Holiday Sewing Roundup

2018 was a good year for making. We have settled into our new home in Phoenix. I've developed a good balance between my career and family life and I feel like I have more time for sewing than I have in a long time. I didn't post all my makes, not even half of them but I was fairly productive. I only started keeping track of my makes partway through the year but I tracked 39 items made this year. Not too shabby!

For this first post of 2019, I am bringing to you a round-up of the holiday gifts I made for the kids. I was ambitious, didn't get everything that was planned made. But when you make Christmas gifts for people, you wait until the last minute, right?

For starters, I made these 2 french terry sweatshirts using the Classic Sweatshirt pattern from Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop. I love Peek-a-boo patterns for their wide array of children's patterns for both girls and boys. The patterns are both simple and modern and my kids always love what I make from them. Instructions are very straight forward and well illustrated. The blue floral is from Koshtex on Etsy. The camouflage is from Stylish Fabrics, also on Etsy. I love both of these prints and of course got enough to make myself matching sweatshirts.

Next, are their Christmas outfits. Logan, my son, has been obsessed with The Boss Baby movie and show. Believe it or not, his big gift from Santa this year was a briefcase. So he needed to look the part. I used the Little Gentleman Suit Jacket pattern, again from Peek-a-boo. The suiting is grey pinstripe from Fashion Fabrics Club. The jacket is fully lined AND has welt pockets! How cute is that? I used the free pattern and tutorial from Patterns for Pirates to make a bow tie using the fabric from his sister's dress. The little pocket square is just a small remnant I folded and stuffed in there. The jacket was probably my most complicated garment out of the bunch to make but still not bad! I think an adventurous beginner could go for it.

My daughter's dress is made from a beautiful red plaid from Fabric.com. The little jacket is made from a black polyester shantung, also from Fabric.com. I got the little red rosettes from Hobby Lobby. I used OOP Simplicity 8025, maybe you can find it on Etsy or Ebay if you try. I love the lines of the dress. The bodice is pieced and I cut the main part on the bias to give it a little bit of interest. Nothing much to say about the pattern. It went together smoothly and the little one loves it.

And another one for my daughter is the Little Girl's Skater Dress from Kitschy Coo. A few years ago, the adult version of this dress was all the rage, I made one for myself. A little later, the girls version was published, and I've made a few for Parker so far. This one is a pink floral double brushed polyester from Fabric.com. If you haven't felt DBP yet, you're missing out! This fabric is used to make the infamous pyramid scheme leggings that have a cult following. It is uber soft, stretchy, and rebounds beautifully. This is a cinch to make on the serger. 

Are you sick of my kids yet? I'll forgive you because I get sick of them too. That's it for the holiday round-up. That should last them for another year and I can get promptly back to sewing for myself! 

~Jenny