Things [ Hand Made ]

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My chance to wonder about hand made things and tell the world about those I make, love and cherish!

Saturday 28 April 2012

Kids clothes week challenge and a book review.

sorry, sorry,
Running in late as usual, checking my name badge is on, trying to find a seat that does not involve people moving while pulling out pen/notebook and switching phone off at the same time
That how I seem to go through life.
 I don't ever quite has a good reason for being late but I am one of those people who tries to squeeze in just doing an extra thing on the way in which makes me late.
I know, its annoying.
Sorry.
This is me running in late to KCWC. I have read about this for the last couple of years on the lovely site of a UK lass in the US
then I had this book for my birthday
my 40th birthday , did I mention that already?


My 5 year old girl has been on a search for a twirler, a skirt which really twirls.
 Every time she has a new skirt on , she check to see if its a twirler.
Being a life long daily skirt wearer I can understand this
nope, I don't even own a pair of jeans.
This book has the most wonderful, indulgent clothes for girls, covered in ribbons and braids, details and frills. I am not enriely sure how practical they are to wear. There is a paragraph suggesting alternatives to drawstring as they can be dangersous and then some skirts have trailing ribbons. 
I have a fairly typical 5 year old and trailing ribbons would quickly catch on things. 
This is not a criticism of the book but an observation. The book does encourage you to add details and take the time to add things for the children to discover and this is defianely soemthing I take away form the book.
I chose to start with the Insa skirt. 
It looked like a twirler.



 Its a double layer skirt and I used a remnant of some flowery fabirc and chose to match it with an old stripy bed sheet. 
If I could I would have photographed it in a wild flower meadow with child's laughter  all around but anyone who lives in the UK will know why that hasn't been possible this week.
Instead I have gone for a badly lit homage to Josef Beuys

 Hard to see in the photo but I have added a lace edging and a braided ribbon.
That pattern said to use 4 panels and I used 6 panels to ensure it is a real twirler.
I also added a hanging loop and a little purse.
Even at 5 years old, little girls need pockets.
The most important thing is that she loves it.

The 7 year old and I looked through the book and the book is limited in the choices for boys. We decided to make the Imke shirt as a fleece jumper.
Thinking back to the idea of adding detail we agreed on a rabbit on the front, peeping over the pocket
We recently acquired a pet rabbit and so its a big theme at the moment.


The other detail I added was the bunny tail on the hood.
He though it was wonderful.
But...
 it is a very straightforward pattern but I messed up the sizing,
Luckily it fits the 5 year old perfectly
He is quite a laid back 7 year old and is happy to wait for his.

This book has made me think more about making children clothes, the patterns are interesting and have a twist. it feels like good value as there are 10 patterns within the book It reminded me to take lots of measurements and lots of good hints. The instruction could go into more detail but then maybe a beginner wouldn't start with this book.

I plan to make more but not next week.
so kind of you to ask why I cant do it next week
 I will be away
where?
OK
so this is my moment.

I will be in Venice

Its my birthday trip
Did I mention it was my 40th birthday this year?
oh I did.

10 comments:

Joanna said...

VENICE???!!! You lucky lucky girl!! It is a sometime dream of mine to go to Venice. It can't be any wetter than the UK, and they'll be all that beautiful architecture and gondolas. Bliss.

Your 5 year old has great style, wanting a twirly skirt. Twirlability is very important. The skirt you made her, with its sweet little purse, is gorgeous. And twirly :o)

Such a shame the bunny fleece doesn't fit your 7 year old. Better luck next time.

x

Gina said...

Wishing you a very happy birthday and a wonderful trip to Venice. Love the twirly skirt.

French Knots said...

I went to Venice for my 30th ( now a long time ago!) and it is the most amazing place I have ever been. Just crossing the lagoon from the airport was magical, have a wonderful time.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely description of making clothes for your young ones; how well I remember when I did that. But it was a long, long time ago, and now even the grandchildren are grown and beyond hand-made things. Hope the 7-year old gets his bunny fleece soon.

Nicole said...

Enjoy your birthday trip!
:-D Venice, yay.

My daughter is 4.5 and loves skirts, too. I made her two twirly patchwork skirts. Two years apart for easter :-D The last one still fits really really well, but next year is definitely time for another one of those, they're just a bit of a pain to make.

dottycookie said...

What a gorgeously twirly skirt! Have a lovely trip to Venice!

Rose&Bird said...

Thank you for posting about the challenge, I didn't know about it, but I'm joining in now!

Have a lovely time in Venice - I went there and Lake Garda for my honeymoon 5 years ago x

angharad handmade said...

Oh wow, Venice! You lucky thing! And what a fabulous way to celebrate your birthday. Have you been before? It is such an amazing place to visit. You'll have such a wonderful time, I'm sure.

The clothes are gorgeous! I have an 8 year old who would love the twirly skirt, and the hooded top is a great boy's pattern.

Enjoy your Venice trip!! x

dandelion said...

Oh Venice!!! I love Venice it's my favourite place in the whole world!! I think I went to Lincolnshire for my 40th! Have a wonderful time. !

UK lass in US said...

Ooh, I got a mention! Sorry, I'm horribly behind on blog reading.... I'm guessing that you've already had a wonderful time in Venice by now (not jealous at all...).

I do like those clothes - although my daughter takes after her mother, so there's not many requests for twirly skirts around here. Maybe I should put a skirt on every now and again and try to be a better role model.