Bond, Jackson Bond

 

I’m always excited when I get invited to play with a new pattern, whether it’s testing or pattern tours or just trying it out. And I adore Stacey for her dry humour and luscious eyebrows, and her boy-centric sewing always inspires. But for some reason I hesitated a moment – just a brief moment – when she invited me to the Bond pattern tour. The Bond really struck me as a reflection of Stacey’s fresh, modern style, and I wasn’t sure I was could do it justice. I mean we all know I am hip with the times, lol to my homies and all that, but I wasn’t sure if I could keep up to the pack. But I decided to go for it anyways, and try make it Jackson-flavoured, and man in the end it was more Jackson-y than I could have imagined.

I was very excited to sew my first garment for Jackson since the wee shorts I made when he was too small to fit in most store-bought clothes. I decided to go with a warm brownish-grey Riley Blake diagonal plaid pirate themed fabric paired with a dark brown tissue knit. I wouldn’t really recommend tissue knit if you’re not super comfortable with knits, I am and I still cringe a bit because if you mess up or the sewing machine starts to gobble it up, kiss that ish goodbye and start over. After I was finished I found an almost identical thicker brown knit on my desk and had words with myself about cleaning my craft room.

So at the beginning of January I had my fabrics picked out, I printed out my pattern, taped it, cut it. Then the closer and closer I got to the placket, the more freaked out I became. You see, when I was a newbie sewest sewer when I was a sewing baby, I did not know what was supposed to be scary. I’ve used knits from day one because I didn’t find out they were hard until after I’d already been using them for ages. I’d added a collar onto a shirt that was absolutely terrible but the collar turned out just fine, no problemo. I always assumed it wasn’t them, it was me, when I had difficulties, so I just kept trying. But I never got a chance to try a placket before I got wise enough to taste fear. And taste it I did. I sampled and nibbled and procrastinated actually sewing this top until two days before the blog post was due. Thus effectively not giving myself very much time to start over if I did mess up. Clever.

 

Early this week I read and re-read the instructions for the placket, then went and read a few other placket tutorials I dug up on the internet. When I had read enough of them that they started to make sense and I could see the steps coming together and a bit of the what and why, I was ready to try. Later. So on Tuesday, I went to my sewing machine and iron, put on some Katy Perry, and Roared.

And here’s a secret. It wasn’t so bad. I’m a huge baby. And I wish I’d tried one before. I feel like trying this pattern will open a whole new world of placket-y goodness for me, which is totally awesome, because I absolutely adore a good placket. I instantly instagrammed my placket, and my IG sewing friends rejoiced with me. Then I went and showed my husband my placket, and he glanced at it for half a second and grunted acknowledgement. I was taken aback.

“No, dear, it’s a placket,” I gently explained. “It’s awesome. I did an awesome thing. Look at my placket.” He did not look at my placket, involved as he was watching a Disney Princess movie with our girls. I decided to forgive him and maybe eat crackers on his side of the bed.

In his favour, he did admire the finished shirt, even if he thought it was for Olivia. In his defense, though, she did declare it hers the next morning, and then insist that I immediately make her an identical one when I put it on her brother anyways and pointed out the sizing.

In the end, I am so so glad I said yes to the dress. I mean, to the pattern. It is so completely perfect for Jackson. This shirt, like Jackson, looks Serious Stuff but is in reality playful and fun. He took a hissy fit when I shoved it on and buttoned it up, then stared solemnly at me for a moment after he was fully dressed. After deciding I wasn’t going to change my mind and let him be naked and free, he jumped onto the bed to roll and tumble and play with his dad in his new cute but very tumble-friendly shirt.

I do have to hem it yet – I put it on him to check and wasn’t able to take it off. I also made a few tiny mistakes, including topstitching the collar upside-down, which wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t had white bobbin thread. D’oh. And initially I put the placket in facing the GIRL way, and almost left it, but it was a super duper simple fix and considering how particular I had been thus far, really worth fixing. (And then the white topstitching on just the collar. Again, d’oh! I will probably pick that out and redo when I manage to pry the shirt off of him.) But I’m even happy with it as it is, and keep swooning over it and its perfect match to my playful sweetheart with the serious packaging.

