Honey's Time for School Capsule Wardrobe

With August beginning in a couple of days, it got me thinking that the new school year is just around the corner. Eeep! With Honey shooting up like a weed, she's definitely going to need some new clothes for first full year in school. Oh how lovely it will be getting up at 7:00 each morning again...that was sarcasm, by the way. Anyone know of a sarcasm font? I guess you can tell by now that I am NOT a morning person. I am a night owl...
Anywho, back to the sewing stuff! I'm super excited. Why? Glad you asked! I've been sewing now for about two years, with a few scarce sews in the first year, becoming more frequent in the second. However, a large amount of the clothes my girls' were getting were still store bought. My dream was to make at least 50% (or more!) of their wardrobe handmade.
So, thanks to some Facebook motivation, I'm starting with my oldest's back to school clothes! Along with a craft show that I hope to be setting up at in November, I've got A LOT of sewing to do! My favourite kind!!
Here's  a pic of the patterns that I plan on incorporating in my daughters TFS Capsule wardrobe.

I made a collage of the covers of the patterns, and printed it out. Then slipped it into the front of one of my empty binders.

Inside the front cover of the binder, I added my wardrobe list, provided by Gracious Threads!

 It really helps me to stay on top of what she does and doesn't need. I'm tired of them having clothes that they never wear. It's such a waste. Now I'm going to focus on a few staple pieces, some statement pieces, and some interchangeable ones, since she likes to pick her own outfits.

I bought some page protectors, and I'll be filling the binder with the patterns that I'll be using, printed up in her size, and the instructions. 

I like having printed instructions, since we only have one PC, but found them to use so much ink and paper. Until I got this tip (and unfortunately, I can't remember where I got, so I can't give credit where credit is due, sorry!) about fitting four pages onto one paper. It's big enough to read and see details, but doesn't use up so much ink and paper. Perfect for my needs! At least until I can convince Hubby that I really do need a tablet.

Well, that's my plan! So, intermingled with sewing that I'll be doing for my "shop" (and show) will be sewing for the capsule! Thanks for stopping in and don't forget to enjoy the little things!

Monkey's Sunday Coat

Well, I did it! I sewed a coat! Actually, it's a lined blazer, but it'll work perfectly as a dressy fall coat for Monkey, who outgrew her last coat. I worked so hard on this coat. It's not perfect, but I love it!
For a pattern, I used the Phresh Blazer, by Winter Wear Designs, but took a few different steps to line the body of it completely. For the outer, I used a lovely grey stretch suiting.

 Monkey really hates seams and has sensory issues, so I topstitched like crazy to keep seams flat, and lined it with two types of knit. The back is a grey medium weight knit, but to add a little something, I used some of my coveted waffle knit that I've been hoarding for the lining in the front.

I love how this blazer looks, with all the pieces that are stitched together. It's a lot of work, especially if you're lining the whole thing, but for a dressy piece it's so worth it.

Despite the how tricky this fabric was to topstitch, especially when I was topstitching through both layers, I'm pretty proud of it, even if it's not as precise as I'd like it.

 Who knows, I might stitch up another one to sell? Now that I've got one behind me, the next one won't be as time consuming.

With this done, I think it's time to start on Honey's school wardrobe. I know it's still July, but having a handmade wardrobe takes time... a lot of it. So, if you pop in here some time in the next week or so, you'll be finding a post (or two) about planning and sewing a lot of little girl clothes.

Feel free to tell me what you think and thanks for stopping in!

Scrap busting challenge: Yo-yos

Well, one crazy weekend of camping is done, and the fun we had was worth all the work and prep. Weather was great, aside from the crazy storm we had on Saturday, that is. I came home, refreshed and all ready to dig into my sewing.... and then I realized something.
Now that all the hype from the swimsuits was over, what would I sew? So I took a few days to clean the camper and the house, and to gather inspiration of course!
I've got a couple of knit Tortolas on the cutting table, waiting to be stitched, so that covers one evening. After that, well...
I had to sew something! I was going into withdrawal! So I worked on a couple of yo-yos. I love scrap busting, and since I've got more scraps than yardage of fabric, I decided to challenge myself to come up with ways to use my scraps.
 I've been wanting to make some for a while, they make cute accessories on clothes and bags. So, after browsing a couple of tutorials, here's what I came up with!

I love how they turned out, but as I was making them, I realized that my button selection is looking poorly, so I'll be heading to the thrift shop to find some more unique buttons! Also, these were the perfect project to work on while I browsed for some inspiration. While making them, it occurred to me that, although summer was just getting into the swing of things and my girls' summer wardrobe is full, fall is right around the corner!
 So, fall wardrobe sewing and scrap busting is my goal. Which is great, because I've got a couple of patterns that I've been itching to sew, but they're warmer ones.
Thanks for stopping in! Remember, I love getting comments, and followers too!