Kitschy Coo Skater dress for a very special day

In our church, children are eligible to be baptized when they turn 8 years old. Myra turned 8 last month, and she couldn't wait to be baptized, so we began making arrangements, and I got to sewing.

The first dress I made was for her to wear during the ordinance of baptism itself. She needed a pure white dress, simple and sweet. I chose the Kitschy Coo Skater dress for its simplicity and comfort.

Myra wanted a long skirt, so I lengthened it about 8 inches, but kept the skirt slim. We baptize by immersion, and I didn't want it floating out of the font! It's still quite hot here in Tennessee, so I used the short sleeve. The fabric is a scuba knit from fabric.com, which was just the right weight and nicely opaque.

Even though the dress was simple and white, I still wanted it to be special, so I added some embroidery to the front bodice. It was very difficult to photograph, since it's tone-on-tone, but looked very sweet in person.

Myra was very happy with her baptism dress, and I was so happy I was able to make such a special dress for her. Of course, she needed another dress for after the baptism... I'll post about that one tomorrow.

The Avengers in a dress

When I made the boys their matching Avengers tee shirts, Myra wanted to know when I was going to make hers. But, you know, as a dress. Because Myra.

Since I wanted to do a similar look to the boys, but with a girlie twist, I went with the Mini Penny Pinafore by Kitschy Coo. I used the Avengers pattern knit for the side panels and sleeves, and the solid black Laguna knit for the center front and back, as well as the neckband.

I did Myra's decal in a metallic HTV (Fashion Film Electric in Firecracker Red, if you'd like to know). Of course, as Myra is an active girl, she also got a pair of matching undershorts, also detailed with the Avengers logo. A superhero likes to preserve her modesty when saving the world.

Suitable for kicking bad guy butt? Yep!

We've made the Mini Penny a few times, but she's sized up since the last one, so this is a size 8. The only alteration I made was to make the sleeve elbow length. I just folded the long sleeve in half and added a hem allowance. This will be a nice all-season length here in the South, so Myra will be able to wear the dress a while.

I love the way this dress looks and fits from the back. So ladylike! Even in superhero fabric.

I actually finished this last week - I'm so behind on blogging - but Myra has already worn it three times. As soon as it comes out of the wash, it's on her body! I'm so glad she's happy with it, and I love that I can make her a superhero dress, since sometimes it's a bit hard to find them in stores. Yay for sewing!

Kitschy Coo Comino Cap: Picture perfect!

So, I made a dress. But I don't think I like it. Wadders suck and as precious as my sewing time is lately, they are very discouraging. I needed a quick win.

Kitschy Coo Comino Cap top to the rescue!! I just love this pattern. I know, I've made a few of them, but I wear them all the time. I can always use another.

For the fabric, I used a precious camera print that I purchased from Kitschy Coo last year. There is still a bit in stock, if you hurry! Check it out here. Since this is a nice beefy knit, I paired it with an interlock from Chez Ami. They are similar weights, so they work well together.

I've made this pattern enough times that I can go from staring at my stash to putting on my new top in less than two hours. I love a quick win. It's so good for the mojo.

One thing I have discovered, as I've made several of the colorblocked style, is that I find that I like to make the bottom section separate from the top, then sew the joining seam in the round. That way, I can match the thread in each section. It was particularly important to me here, since hot pink thread would have been rather obvious in the black section, and black thread quite noticable in the pink.

Thank goodness for a quick win! Maybe I won't give up on this sewing thing after all.

Comino Cap with a Sewcialist twist

Well, May was awesome productivity-wise and my mojo returned to me, but then school let out for the summer. Finding time to sew has been challenging, but I managed to distract Myra with my Barbies long enough to crank out this Comino Cap top.

I love this pattern. It's a super quick sew, fit's well and looks great on. Perfect for a precious fabric that I only had a yard of.

Here's a back view, for a better look at the print, which is Sew in Love by Lillestoff. It is vintage sewing machines!!! Surrounding the machine motifs are tiny curliques, topped with scissors and surrounded by red hearts. I love this fabric. As of this moment, there is still some in stock here at Kitschy Coo's fabric shop.

Since the print features little red hearts throughout, I decided to match them with red neck and sleeve bands. To make the red pop a bit more, I made my bands 1/8 wider than the pattern calls for, simply by sewing the neckline and sleeves at 1/4 inch SA rather than 3/8. Wider bands say more casual to me, and I wanted this to be a wear every day sort of top. Because SEWING MACHINES! I will wear it every day...

Taking pics in the summer is tricky too. I have helpers.... Good thing they are cute!

Kitschy Coo Comino Cap top

Yesterday I was feeling like a quick win, and I really wanted to use up this scrap left over from Logan's PJs. Because skulls are cool. Since the Kitschy Coo Comino Cap top is so great for using up scraps, and is quick and fun to sew, it was a natural pairing.

The scull printed fabric I used for the upper panel is an interlock from Nature's Fabrics. I used black rib knit for the bands. The body of the top is a very lightweight jersey from my stash. No idea where it came from, but I thought the vaguely blood red color suited the skulls themed interlock nicely.

The only think I don't love about this tee is that the burgundy colored jersey is quite thin, so it tends to accentuate lumps and bumps. You can see the waistband of my pants in most of the pics, although it is a fairly flat waistband. Jeans would be quite obvious.

I'm wearing it today with my pleather and ponte leggings, made with a very altered Jalie 2709. Man, I have gotten so much use out of that pattern!

Despite the thinness of the jersey, or perhaps because of it, this top is quite comfortable and cool, which is essential now that I am back in the South and summer is upon us. I'm very confident this top is going to get tons of wear. Especially since Logan got such a kick out of us having matching tops this morning.