Be sure to check out Sabra of Sew A Straight Line’s version of the Bond Top (and she is a way more experienced boy-sewperson than I am so do check hers out!), as well as the rest of the tour. If you hadn’t heard already, in honour of Kids Clothes Week and the pattern tour, you can use the code BONDTOP here to get $2 off this $8 pattern. Whether your style is fresh and modern, fun and funky, or a bit more subdued like Jackson’s here, the Bond Top is probably right for you. It’s definitely an advanced beginner / intermediate pattern, so if you are just starting on kids clothes I could probably suggest a few other places to start. But then again if nobody tells you this is hard, you might just try it, and it might take two tries to get something you’re delighted with, but you could totally do it. Just go for it!

Strategizing for Kids Clothes Week

It’s Kids Clothes Week, Fall Edition! To be honest, it snowed a bit last night, so fall isn’t going to last much longer around here.

But fall, winter, no matter. Long sleeves, items that can be layered, and comfy cozy… those are the names of the game! Not to mention deeper, richer colours. Personally I’m putting a few dashes of dark purple and some golden mustard in there, for sure.

Right now I’m actually looking to my kids’ wardrobes for inspiration. I’m using items they already own and love for inspiration for shape and fit and making them new items to refresh their wardrobes while staying safely within the zone of stuff I know works. I’m planning on using a lot of knits for items like Go To Leggings, Bimaa sweaters, and self drafted peasant tunics and long sleeve t’s. I’m also planning on tossing in some woven dresses and possibly also some slacks. I’m not sure where I think I’m going to find all this spare time to get this all done in seven days, but the point is to work on it and that’s what I’ve been doing.

Taking a cue from Max California I’m planning on mostly cutting during the day, which is my least favourite task but easily one I can do with my kids around. Sewing and pressing require a little more focus and call for me to be in my craft room (or drag my sewing machine upstairs to the kitchen, which I’ve done in a pinch before.) but this will be a lot less disruptive to the flow of the family. Olivia is actually getting to a point where if I allow her to watch a show during Jackson’s nap I can sneak some sewing in there, too!

random speed painting of JackJack in lieu of relevant photo

I’m also planning on utilizing slow cooker meals or meals I’ve prepped already and frozen. I’m not sure if I mentioned it here but on Instagram I shared that two weeks ago I made between 2 and 4 of several meals and froze them so I could sail through the rest of the month and avoid rough days ending in pizza. Pizza has a time and a place, movie nights would be my preference! That plan has been going GREAT and I’m definitely planning on restocking my meal supply again next week.

Lastly, I’m giving potty training Olivia another go. This has nothing to do with KCW but I just wanted you all to pat my hand sympathetically, knowing that there is likely a lot of nasty laundry in my future. She’s being pretty obliging so far though, so maybe third fourth fifth who cares time is the charm. Her ‘digestive issues’ seem pretty settled lately so here’s hoping!

KCWC-ish

Okay so first of all, I did this like two weeks ago but I have two under two, a kitchen reno, wasn’t in my house for two weeks, had to move out and back in with three kids, and you’re not the boss of me. Secondly, this is really just a quick alteration, but it was touching my sewing machine, so again… you’re not the boss of me. Shut your face. I won’t put it in the flicker pool, because it doesn’t seem worthy, but know this… kids clothes and sewing have been on my mind. And refashioning has been on my mind a lot again lately, too. Sometimes a refashion is as simple as fixing an unwearable but potentially awesome pair of pants!

So, these pants. They are the best pants. They’re a dusty green with flowers and I bought them on a clearance rack for four bucks. Woohoo! Joe Fresh, if you’re curious. Then I got her to put them on and they were snug little skinny pants, yes. And yet the waist was an inch and a half too big? Weird, guys. Weird.

So I took them in at the waist. No fancy. I didn’t even measure, just pinched and guessed and hoped for the best. If you say that out loud, it rhymes. (Olivia always has this eighties-looking ponytail going on and I don’t love it but she’s not fond of having her hair done and it’s in that awkward place where it’s not bangs anymore but it hangs in her face.)

