An Outfit for School

If you have seen my last post you were already expecting this - it is the Sewing for Kindergarten sequel! :) I made an outfit for my kindergarten girl but... she had plans of her own! Although she loved the other one this is what she chose for her first day of school.

Skirt
Pattern: the Betty skirt from the Shaffer Sisters.
Fabric: very light weight denim from my local fabric store.
Details: There are so many options to this pattern! You will get lot of skirt patterns in just one pattern. This pattern has been improved and re-released very recently. I had purchased the first version - a few months ago (on this day). In fact I was their first international customer - how fun is that? :)
I opted for the large pleated skirt - I love pleats! And they are actually very easy to sew. I had to add something to that plain denim so I ended up adding some striped piping that was sitting on my stash. 
She sure does know how to choose her clothes - pleats scream for school don't you think? At least here, where I live, school uniforms are all about pleats. :) Oh, and did you notice the twirling factor on this skirt? She thinks it's perfect!

Tank tee
Pattern: the Hip Hop tank from Love Notions.
Fabric: two color coordinated knits from my local fabric store.
Details: This top was made several months ago as a pattern testing and has been worn several times ever since! She loves it! The fit is spot on, the instructions are very clear and it is a quick sew! 
It also comes with several options: basic tank (this one), the tulip tank, a gathered skirt option, and a button placket (on the back) option - these last options can be made with a mix of knit and woven. It is a summer staple for sure! Oh, and you can make a "mommy and me" look, because this pattern is also available in women sizes.
I have to say I didn't felt very comfortable at first by mixing those two patterns - I tend to play safe when it comes to colors and prints... (with a few exceptions, like this Matinée dress) -, but I think it turned out great.

Cardigan
It is the Aster cardigan from LBG Studio for Willow and Co., and you can read all about it on my last post, here!

So, first day of Kindergarten is almost here... Let's see how this girl handles it after being one whole year with her mom at home... ;)

Go take a look at all the cool outfits that some amazing bloggers made for the Sewing for Kindergarten series, hosted by Mie from Sewing Like Mad. 
Today is the last day and I am really excited to see what two of my favorite ladies from the indie sewing community have made - Celina from Petit à Petit and Family (she made 5(!) fabulous outfits!!) and Laura from Craftstorming (who is showcasing 3 great new patterns to be released soon!) - A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

A birthday dress for sweet little R

This photo is here solely for an aditional dose of «adorableness». 

As a mom one of the most difficult things for me is to deal with the fact that my kids are growing too fast and that soon I won't have cuddling babies and happy funny kids around... (How is that for a depressing first line of a blog post, haha!) Well, my youngest and probably the last, my sweet little one, turned three last weekend! But she is definitely still my baby. ;) (Until she turns four. Or five. Or forty.)

She is the most funny, sweet, happy, smiley little girl. She is also a cuddler, the only cuddler of all three of them. 
(Can a mom have a favorite child? :) )

I made her this dress a few weeks ago, as a pattern testing. I decided then that it would be her birthday dress, thus the fabric choice - coral linen (I think this color looks great on her, don't you think?) and a floral print (whatelse?) :) ) viscose (a very soft and drapey fabric that looks and feels like the softest cotton - I love it!).

The pattern is the Polly dress - the debut pattern from Bubby and Me creations. 

I can't actually say why but I love to test debut patterns... It is a completely shot in the dark because you never know what you will find about the pattern pieces, the instructions and the construction methods. It can go smoothly or it can be very bad. In this case I loved it! 

As much as I am not a ruffles-everywhere-the-more-the-merrier kind of person I love ruffles in a good measure and in this case the ruffles over the shoulders and going a bit down the chest are a lovely detail. I did took off about 3 inches on the ruffle piece - so 6 inches total, since it is cut on the fold. 
I have also have add faux piping on the neckline and flat piping on the chest seam - the pattern doesn't ask for those but you know me... it's all about the little details. :)
I love that this dress closes at the back with a button + loop - pretty much easy, right?

I found this dress to be very easy to make and a quick sew! The instructions are very detailed and full of clear photos for all the steps. Nikki (a lovely australian mom) did a very great job on this first pattern! (Size range is 1-10 years.)

This little one as the best sweetest smile ever... And no, I am not biased. It's a true fact. :)
She had a very happy birthday and was oh-so happy in her new mommy-made dress. Well, I think she loved the birthday girl's golden crown even better but who can blame her? :) 

Oh, and I am sorry for the huge dose of cuteness overload on this blog post. (Not!)

