Crikey, I’m late posting this final outfit for KCW, but I do think I saved the best for last!

The stripy red Beachy Boatneck and red Bubble Pocket Shorts.  So far, so nothing new for this week.

But…this time I made the sailor version of the shorts.

They are cute beyond all words.  I love them!

I found these fabulous buttons at The Buttonhole in Chorley. They really pop against the red.

And the Beachy Boatneck refashion is great with them.

Although I kept to a very simple plan for KCW it was a huge success for me. Miss Button has cute new weekend wear that, with the RTW she already has in her wardrobe, will do nicely until the summer holidays, and KCW summer!

edited to link to Make it Wear it over at The Train to Crazy

I’m pushing the boundaries of Kids Clothes Week by including this as it was finished last week, but, hey, isn’t that what boundaries are for?

It’s Elegance & Elephant’s Ruffle Top in the tunic length made up in the last bit of Liberty cotton leftover from my Giverny dress of last year.

I did consider using the pink from the shorts to make the bias for the ties and the neckline, but I’d purchased this ready made bias as it’s a perfect match for the pink in the pattern.

I think it would have worked well either way, but I do like the extra dimension the two pinks bring to the outfit.

Now all we need is some lovely weather. When it does arrived, we are prepared!

PS… These pictures make our garden look fabulous…but don’t be fooled.  It’s not!  It needs a lot of work.

Wow – I’m on a roll.  Today I finished another pair of Bubble Pocket shorts.

These are in a very stable double knit jersey which gives them quite a different look and feel.  They are a little bulkier than the cotton versions, obviously, but I think they’ll work.  We’ll see when I can pin down a wee small girl long enough for her to try them on!

I now only have a pair of red shorts to sew and my plan for Kids Clothes Week is complete…watch this space!

I really didn’t think I’d get any sewing done yesterday. I’d been at a PTFA cinema club all afternoon and we didn’t get home from school until gone 6.30pm.  As bedtime is normally around 7pm, this was late by our standards. By the time the kids were abed I was one tired mummy and not really up for anything except sitting on the sofa waiting for the Great British Sewing Bee to start.  But I thought I’d just have half an hour in the sewing loft….

40 minutes later I had the first tee shirt finished!

I’ve never made a garment so quickly in my life.

I did take a short-cut – the original tee shirt that this was upcycled from was a v-neck, and I was a little short on length for the fronts and backs…so this version is straight across at the hem rather than shaped as per the pattern. I cut all 4 pieces on the original hemlines – saving myself having to stitch the bottom of the shirt and the sleeves.

I’d been really reluctant to purchase a pattern for such a simple garment, but I’m really glad I did. This is perfect.  Sure, I could have drafted it myself, but it took all of 15 minutes to print, tape, pin and cut out. Sometimes it really is worth spending the money for someone else’s (superior) expertise and to save yourself some time.  No way could I have drafted this in that space of time.

Cost wise, the pattern came in at a little over £5 at the current exchange rate. As the fabric is upcycled and the thread was already in my stash, each of these little tees cost less than £3. And they are a really good weight of jersey, so perfect for spring days when it’s a bit chilly.  £3 will normally get you a skimpy supermarket tee which will shrink the first time you wash it and be constructed from much thinner jersey, so these represent very good value for money in my book!

Also, going forward, I won’t need to include the price of the pattern in the cost of future tees.

This is a very well drafted pattern. I swear that any beginner who can pin fabric together and sew a straight line could make this shirt and get a great result. And you don’t need an overlocker (serger).

I can see myself making this over and over again…and making cute little tee shirt dresses too. A Blank Slate indeed!

Today I also finished the red/cream striped tee.

Again I cut the sleeves using the existing hems, but this one had sufficient fabric in the original shirt to allow me to cut the shaped hemline.  I finished it with a quick twin-needle hem

I am in love with this pattern.  It’s unisex, so great for The Boy too – he’s a small growth spurt away from being out of all of his tee shirts, and as he flatly refuses to wear a cotton button through shirt this pattern will be a life saver.

I’m planning a photoshoot for the weekend to capture these tees and their matching shorts (the blue pair is nearly done!), together with a couple of other garments that were finished before KCW began, but still haven’t been showcased here.

Now…the waistband and cuffs of the blue shorts are calling…hopefully I’ll get them finished tonight too!