The shirt she’s wearing it with was her back to school shirt that I bought her early on in summer and made her put back in her closet several times before school started. She even tried to sneak it out under sweaters, but you get busted pretty fast wearing a hoodie sweater when it’s sweatastically hot outside. Anyways, aside from the fact that she’s clearly a professional model on the side, another thing about Nicole lately is that she la-la-LOVES sequins. I picked up some sequin trim last time I was fabric shopping and one of my goals this week it to use it to make her a shirt. I’m sewing up something hopefully cute for Olivia first (better be cute after all the decorative hand stitching I did on the bodice) but then it’s all Nicole. She’s been asking every time I look in the direction of my craft room if I can sew her something.

Nicole modelled these pictures. I mostly just went with it, but I did ask her what was on the roof to distract her when she started making some CA-RAY-zee faces.

Pretty sure she was a baby sometime last week but good grief, I am far too young to have this long limbed creature as my child. But then she’s in her room and finds a ‘surprise’ from our naughty doggie and crossly exclaims “ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Augh… Lily!” in literally the exact same tone that I use and yup… that kid is mine.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge

So in case you don’t follow any of the bloggers participating….

I have actually been sewing away almost every day at one thing or another, most of which is for my children, but today I actually have a finished product to display. Simple enough, a peasant top for Olivia in a very cool fabric. I’ll try get a picture of her actually wearing it tomorrow. After I finished it, washed it, and hung til it was dry, her and I were done with each other for the day. We had a falling-out over dinner. I’d tell you who won but I don’t want to embarrass myself anyone on the internet.

I had to put it all large in hopes that you can see some of the detail in this very cool fabric. And now I will tell you a sad, sad tale about said fabric. (see it modelled, if you can call it that, here)

See, I was quite delighted to find this fabric with a finished edge to it, all dappled grey and pretty and very light and airy. “This,” I thought to myself, “is perfect for making a summer maternity dress.” Whether I did a tank on top with a gathered skirt of this on the bottom, or shirred it on the top and just did a maxi dress, it was going to be perfect.

But no.

Because I did my mental math on how much fabric I would need to make a dress. BUT. And this is a big old BUTT, much like my own…….. I did that mental math based on when I use both sides of the selvedge on a piece of fashion fabric. Nooooo, sir. Wrong. I came home with two different fabrics intended for this type of purpose, and in both of them I have exactly half of what I need.

And the moral of the story is

When shopping for Kids Clothes Week Challenge

Shop for Kids Clothes Week Challenge.

The end.

(on the bright side, I have to go back for fabric for me next week. Because I. Am. So. Done. With. Maternity. Pants. Please tell me I’m not the only one out there who finds that they drag your underwear halfway down your bum. And then you have to pull up your underwear, and then you have to pull up the back of your pants, and then you have to pull up the front of your pants.  Repeat every five minutes for about eight hours. And then you just go and take off your pants, sit on your bed and scowl, and then put on some perfectly good yoga pants.)

KCWC summary + Rufflicious Skirt Debut

Okay, so my kids have been tag teaming this whole getting sick/being miserable thing. I’m all about nurturing, nurture cuddle nuture, that’s me. But I wish they could just get it together and both be sick at the same time. Then I could lie about in bed with them both and listen to them moan and groan and make soothing noises back and them, and then slip off to Get Stuff Done when they both drift off to sleep. But no, one kid gets sick and gives it to the other kid and then that kid gets another thing while their immunity is down and gives THAT to the first kid… you know how it is. Anyways, I’ve moaned on about me being sick or them being sick for I dunno, a month now, off and on. It’s been grand. I’m sure you’re as sick of us being sick as we are. ITS SUMMER WEATHER OUTSIDE. I think it will all go away soon.

ON TO KCWC. My goal was to complete a sister set for my girls and at least one other thing. I completed the sister set (okay so the skirt was finished a day late and a dollar short) and called it good.

Olivia:

I want to do surgery on this yet. My calculations were a bit off and I did some past-midnight-sewing, as I mentioned, so there are some oopsies. Also my first applique attempt in a long time, it was kind of poor, to put it mildly, but oh well. I hope to put a waistband over the waist part and bring it in a bit, it’s a bit loose thankfully so I can afford to do that, and hopefully that will fix the ‘situation’ at least a bit.