Logan has gotten to the age where he groans at me when he sees a camera, but he totally let me post a selfie on Instagram this morning! Super win!!

The Barrie Boy Cut Briefs!

So, in the interest of not getting weird Google search hits, we'll be referring to the above items as "pants" in the UK sense. Just to make that clear. But I'm excited to finally have some that FIT!! Just released yesterday, the Barrie Boy Cut Briefs by Kitschy Coo.

In fact, I love them so much that I am posting pics. Because I have never had a pair of store bought pants that did not expose cheek or creep into inappropriate places. And these stay put!! No creeping, no shifting, no need to tug on them all day. They are awesome.

I thought it might be interesting, in the interest of science, to do a little comparison photo between the Barrie Briefs and my typical boy cut brief, which I get at Target. The thing I noticed immediately is that the backside/leg coverage is completely different. The storebought pants have a higher leg rise, but angle up sharply so that the coverage in the rear is compromised. The leg openings also do not pull in snugly. These factors make them very pretty on a table or hanger in the store, so we buy them, but they don't curve around the body, so they're uncomfortable on.

Unlike the Barrie Briefs, which come low enough on the leg and are full enough in back to cover the topic, and which also feature snug leg bands, which hold everything in place. This rocketship pair was the first I made. It is the low-rise in a straight size 4, and it is perfection.

This pair is my favorite. In general, I don't wear cotton knit pants, so I made this pair out of mesh with stretch lace in place of the bands. I used the same pattern pieces, including using the band lengths to measure my stretch lace. I used a scrap of cotton knit for the gusset and constructed them per the instructions, except that I topstitched on the lace rather than sewing it on like a band.

In addition to being insanely comfortable and fitting like a dream, they are super fast to make and take very little fabric, so they're super economical. So, see you later poorly fitting Target pants - I'm wearing the Kitschy Coo Barrie Boy Cut Briefs from here on out!!

Bow Girls!

A few years ago, I bought this cute bow print thermal knit from Girl Charlee. It took me forever to finally sew it up!

My original plan for this fabric was a sweatshirt style top for me. I wanted something comfortable just for hanging out at home, but even at home I like to be cute.

I wanted a sleek fit and I thought a dropped shoulder would be fun. I started with the Kitschy Coo Comino Cap top, which I love the fit of, and just drafted a semi-fitted sleeve. Instead of a band at the neckline, I bound it with my coverstitch, which made the neckline a little bit higher.

I love the slightly scooped back neckline of this top. It's so pretty. You can see the dropped shoulder a bit better from the back. I think it's a fun detail. It nods to the wide shouldered 80s trend without the linebacker shoulder pads.

Since the Comino Cap Top is so economical of fabric, even with long sleeves, I had a ton of fabric left over.

Myra got the bulk of the leftovers. I pulled out an Ottobre raglan tee pattern I've made for her twice before. It is from the 04/2013 issue and has a nice fitted shape with a bound neckline. I made the sleeves 3/4 length, as Myra has trouble keeping long sleeves out of messes. And because her cute baby-chubby wrists slay me.

When I showed Myra her new top, she immediately wanted to know where Teresa's was. Ooops. Back to the sewing room! I was initially trepidatious about this print on Barbie, since the scale is rather large, but it worked out nicely with a single motif centered on the front of the tee, and at the sleeve hems. Teresa got a bound neckline too. The pattern is a blend of Simplicity 4719 and 4702.

So, between sewing a trio of thermal knit tees, and this weekend's extremely pleasant weather, I think I'm ready to start sewing for Fall and Winter. Bring on the wool! I'm ready!

Kitschy Coo Comino Cap Maxi dress

For my dress version of the new Kitschy Coo Comino Cap Top and Dress pattern, I went all out. This fantastic bodice just begs to be a maxi dress!

The mods to make this maxi were very simple. I measured the length I needed to the floor (for reference, this was 20 inches for me) and added the length to the skirt portion in two parts. I added half (10 inches) at the lengthen/shorten line provided on the pattern, then added the other half of the length at the hem, continuing the sweep out for some added flare.

It's nice and swirly at the hem for plenty of walking ease, but still sleek through the hips. Just the way I like it.

It's nicely fitted through the back as well. Also, I love the the shoulder yoke continues around to the back. Don't you hate it when patterns put all the design interest in front? Not here. Perfect design!

For this Comino Cap dress, I used a leopard print ITY from FabricMart for the main body of the dress and a cotton rib knit for the yoke. Since my fabrics were thin and slinky this time, I used my usual size and the fit is perfecto.

This dress has also been in constant rotation since I made it, and I get compliments from strangers every time. I love it! What are you waiting for? Go get the pattern!

Kitschy Coo Comino Cap Top!!

Are you ready for another blockbuster pattern from Kitschy Coo?? May I present the Comino Cap Top and Dress! I started off with the top version. I'll show you the dress next.

This pattern features a contrast yoke with a cute, sweetheart neckline, cap sleeves and a semi-fitted shape. The neckline and sleeves are finished with bands, in true Kitschy Coo style.

The top is semi fitted through the torso and fitted in the bust. It fits me well without an FBA, but worked beautifully for the smaller busted testers too.

This is mostly a quick and easy sew, although the point at the front of the sweetheart panel does require some precision. It isn't hard, and Amanda's instructions are very complete. I think a confident beginner could easily handle this pattern. There is also a version without the sweetheart panel that is super quick and easy to whip up.

For this, my first version I chose a beefy interlock from Chez Ami for the main body and a metallic doubleknit from Mood for the contrast panel. Since my fabrics were both fairly heavy, I went up a size from my typical Kitschy Coo size.

Of course, I knew this pattern would be a winner, but it has already become a total workhorse in my wardrobe. It is comfortable and cute, fun to make and to wear.

Well, what are you waiting for?? Go get yours!