Sewing for Kindergarten

It seems that just yesterday I was writing a similar post for the Sewing for Kindergarten series hosted by awesome Sewing Like Mad. Ania was the model.  It's hard to believe two years have past and my baby boy is a kindergartner. Waaaaahhhh. Sniff. Sniff. On a brighter note, I hardly ever sew for my boys, so this was a perfect opportunity.

I ended up making three things - pants, a shirt and a coat. I am really pleased how it all turned out.

The pants came from a Japanese sewing book, Polka Drops. They are unisex and I made quite a few pairs for Ania.I really like them. I traced the pattern long ago in size 120, and I was a bit worried that they would be too small. So I graded them up to the next size, and in retrospect they would have been just fine. I forgot that the Japanese patterns tend to have quite a bit of ease. I did add something like 7 cm to the overall length, which was a good thing, as you can see. My children are very tall. I made several small changes to the pattern. Instead of elastic waistband made form the same fabric, I used knit ribbing and added grommets and a functional drawstring. I also reinforced the knees by adding interfacing and another layer of denim and then quilting all together. For fabric, I recycled my old maternity jeans. I love recycling old jeans for kid pants. I think you get interesting washes and texture and they tend to look more store bought, especially if nicely topstitched.

I used the Mullbery tunic pattern for the shirt. I made no modifications, except using snaps instead of buttons. Since I overcame my fear of snaps last year, I sort of became a #snapsoneverything person. :)

I bought this pretty seersucker fabric as a remnant at the local fabric wearhouse. It's a dangerous place for me to go, ha! I can never resist. It was only $2.00, so the price was right. I did make one modifications, not intentionally though. The fabric is the same on both sides, so while doing the shoulder seams, I accidentally flipped around the back piece and we have an inverted pleat there as a result. I pretend it was meant to be.

Once I finished the pants and the shirt I decided that the whole ensemble was missing a coat. Plus, I made a coat last time I participated in the series. I am really excited how it turned out. A while ago I stumbled upon a garage sale where a former professional seamstress was de-stashing. It was awesome and she was practically giving everything away. I bought all the wool she had. The pattern is form Ottobre 1/2013 issue. It only goes to size 116. I graded it up to 128. I also quilted the lining, the lining fabric came from my out-of-control stash.

My sewing machine went nuts on me during the topstitching, even though I used a sharp big needle. Sigh. I had to unpick it twice. I am sort of happy with it, except where the pocket flap is attached. I wish I had a better machine. I am contemplating buying a vintage machine, I heard they work better. I wish I can afford an industrial one, but unfortunately I have no space for it and it's not in a budget.

I love that the pattern has a hood, it's necessary in the climate we live. Thank you Mie for inviting me to participate. I really enjoyed it! Can't wait to check out what everybody else makes!