Uma das coisas mais difíceis para mim como mãe é lidar com o facto de que os meus filhos estão a crescer rápido demais, e que daqui a nada já não terei nenhum bebé fofo nem crianças alegres e engraçadas à minha volta... (Bem, este foi um início de publicação um pouco deprimente, não? :) ) A minha filha mais nova, e provavelmente a última, a minha doçurinha, fez três anos no fim-de-semana passado. Mas continua a ser a minha bebé. :) (Até fazer os quatro anos. Ou os cinco. Ou quarenta.)

Ela é a criança mais alegre, divertida, boa-onda, sorridente... E é também a mais mimalha (o que é diferente de ser mimada) dos três. 
(Será que uma mãe pode ter um filho predilecto?... :) )

Fiz este vestido há umas semanas atrás, num teste ao molde. Decidi logo que ia ser o vestido de aniversário, daí a escolha de um tecido mais nobre - o linho, de cor coral (a cor fica-lhe lindamente, não fica?). Usei também, para os folhos, uma viscose com uma estampa floral (o que mais poderia ser? :) ) - é um tecido super suave e com um drapeado maravilhoso.

O molde é o vestido  Polly - o molde de estreia da marca Bubby and Me creations.

Não consigo explicar porquê, mas gosto bastante de testar moldes que sejam o primeiro molde de um designer/marca. O que é um completo tiro no escuro... Não faço ideia como serão as peças do molde, as instruções, a própria construção. O teste ao molde pode ser um pesadelo ou correr muito bem. Neste caso, gostei imenso!

Por muito que não seja um pessoa do tipo adoro-montes-de-folhos-quantos-mais-melhor, confesso que gosto de alguns folhos - na medida certa, no sítio certo, na peça certa. Neste vestido os folhos dão a imagem à peça e são um detalhe bem amoroso. Apesar disso, acabei por fazer uma alteração ao molde original: retirei cerca de 7 centímetros da peça do molde  - ou seja, 14 centímetros no total, já que a peça é cortada na dobra do tecido.
Acrescentei um viés falso no decote e viés achatado na costura da linha do peito - não são um requisito do  molde, mas já me conhecem... Gosto dos pequenos detalhes! :)
Outro pormenor amoroso é a forma como o vestido fecha - atrás com uma aselha e um único botão. Super simples, certo?

Este vestido é muito fácil de fazer e rápido! As instruções são muito detalhadas e cheias de fotografias de todos os passos. A Nikki (uma mamã australiana com um micro negócio de costura) fez um óptimo trabalho com este seu primeiro molde! (Está disponível para as idades de 1 ano aos 10.)

Esta pequenina tem o sorriso mais doce de sempre... E não, não estou a ser parcial. É um facto! :)
Teve um dia de aniversário muito divertido e estava super feliz com o seu vestido feito pela mamã. Bem, na verdade acho que ela ainda gostou mais da sua coroa dourada de aniversariante, mas quem é que pode censurá-la? :)

Ah, e peço desculpa pela dose exagerada de fofura nesta publicação. :) 

Jam Jar Covers - a tutorial

Today I am guest posting at Mabey She Made It. I am sharing a tutorial on how to make these cute jam jar covers! Make sure to head over there to check the whole tutorial.

Sewing (an outfit) for Kindergarten

This adorable girl is going to Kindergarten in a few days. In my culture it is actually what we call pre-school. Kids can attend pre-school up to three years before they go to primary school but some attend just one pre-school year right before primary school. 

When Mie from Sewing Like Mad (a great blogging friend) invited me for this series I was thrilled! So here I am today as part of the Sewing for Kindergarten 2014 edition! Along with my other blogging friend Monica from Adirondack Inspired who is also blogging for this fun series today on her blog! (Check the full blogging schedule at the end of this post.)
Mie asked some questions on the subject, so let's start with those and then we'll talk about the outfit (or outfits, actually) shall we? ;)

Is this your first time sending a child to Kindergarten? If not, what child number is this?
No. In fact she has already been at a day care and at pre-school for a few years - back in the days I had a job - until last summer, so going to a school won't be that new to her. Still, it will take some adaptation because she is going to a different school now (since we moved to another city one year ago) with a new teacher and new kids.

