I guess you could say that I've had a conversion experience. I tend not to make kids things out of wovens very often. They prefer to wear knits and we almost always need things that can block a little chill. There was a freeze warning here last night. A FREEZE WARNING. And it's almost July. But I digress.
In spite of my resistance to wovens (which this pattern calls for), I'd follow Elsie Marley to the ends of the crafty-earth. Her sewing style is always so surprising and cool. So when I saw that she was hosting a sew along for Happy Homemade in tandem with my long time blog-crush Cherie of You and Mie, I had to try it.
This book was originally published in Japanese but was recently released in English and the clothing is beautiful. The shapes are simple but modern-looking. The embellishments are few - it should be right up my alley. I just didn't think that the clothing looked all that practical for kids in my climate. And I thought the style of the hoodie was just off somehow. The chopped sleeves, the angular hood, I just didn't love it. At first...
But it appears as though I was being mighty short-sighted.
The hoodie is cute and it's comfy. The finishing details are smart but not too fussy.
I chose a Heather Ross print from a couple of years ago. It has the itsy bitsy spider and her song on it - it's really darling and it was precious to me. I've been hoarding it:)
The fabric was perfect for this project. It's a lightweight linen/cotton blend and it drapes beautifully plus it behaves really well under the iron and needle. It's been a long time since I've used a no-fuss fabric. The brown dot fabric is from some yardage that I got at a yard sale. Isn't it sweet? I'm really excited about how it looks with the pink. I almost left the drawstring off because I thought that it was an unessecary embellishment but I think it actually adds some needed shape and comfort to the garment.
I'll be making more of these. It's the perfect summer swim/sun coverup and I really dig the shape. Plus! My boy is totally getting the short end of the stick these days when it comes to the mama-mades (his deer fabric got here today, I must get cutting!) so I'm in the market for a boy print in the linen. There's a purple itsy bitsy, I think...
And I'm totally hooked on the book. There are pants, dresses and skirts that will be on my cutting table just as soon as I can get everything traced.
Joining Frontier Dreams today over here:)