Kindergarten Series with Sewing Like Mad

I first made this for the awesome Sewing for Kindergarten series hosted by Sewing Like Mad, (If you haven't heard of Mie's blog, you definitely need to check it out), but since it's 100% my signature style and it was made within the right time frame, I an also linking it to Project Run and Play.

Mie asked us to answer a few questions. Here we go. 

Is this your first time sending a child to kindergarten? Nope. This is the second time for me. I also have a  third grader. 

Do you feel like crying or celebrating? And what about your child? I am a little sad that she is growing up so fast, but I also know that she is really ready to be in school and will benefit greatly. Ania is super excited. She has been asking to go to school for the last three years. It finally happened. 

What type of school will your child attend? She will be in our local Spanish Immersion school. It's a public school. 

What was your first day of school like? Funny you asked. It was quite traumatic. I was a painfully shy child. I always preferred to play by myself and stay away from other humans as far as possible. My family nicknamed me "the child of the wild." As you can imagine going to school and be surrounded by other children was not something I was looking forward to. I grew up in the Soviet Union, where ceremonies were a huge part of the culture. All first graders (there were no kindergarten) were lined up in front of the school, several rows of boys and girls in brand new uniforms, holding bouquets of flowers for their teachers. Speeches were given, patriotic music played accompanied by the sniffles of adoring parents. At the very end it was customary for the graduating class to walk the new children into their respectful classes. I still remember looking up, and there he was, a giant of a human being smiling and stretching his arm towards me. It seemed to me that his head was touching the sky. I also vividly remember that he had bad acne. And that's when I lost it and started sobbing uncontrollably. I am pretty sure I sobbed for the rest of the day. Eventually, I realized that school was not going away and I needed to become a bit more social to survive. Obviously, I made it. :) 

But enough about me, let's talk about the clothes I made for this happy camper. For the coat I used the Norah dress (affiliate link) by MHC as my base and heavily modified it. This is my third and fourth time (there is a dress underneath the coat) using the pattern ( my other Norahs are here and here). I quite like it, I must say. If you are looking for a basic A-line pattern with sleeve options, get it for sure. :) 

I redrafted the collar, added facings (even to the sleeves, it's quite pretty inside the sleeves :) ) lined it,  added welt pockets, a belt and  sleeve tabs. See the top left picture. This is one of my favorite features - there is a double belt tab. The belt has a belt holder sewn to it that goes through the bottom belt tab. That way you can never lose the belt it stays permanently attached to the coat, yet doesn't look as if it is attached. Brilliant, ha. It wasn't mine idea. the belt and the sleeve tabs came from an old coat of mine that had the same contraption. Many times during the construction I swore that I would never sew with stripes again, but I am so pleased how everything matches nicely. I am quite pleased with the final product.

Here is the inside of the coat. The quilted lining also came from my stash. I finished the bottom with the bias tape and left it unattached to the main body of the coat. It seems like there is more movement to the coat when done this way.

Here is the view from the back. Now let's look at what's underneath the coat.

Yep, I modified another Norah (seems to be a theme here). I made it less A-line and added a casing with elastic in it.  I love love love the fabric. I want it for myself. The name of the fabric is Yokohama Forest. I have no idea who the designer is since I only have a tiny piece of the fabric left with no name on the its salvage.  I bought it here.

I like the simplicity of the dress, I think it suits the fabric well. Ania loves it, she wore it for two days straight. The button is vintage, I had it for a long time waiting for the right dress. :)

Are your children  happy to be back in school? How about you? I miss them, but I am also glad to finally have a little bit more time to myself. It seems so peaceful with just the two at home. :)

I would love to connect with all of you!