School outfits

 

   This fall we have been hit with a big change. Both kids have to start wear some sort of uniforms. That limits my creativity so so much.
    I was really disappointed with what was asked to buy. The polos shirt had such an awful fit . Look at those shoulders and is 60% poly blah blah blah. That that short ...

At first I bought her some simple polo navy shirts that were fitting better and were cotton not recycled polyester. I love the idea of recycling plastic bottles to make fabric but not for items for kids that go directly on the skin... And made 3 ruffle skirts ( that also have shorts built in underneath)  to coordinate with them and found an etsy seller to digitize the kindergarten logo for to so I can embroider the shirts:

Made 3 of this flamingo skirt with underpants ( 2 for her friends at kindergarten):

I also made a pair of pleated polka dots pants to go with the shirts:

And them some dresses and tops using navy as the base color but spicing up with a bit of color:

Also made 4 pairs of leggings to go with new dresses 3 navy and 1 yellow:

Sewed some ribbon to mark the back for kids:

Some boy tops:

Sewing 153 - Shopping 125.

Happy Halloween! - Little Red Riding Hood for my little girl!

After doing Andrei's costume this year Eva asked me every day last 2 weeks when will her costume be ready! I had this little red riding hood idea and she loved it as she loves the story and often plays Red with her toys but I had so little free time lately and this pattern had a lot of pieces and fabric to juggle! If she had not been so insistent I don't think I would have made it!
  She need it this morning and I was up till 3 AM last night sewing it! She insisted I put her to sleep and not her dad and I told her that if I do that I might not be able to finish her dress! When she got up in the morning and her dress was ready she was so happy that the fairies come by last night to finish it!
  I used McCall's 7546 pattern for it:

The hood is rather simple and quick but the dress took quite a bit of effort!

Various red fabrics from my stash (quite proud of myself of not going fabric shopping for this one even if my fabrics didn't coordinate perfectly like I want them to)! Mostly cotton! And a few white trims left from my sister in law wedding dress sewing! I used embroidered cotton batiste for petticoat:

   I did wider straps for more coverage and add an embroidered flowers trim over it to make it a little different! Used the same trim as waistband as well!
   Added the long sleeve addition from another view as the weather is not exactly warm at this time of the year! used some white lace at sleeves hem.
   Trying to make my own florence for the neckline with the pattern piece from another view but I don't quite like the end result here - a bit too wide and stiff...
   I added horsehair band in the skirt hem so it will get a bit more volume less chances she will step into the skirt while she walks!
    She is so precious in her new costume:

Sewing 129 - Shopping 125.

Happy Halloween! - Grim reaper costume for my son!

Halloween is not big here. It is an imported holiday and is just commercial and superficial ... but there have been a few events for kids on kindergarten and school and dressing up is so fun for the kids. Previous years I got by with store outfits but this year I asked Andrei what he wants to be. His answer was Slender Man and took me by surprise. I was not quite aware that he was over superheros! I told him I don't think I can put together a slender man costume in less then a week and asked him to keep thinking and showing him options I could buy! He rated almost all the costumes available as childish and didn't got much interest in any untill from search to search he got to some adult grim reapers and zombies costumes with nice make-up and then his face light up, literally! So considering what he liked and what I thought I could do in a short time frame he choose to be death! There were some cheap satin robes I could buy but they all look so cheap and ill made and unattractive! So I decided to make the robe myself!
   I considered a few robes patterns but none looked exactly right to me. Even if I had little time I lost a lot of it choosing a pattern and a fabric!
  In the end I decided to draft the robe myself starting from a hoodie pattern from Ottobre. I just love the front cross over hoodies they have - looks stylish and covers the neck nicely:

I changed the shape of the hood to trail on the back a bit and slashed the sleeves for more drama. I went for a A-line maxi dress with it and the heavy twill I choose was so so perfect for it! I could not believe how well  it draped in this fabric and how reached it looked compared to the cheap satin ones!

To make it a little different I added black and white striped batiste lining to the hood and sleeves! Great effect!

I bought professional latex makeup for him but his party at school started very early in the morning with his classes and also thought he might to be comfortable with all that makeup so on the last minute replaced make-up with a cheap plastic mask he could take off at any moment. We trayed some latex masks as well who were better looking but he could not stand them over his face! It was nice that his hood covered the neck as well! I also got him a pair of black latex gloves and a skulls necklace! He was pleased with his outfit! And so was I!

I had bigger plans to add some bloody hand embroidery to the robe and a few other creepy elements but never got around to do it! I took great pleasure in seeing how nicely the hood, the shoulders and everything was actually fitting him.