Elegance and Elephants Archives

March 27, 2014May 29, 2014

E&E Bubble Pocket Shorts

In preparation for warmer weather, it was high time to make some shorts for my 1 year old daughter. I needed a quick finish, so I actually made the exact same shorts I made her last summer – the Elegance and Elephants (E&E) Bubble Pocket Shorts. I also made them in chambray last summer.

This summer I sized up and made the 18M/2T size, and they are a little big on my little girl. Width wise, they are fine (need to tighten up the elastic a little), but they are loooong! And she is tall, so that tells you how long they are. It’s hard because the sizing choices are 6/12 month or 18 month/2T. I think there really needs to be another size in there for the little ones. One the plus side, they should fit for this entire summer, and possibly next summer.

This summer I had the advantage of constructing these shorts with my serger, and they took much less time! Last summer, I didn’t have a serger yet so I had to finish every seam and it took forever. On the plus side, I think finishing the seams that way created a slightly nicer finished garment, but not so much nicer that I would do it instead of the serger.

The fabric was purchased from JoAnns last summer. It has the texture of a seersucker, but isn’t quite.

If I make another pair of these, I am going to attach the bottom binding the pre-serger way. I prefer the look of attaching the bottom as binding and enclosing that bottom seam. It also shortens the shorts a little bit that would have helped with fit. I also think it made the bottom hem lay a little bit neater. I would pull out the pair from last summer to demonstrate, but they are deep in the attic land of too-small clothes.

In the picture below, they are riding up a little bit so you don’t see just how long they are. Her hat is my favorite Little Betty Bonnet. I made the 12-24 month size as the directions call for. This is at least my 6th version of this pattern, so it’s a winner! I love a little girl in a bonnet, and this is her spring one.

Bubble Pocket Shorts & Little Betty Bonnet

The mortar in the background is from the Castillo del San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine. A quick spring break trip to see Great Grandma (or Nonna-Nonna as we call her) was what necessitated the summer clothes while it was still chilly here in North Carolina. The preview of spring/summer weather was amazing! Although I can’t complain too much because I think we may finally have spring here to stay with warmer weather and blooming flowers. Even if it was 20 degrees this morning (it’s supposed to be back in the 70’s this weekend – sorry north!)

Update for the 30/30 challenge:

1. COMPLETE: Two blocks for my “Real World Red & White” Sampler.

2. A shirt for me. I’ve been wanting to make my own clothes for awhile, so why not start?

3. COMPLETE: Get ready for spring! I need at least one pair of shorts for my daughter, preferable more.

4. COMPLETE: Acknowledge that spring is not here yet, therefore make a couple pairs of pants for my daughter.

5. Complete the March Stash Bee block – that’s not a real goal, more of a must finish, but I think it still counts (and makes this list a little less clothing heavy). – working on it!

Linking up to: Anything Goes Monday, Let’s Bee Social Wednesday @ SewFreshQuilts, and Sew Cute Tuesday @ Blossom Heart Quilts.

October 16, 2013May 29, 2014

Chambray shorts

I often feel like an impostor when I sew clothing. I am self-taught and learn a lot of things the hard way. Then, when I was watching Project Runway several weeks ago the winning designer (Alexandria) used chambray and the judges loved how she used the fabric! It made me feel a little better about myself. I am not an impostor when I used the same fabric in these shorts, and used it before Project Runway did.

That is not to say I am by any means anything other than a beginning seamstress when it comes to clothing, but I think I make nice quality garments for my daughter. If they weren’t, I would not let her wear them and I wouldn’t waste my own time to make them. There are already too many cheap, ready to wear options to waste time and fabric on substandard homemade substitutes. I aspire to fully support high quality and ethically produced clothing, but time and financial constraints exist. That was slightly deeper than I originally meant to go.

Now, on to the shorts. These are the ever popular Elegance and Elephants Bubble Shorts in size 6 months. The fabric is a blue chambray that is a nice weight for baby shorts. It was a little more challenging to sew with than regular quilting cotton because of the edges fraying more than I am used to. However, the fraying issue was not bad enough to deter me from sewing with this fabric again. It is enough of an issue that the seams need to be finished though. I used french seams to finish mine.

My daughter’s favorite part of these shorts are the tie. What’s better than a string to play with that you can’t drop or lose?

One final parting shot of her adorableness and the irony of childhood – every toy she could ever want and one of her favorites is an old remote.

Linked to:

July 1, 2013June 25, 2014

Summer Sewing = Baby Clothes

I have a four month old that likes to sleep for only 20 minutes at a time. That makes creating challenging to say the least. I’ve been mostly trying to finish up old projects which means working on quilt back which are not as exciting, which is why I generally lose steam at the end of a project and don’t finish them right away.

Instead, I’m falling in love with the quick satisfaction of sewing baby clothes! Dresses, shorts, bonnets… every type of clothing is fair game!

First up dresses… I am in love with the Geranium Dress Pattern from Made by Rae. First, I tried the free sample version in the 0-3 month size. It sewed up so quickly and looked so cute!

Next came the 3-6 month for summer… I can’t wait to have her wear this up in Rhode Island on vacation. She will be very dapper at the beach.

Then I just couldn’t stop! I made the 6-9 month in a pretty floral pattern – Lisette from JoAnn’s Fabric. I figure we live in North Carolina, so it stays warm longer. She will still be able to wear this in the fall.

Then my poor little girl’s head was bare in the hot sun this summer. That required bonnets to keep the sun out of her face as well meaning bystanders wanted to hold her and didn’t pay as much attention to the shade as I do. I used the design from Little Betty Designs to make a reversible bonnet for my baby girl. This is the 0-6 month size on a 3.5 month old. It fit her well, but now a month later it was getting small, so I made it again with a smaller seam allowance and this larger version will fit probably through the summer.

Then on to shorts, because it is too hot here to put pants on those cute little chubby legs! These are made from the pattern by Elegance and Elephants. The smallest size in the pattern was 6-12 months, so these were downsized to fit my 4 month old. The main challenge of this pattern was that it assumes you have a serger. I wish I had known that before purchasing the pattern as I do not own a serger. Therefore, I had to finish every seam. I think it turned out even nicer this way, but it did take quite a bit longer to finish.

This summarizes my summer sewing so far… I’m loving the adorable clothes to make for kids. It will be even more fun as she gets into walking so these creations can be seen better. Maybe next on the schedule will be some quilty goodness!