Good morning friends! How was your weekend? We’ve been basking in unbelievable weather and we’re having my favorite kind of summer: very little scheduling, lots of impromptu social activities involving friends and outdoor activities.
So it’s KCW this week. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do this time… The very first time I joined last fall, I just wanted to see what the buzz was all about and I was floored by the whole new world of kid sewing that opened up. Then for KCW Spring, I wanted to push the limits and see how many pieces I could crank out in a week (total: 13). I was pretty knackered by the end of the week, and knew that I wanted to participate differently for KCW Summer.
So. After much hemming and hawing, I zeroed in on the fact that I rarely make exactly what K wants. Sure, I’ll make a skirt or t-shirt when she requests it, but I always add my own spin to it. So for this round, I am making outfits that K herself has designed (except for the one in head-to-toe “meat-colored brown” – even I have limits). And, when possible, I’ll create a version that’s my own take. Using the Paper app on my ipad, K and I worked on the design on the left. I did most of the drawing, but she determined everything from the two layered sleeves, the cat stencil, the colors. I loved using the app because we could easily switch out colors and styles.
The dress is made entirely out of jersey knit, and I used freezer paper for the stencil. K and I painted the cat onto the tee together, and it was so much fun! This was my first freezer paper stencil experience and I’m a convert.
I self-drafted the dress and I think it came out pretty close to the way K designed it, don’t you think? The sleeves could be flutterier, and the cat face is different, but I’d give it a B+. It’s not what I would typically make, and I initially thought the cat would be scary-looking, but after K added some silver eyeliner and a gold bow, I really like it. I’m hoping it toes the line between edgy and cool. When K begged to wear it even though the paint wasn’t dry, I knew that I was onto something…she was even eager for a photoshoot. Historic.
And I made a cat-themed outfit more in line with what I would normally sew up, and I’ll show you tomorrow!
It’s adorable and I bet she loves it! looking forward to her other designs! ….Meat-colored brown. I’m dying.
Head-to-toe meat-colored brown, Erin, head-to-toe. My kid…I maintain that she takes after her father ;-). And yep, K absolutely loves the dress!!
So cute – fantastic idea, Sanae.
Thanks Trine! I was slightly overcome by guilt that I hardly ever make what she wants, but I also realized that she hasn’t really voiced her opinions very clearly until recently. I think there will be some…interesting outfits to come.
This will probably be her favourite dress ever, since she designed it herself!
It’s already her favorite! She literally hugged the dress when I told her it was ready for wear
Meow-meow! Isn’t freezer paper fun?! This dress looks super comfy… great design, K! I see a future designer here…
Freezer paper rocks! I had no idea it was so easy to use…I’m always behind the times with all these crafty innovations. And yes, I think we have ourselves a fashion designer in the making.
Ahhh! I love it! K has some designing skills! (That ‘ahhh’ was to show you how excited I am about this :))
I have played around with making things from kid drawings. I teach a lesson about clothing designers and I have shamelessly posted my student’s artwork to draw inspiration from. I even made a dress for me once! Love, love, love this.
I remember that dress and I loved it! I’ve seen kid-drawing-inspired handmade clothing pop up here and there, and I’ve tried it half-heartedly with K before, but this time I’m going all out!
I love that! (Though I also snickered over the meat-colored brown bit.) That’s such a skill, to bring garment sketches to life.
Thanks so much June! Luckily, K chose a very simple design. There’s one that I’m still scratching my head over – that one probably won’t get made till the end.
The cat design is awesome, and I think the dress turned out great! And I love how specific your daughter is about the shade of brown she wanted.
Haha, the description of the brown is hilarious, right? She’s a specific kind of girl, my little K.
Making it together with K must have been such fun!:) thanks for telling me about the app!
It was super fun, M! A true collaboration. And the app is pretty good. I still don’t like how it’s hard to undo mistakes, and I know that I still haven’t figured out all the functions, but it’s a lot of fun.
i LOVE that she designed this with you. amazing! we use this trick with our kids and vegetables. incredible how much more amenable they are to the product when they participate in the making, right? i can’t wait to see what else k has in mind
Thanks Ashley! I totally agree that having a hand in the creation makes them much more enthusiastic about the end product! We’ll see how many of her designs I’ll get to make, but so far I have at least a couple more in the queue.
I love it! What a great creative process between the two of you! And a wonderful mother-daughter interaction. I think this should become a KCW category! I like how you found a new challenge for you that will give (both of) you a new KCW experience. Hopefully without beeing knackered in the end. And you now how to keep your readers on their toes, a great cliffhanger – can´t wait for your feline interpretation!
A confession: it actually wasn’t meant to be a cliff hanger and I was going to include the second outfit as part of this post, but I couldn’t get it done in time. Oh well, I AM trying to slow things down, right? Thanks Ute!
What a great dress! I know my daughter would love to have a dress like that. That would be a fun exercise, asking her to draw something I can make for her, since she doesn’t wear anything I make now!
It’s truly a very comfortable dress and I’m sure it feels like wearing pajamas for K. I highly recommend making your child’s design – it’s very creatively challenging and satisfying, because trust me, your kid will love it to pieces.
What a great project! I haven’t tried freezer paper stencils but would like to give it a try soon. Do you have any recommendations for a good paint to use? Thanks!
Thanks Elizabeth! I got some Scribbles 3D fabric paint from a local art store, and you can also get them at Michael’s it looks like. The fabric paint looks good so far, but I haven’t tried washing the dress yet, so we shall see. For the gold and silver, I used Sakura Pen-touch, which I’ve used on fabric before and they’re great.
Major success! And how fun to design with your daughter! It feels so great when they truly like what you make.
Thanks so much Tara! SO fun to design with K – I like that she has a very clear vision of what she wants. It makes things easier. And it’s definitely rewarding when she willingly puts on what I’ve made
I love that cat face with those metallic accents. Love the joint venture concept! I’m going to have to adopt this theory as well, if I have hopes of my oldest actually wearing anything I make her on a consistent basis. Kind of like the whole ‘let them cook in the kitchen with you, then they’ll eat their veggies’ kind of thing. Or in her case, eat her ‘brown meat’ ??!! Very Lady Gaga. Ha. I really like the neckline bound in the black, too. Nice little pop. I can’t wait to show this post to my daughter and hear her thoughts on a little collaborative design. Thanks, Sanae, you always give me the best kind of motivation to create!
I can’t wait to see what the two of you cook up, it’s sure to be so good
Lovely dress! that cat is so beautiful! I’m very impress in the approach you are taking about the challenge this summer, it is a brilliant idea!