KCW day 6+7: sweatpants

One of the great things of sewing is that you can create the clothes that perfectly fit your kids; their bodies as well as their personalities. These sweatpants, sewn during the final days of Kids Clothes Week, are the perfect example.

My kids love to wear 'soft pants'. But since they are tall and slim, their store-bought sweatpants are way too baggy. And even though I'm quite relaxed as it comes to their outfits, I don't allow them to wear these pants to school. But as I completely understand their desire for comfortable clothes, I promised to make them some soft pants that they could wear to school.

And I think I have found the perfect pattern. These are the Moto Maxx pants from Love Notions; slim-fit pants with (optional) slanted padded knee patches. It's an easy and quick sew, and the fit is really spot on. Most patterns tend to be very wide on my kids, but these are even a bit on the slim side for them... 

As a matter of fact, this was the second pair I sewed. The first pair ended up looking like scuba pants, due to my fabric choice (very thick) in combination with the slim fit. Having learned my lesson, I got some thinner fabric and narrowed the seam allowance. Furthermore, I added one cm to the rise and took 1 cm from the front. The result, perfectly fitting, school-worthy sweatpants.

I'm super happy with how they turned out, and so is my girl. She was standing by my side as I finished them and put them on straight away. I foresee that this is going to be the go-to pattern for quick and comfortable sweat pants.

By coincidence, she was wearing a perfectly matching tank top.

Kids Clothes Week: animals all over

Despite a busy week, I'm trying to participate in Kids Clothes Week. This daily hour of sewing is not only a fun challenge, but also a way to relax and unwind.

At least, if everything goes smoothly and as planned. Fortunately, this was largely the case for this little tee.

A while ago I scored this animal fabric at the local fabric market. It's a really nice, thick and high quality knit, and perfect for the theme of KCW (I couldn't find the brand, but found out that it's sold at www.babarum.be in various colorways)
I combined it with some coral/salmon pink for the collar and sleeve cuffs.

As mentioned before, I'm on a mission to introduce more pink in my sons' wardrobes, and I love it. Never having been a big fan of pink, I'm now discovering that there are so many different shades of pink, that can be used in all kinds of color combinations. It has opened a whole new range of opportunities.

Next up, some cool pants for my girl. Let's see how far we can get this week...

Wild things

Tomorrow, another Kids Clothes Week starts. This season's theme is a fun one: Wild Things. I'm always in for some animal inspiration, and already have a few projects in mind, so stay tuned. To warm up, I have been sewing some fun and simple eared hats for my kids. They love to dress up, and these hats boost their imaginative play.

It all started around Easter when my son's teacher asked for 30 bunny hats for all the kids in her class. Searching for a simple and quick pattern, I came across this free pattern from the Purl Bee. 

The original pattern was sized for babies and included lamb ears. so I enlarged the pattern and added bunny ears. After sewing a couple of bunny hats (fortunately, I didn't have to sew all 30 of them), I wanted to try out some other animals.
Enter the panther!

And the fox!

The pattern is really easy and versatile, and has a great fit. You could line the hat, as I did with the panther version, but if you use fleece, there is no need to line them or finish the edges. I think it looks really cute on my 2-year old, but it's also a great pattern to create dress up hats for older kids. In fact, the fox hat was made for a school play of my eldest. After figuring out the right shape and position of the fox ears, I could whip them up in half an hour.

Are you interested in the enlarged pattern and instructions for sewing on the different ears? Let me know, and I will do a tutorial soon!