Nicole’s outfit… well, I could just put it on her and then go skipping through a field of daisies with joy. Heck, I could skip through my yard full of dandelions with joy. LOVE. IT. I learned from my mistakes (look ma! Finally! It took 24 years but darnit, I’ve started learning from my mistakes!) and moved on to victory.

As long as you don’t examine Olivia’s too closely it still looks pretty cute. She’ll wear it. They’ll wear it together and Nicole will be pleased. Every day she says, “I want to match Olivia!” See, it’s not just me enforcing a rein of terror upon my children. THEY WANT TO MATCH. Well, the baby has no say, but whatever. She’s happy if she can chew a ruffle, so we’re golden.

left: Um, yeah, applique… suuuuuuper. Homemade? right: Nicely done! Still room for improvement, but definite learning curve. Handmade!

left: homemade, definitely homemade. It looks like the dog ate it, but really I just had a bit of a learning curve with the serger. right: yaaay! There’s still a few wonky spots on the skirt but I definitely have if not mastered then at least intermediate-ed the rolled hem stitch on my serger.

Dreamy sigh. I call this the Rufflicious Skirt. At first I called it Rufflemania but discarded that promptly because in my excitement I named it like it was wrestling related or something. No. Rufflicious it is. I’m going to grade it and make a pattern of sorts (it’s going to be diagrams and not printable pattern pieces, because it is a series of rectangles.) I’m trying to decide if I’ll do a tutorial or a .pdf for sale. If I do a pdf it will be size 6mos to 4/5, most likely. A tutorial I will do size 4/5 and size 6mos because I already did the 4/5 and I’m going to do the 6mos anyways. What say you? If you say paid pattern, how much would you be willing to pay? I’m thinking like $6.99CAD or something?

Look guys, look how yummy. LOOK. I didn’t pose this, she sat down to play Princess Dress Up on my ipod and the skirt did this on it’s own. I love it so bad. SO. BAD. It’s a little hefty but she loves it, seems comfortable, and the fact that the tiers are rufflier as they go along makes it so the middle tier holds in the bottom tier in such a fashion that I haven’t seen her panties ONCE today, despite no leggings. That is major, folks. She acts like a little lady sometimes but she rarely sits like one. (gets it from her mama, unfortunately. Sorry ma, I learned from my mistakes but I still sit like a boy.)

Kids Clothing Week Challenge quickie

Just a quick pop-in for Kids Clothing Week Challenge… (button in left side bar somewhere) so far this week I’ve completed this onesie dress (and a matching headband, which she wore almost constantly and yet I have no pictures of it.) … it need work, I didn’t want it to be TOO flouncy because she is a crawler and hindering her by putting her in flouncy dresses doesn’t actually hinder her so much as cause her to smash her face over… and over… and over. Early crawlers. Cute, yes. Learn from their mistakes? Heck no.

Anyways, I am the queen of tangents, no shock there. The point is, I didn’t make it flouncy enough. The top tier was a few inches wider than the onesie and the rest were 1.5 more from each other from there, but the first tier obviously should have been 1.5 the onesie, at least. I might be able to save it by putting an elastic waist in it where the onesie meets the skirt, it’s pretty loose as you can see. She’s so tall she has a few of these onesies that are wide but short.

Another problem is that I topstitched the onesie-skirt intersection the wrong way. Ruffles should always be topstitched with the seam on the ruffle side, for maximum flounce. I have never made this mistake before. You know what else I’ve never done? Sew til 1am. Well, I mean, I’ve done it before, but the results were equally idiotic. This is the other reason I don’t tend to give up sleep for things I haven’t literally birthed. Its never worth it, in the end. For me at least. My IQ goes down a point every minute past 11.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a picture of my sister as a baby making this exact same face this exact same way. Tiffany and I were told we look like twins at the dentist the other day, when she came along to help me out (a blessing indeed.) I’ve never heard that one before! For one, Tiffany doesn’t have the hips of a twelve year old boy… Also, she’s dirty blonde, but you can’t tell anymore because she tends to dye her hair to match my natural color half the time. Although last time she went black and purple, which is nobody’s natural color.