It's Kid's Clothes Week! Are you participating this season?
I'd say that I'm "sort of" participating...
The theme this season is "kid art", of course that can be taken many different ways, but I thought it'd be fun to get the kids involved and let them add some of their own designs to some clothes. Of course these were my ideas way back when the theme was first announced. I had grand ideas to have Violet's drawings turned into her own fabric similar to this horse fabric, and then turn it into something super special. But, alas, I've been doing a lot of sewing lately and haven't been doing a lot of blogging. So, this week I'm thinking I'll do a little catch up and share some of the things that I've been making recently.
Of course, it's hard not to get caught up in the excitement of KCW and so I will likely still make a few little things as well...
But first...
A couple of weekends ago my husband's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and we, along with my husband's two sisters and their families, planned a great big anniversary bash! It was a lot of work and a lot of people, but all of the work made for an amazing, fun and special party! I mean 50 years being married, that is truly a fantastic reason to throw a fabulous party, right? There were touching moments, funny moments, old friends, family, old pictures and memories and brand new memories too, that we will all cherish and remember.
Of course, as often occurs with special occasions around here, there were some handmades.
There are six grandchildren in our family, five boys and Violet, the one granddaughter. We decided, as a nod to my in-laws' wedding where the bridesmaids wore dresses in colors of the rainbow, that the grandchildren would "wear the rainbow" as well. The grandsons wore khakis, white shirts and ties (Violet wore a dress, which I will share another day). Henry chose a red tie (of course, since that his favorite color!) and agreed to wear a properly fitting pair of shorts if I made them for him.
If you've been around here long enough you, perhaps, know Henry's affinity for wearing leggings and pants/shorts that are too small for him. It's nearly impossible to talk him into wearing things that actually fit him properly so I was a bit concerned how we were going to talk him into wearing a boring old pair of khakis. I did, however, have a couple of things on my side, he loves to dress up and look "handsome" (as he says) and he wears these bumblebee boy shorts a lot!
So, with the promise that I would make his shorts just like his bumblebee boy shorts (I did manage to make them one size bigger!) I set out to make a pair of khaki Parsley shorts.
The khaki is from my stash and has a tiny bit of stretch and is so soft. I can't remember how exactly I acquired it but I have a large amount of it and I got it for free. At some point a few years ago before I was sewing a ton of clothes I received a few sets of freebie fabric, mostly apparel, and I've held onto it, just in case. Now, suddenly I actually know what to do with it!
I apologize for the terrible not so great pictures. Honestly, all of the pictures from the party turned out to be not so great, but we were all dressed up so I had to try! I had hoped that we would get them taken outside, but we ran out of time so we tried in the silo part of our venue. The lighting was "good enough" but I didn't have the lens I'm used to using, plus we'd all been working and dancing and sweating sooo....
Anywho, khaki parsely shorts, with yellow piping (similar to Violet's green parsleys) to make them "not so boring".
And, sadly, yes darn it I somehow managed to hem one leg slightly shorter than the other! I don't know, I blame exhaustion or dumminess. I didn't even realize it until much after the fact, I'll have to fix that! But despite my mistake he actually really loves them! Well, likes them enough that he's worn them a couple of other times which is a total bonus!
And, don't forget the red bow tie!
I've made bow ties before, kid versions and mini versions but wanted something that I could whip up in nearly a flash (read, no bow tying necessary!). I used this bow tie tutorial which worked out great and gave a nice big and full bow tie!
Henry eagerly watched me making his new red bow tie perched upon my sewing desk asking me questions about each step and cheered when it was done!
He looked so handsome that day, he even (on his own) insisted that he wear his straw hat to accessorize. Of course, the pictures don't really do it justice, bad lighting and a kid who'd rather be dancing!
Check the dance moves!
So, are you sewing for Kid's Clothes Week how's it going?