Do you feel like crying or celebrating? And what about your child?
I feel like crying... :) I stayed at home this last school year with her and it was so so good... She used to be a very difficult child - making tantrums all.the.time - before that... but she has calmed down since she is at home with me. So I am sad I won't be spending so much time with her (although I will appreciate all the quietness I am getting for a few daily hours now. ;) ) and I have to confess I am expectant to see if this is going to affect her behavior again or not...
She is excited because she knows she will be at a big school just like her older brother. (oh sibling rivalry... lol) But a few weeks ago we were talking about she being back to school and she was all happy but at some point she just said "okay, I am glad I am going to a big school but can we talk about this later?..." :) Hummm... okay, so she sounded not so excited right? Let's see how it goes in 10 days from now... (Is it really T minus 10 days now?... oh my, I think I am going to cry now...)

What type of school (public, private, homeschool) will your child attend?
She will be attending a public school. Public schools around here are very good.

What was your first day of school like?
I don't remember my first day of pre-school or kindergarten but I do remember my first day of primary school - which was in fact my first day at a big real school. My mom took me there and she said goodbyes about three meters away from my class room door. I remember vividly thinking, while walking towards the door, "I am not going to be a crying baby... I am not going to cry... I am not... going... to..." and I started to sob. LOL :) The rest of the school day was great! I remember the desks were on a "U" shape in the classroom and I instantly made good friends (I was a really extroverted kid, very friendly and chatty). Oh, and I fell in love with my teacher from day one. She was an amazing teacher and a sweet person. So I was good. :) 

If you got this far, you rock! :)

Now, to the outfit.

This lady is very sassy and energetic - she has never-ending batteries... Seriously! So I knew I had to make something practical. I obviously thought about pants + knit top. 
I ended up making a cardigan too because although it is still Summer around here and we are having some very hot days, these alternate with some chilly slightly overcast days - feeling almost like Fall already...

Cardigan: The Aster cardigan, pattern by LBG studio for Willow & Co.
I made a modified version of this pattern since the original one has an adorable collar and closes at the front with three buttons. I always love to make something different from the original pattern so I have opted to make it with a ties closure instead. I kept the 3/4 length sleeves - I think it  makes it even more adorable.

I used this thick structured striped knit that I found on a remnant bin at my local fabric shop a month ago. I don't know its name in english. It is a stretchy knit that feels almost like neoprene but is less stiff and more soft to the touch, and I think it worked wonderfully for this pattern.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram know I had to make a choice for the bias tape on the ties. For those of you who don't (you should ;) ) you can see the other options I had on the table here.

T-shirt: The Mae tunic, free (!) pattern from Straight Stitch designs.

I made this tee a couple of months ago. Kimberly asked for a couple of testers for this free pattern and I immediately offered my time. I was impressed that she was so determined to test this pattern even though it was going to be offered for free, so I was instantly motivated to test it. And I have to say that although it is free it is so well designed as paid patterns.
This knit tunic is very flowy, and have a tail hem and also a lovely pleated detail on the back. The instructions for the pleating are very clear so this tee is very easy to make.

Skinny pants: The Kudzu Cargos pants and shorts pattern, by the Charming Doodle for Willow & Co. 

Again, I modified the original pattern. A lot. I love it the way it is but I wanted to make some simple skinny pants to this little lady, so I didn't make any of the pockets and I jumped the super cool diagonal seam. I think I did the most possible girly girl version of the Kudzu cargos up to date. :)

I used three different fabrics: some pink stretchy poly cotton (again, I don't know how it is called), a floral printed stretchy twill (by the time I started to make these Kudzus, a few months ago, I was playing with floral yokes on several pants I made like the Serendipity ones) and a simple white rib knit for the back.

This pattern has two optional lengths (pants or shorts) and two different widths (straight or skinny), several pockets (kids love those! the more the merrier, right?), a mock fly and a (brilliant) rib waistband with a woven front, both making these pants to be super quick and easy to dress up.

So, this was the outfit I planned for this Kindergarten girl. 
Her plans are a bit different though... :) When we were talking about this outfit she said she already had chosen what to dress for school. She went for it and this is what she has in mind. A knit top (okay that's super) and a... skirt. What else, right?

What did I had in mind when I thought about making pants? What is that a little girl wants to dress all.the.time? A skirt. Or a dress. Anything with the twirling factor. That excludes pants, obviously. Silly me.

I'll be showing more of this other handmade outfit and share all the details, along with a list of must-have patterns for your Kindergarten or School kid's wardrobe, on another post sometime soon just in case you are interested. :)

Make sure to have a look at all these amazing outfits sewn for Kindergarten!