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Sewing: dainty delicates

I guess delicates isn't exactly the right term here.  But calling them jammies would give off the wrong vibe.
Mostly, I wanted to sew a pajama set that was soft and girly for my dainty Lucy girl, who's tiny body is so full of energy it's often bouncing off the walls.

And Kid's Clothes Week seemed like the perfect time.  In fact, I love it when KCW rolls around because I just have fun free-sewing---without thinking about making a tutorial and documenting each little step (though I do think this would make a darling pattern.  hmmm.....)

If you're new to Kid's Clothes Week (organized by Elsie Marley), it's a week dedicated to well, sewing for kids!  But you only have to do it a bit at time, one hour a day.  It's that simple motivation you need to just do it.   And when hundreds of other sewers are doing it too (and sharing cool creations in the group here and here) you just want to sew more.

So the other day when the kids were home from school for a snow day, I whipped something up.  Shorts and snow.  They totally go together.   And so does Fold Over Elastic (FOE) right?

I pulled out some of my most lightweight cottons from the stash and a grabbed whatever fun trims I'd accumulated over the years.  Btw, I fully believe that when you see a trim you love, even if you're not sure what you're going to do with it, you should buy it.  You'll use it one day.  And today I grabbed the turquoise FOE and the large spool of blue elastic purchased at the FIDM scholarship store 2 years ago, and turned them into Lucyisms.

For the shirt I drafted a quick peasant top pattern so it would be roomy and comfy for sleeping, with slightly larger armholes. 

I serged the sleeve edges with a dainty rolled hem and sewed the elastic exposed on the neckline, leaving extra length at the neck to tie it in a bow. Then I sewed the whole thing up in about an hour.  And it totally turned out how I pictured in my head---I love those kind of projects.  Lucy loved it too. 

For the shorts I used the KID Shorts Pattern and made some slight adjustments.   I flared the bottom of the legs out a bit to make them extra roomy but I think that the look would have worked better with a silky/satin fabric.  I trimmed extra length from the legs to make them extra short (within reason and taste of course).  Then I trimmed a good 1.5 inches from the waist so I could bind the edge with Fold Over Elastic for the waistband, instead of sewing a casing and stringing elastic through.  I'm still playing with this and will have to share a tutorial another time when I work out the kinks.  

But overall they turned out really cute and look more like "delicates" than playtime shorts.

And I'm always amazed at how a little hemming and elastic can turn this crazy mess,

into this.

Sewing impresses me every time!  Even when you've been doing it for years.

So there you go.
A simple set of dainties for my dainty.
I'm sure I'll be making more.
Because the other good news is....if you wake up late for school, just throw on your jeans and call it a Pajama day!

Sweet dreams, sweet girl.

the MADE EVERDAY show episode 2: How to sew a Pillow 2 ways

Hello friends!
We're back from Christmas travels, the laundry is finally folded, and we sold our current house!
Phew.
Things. are. happening.

And today we've got a brand new episode of MADE EVERYDAY with Dana---a fresh new sewing show, where we create cool things using everyday items.  You can always find episodes here on the blog (click the video tab at the top).  Or, subscribe to my Youtube channel so you're updated as soon as the episode goes live.

And thank you for your fabulous response to the first episode. I'm so happy you love it and that you're ready for more! 
Today we're talking about.....

That's right.  A throw pillow is one of the easiest things to sew and it's one of the easiest ways to redecorate a room.  So if you're a beginner sewer, this episode is for YOU.  And if you're an advanced sewer it's for you too!  Come along and pick up a new trick.  I'll show you how to sew a pillow two different ways.

Just hit the play button below.
Enjoy!