2 yards of the green fabric months ago for $8 total, but after this top I still have over a yard left of it. I also spent $1 or $2 on the pattern whenever I bought it. In any case we’re looking at less than $5 for 4 items-not too bad!) and just a few hours of time to get some unique pieces that the girls like and will wear.
Pattern: Simplicity 8807
Size: 6
Adjustments: see post
Fabric: dusty pink rib knit, sage green wide rib knit, and a purple no-stretch corduroy
Cost: almost nothing
Would I make this pattern again?: I would! These were great basic pieces that could be altered or added on. The sizing is big enough that I might be able to use it another year or so before the girls grow out of the size range I bought.
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