I have been in love with the Wiksten harem pants ever since Jenny started posted development shots of them on Instagram. You only have to check out the hashtag for this pattern to get bitten by the harem pants bug. Unfortunately by the time they were released Birdie was at the very top of the size range, and I was feeling bummed. But I loved them so much and Birdie is a small four year old so I decided to go for it anyway – and gosh am i glad i did!

These were such a quick and satisfying sew! They take a very small amount of fabric, and there are so few steps that i’m pretty sure i was done in under half an hour.

For this first pair I made them in a mystery fabric that I picked up at the Morrison outlet sale last year. I was told it was linen which is why i bought it, but the second i tried to press it, it became apparent that this was not linen or anything natural. It literally will not hold a press, and though these have been pressed and washed multiple times the seams still look spongey. It’s missing the usual polish I like from my makes, and I’ll probably only get over my frustration with this as soon as she grows out of them haha.

Since I was making a size 3 for a four year old I was feeling pretty nervous despite the fact that they seem very generously sized – so i sewed all the seams at 1/4″ with my overlocker and added some length (just an inch) so we could roll them up. That seems to be her preferred way to wear them too.

As you can see she has more than enough room in the legs, so i feel happy with simply sewing a smaller seam allowance. Isn’t it great when you find a simple hack?

It took me a bit of time to get used the silhouette on her. I’ve only seen these on smaller toddlers and babies, and i think they look quite different on a four year old. I was worried that she would be physically restricted or that it would just look like i made ill fitting pants. But now that she has worn them for a whole season i’m feeling pretty satisfied with her range of motion, and I’m really enjoying this different silhouette on her. She calls them her Taekwondo pants because they remind her of Buddy & Buddy’s uniforms.

Now that I’ve made a test run in cheap mystery fabric I’m going to crack out the floral Liberty print I’ve been hoarding for these. I’m so excited!

The only problem is that we are towards the end of the cold months now, and i’m wondering if it’s a waste to make more long pants. I probably should have gotten started earlier in the season, but I’ve just been so so busy with new pattern development that personal sewing fell to the wayside. I hate it when that happens!

What do you lovelies think? Should i just go for it? Logic be damned?!

Don’t you love it when you find an amazing pattern and you just want to use it over and over again? I honestly never thought that this would happen to me with a pattern from my childhood – but I am absolutely 100% obsessed with sewing Simplicity 5591 for Buddy.

This is a sweatshirt/sweatpants/tee pattern from the 80’s and we adore it. The first one I made was loved until he had a growth spurt and it became so short that I had to pass it down to his little sister (giving it to Birdie made him slightly happier about parting with it).

But this one, this is my favourite, and it’s Buddy’s favourite too!

I actually made it last year, so it’s now lasted two winters which is always a win in kids clothing. I hate it when i make them something that only lasts one season.

For this version I decide to add some detail to the front of the sweatshirt and i’m thrilled with how it turned out! Since Buddy was quite small if you asked him how he was doing he would say “awesome!”. I loved this so much that while i was working on the Mini Briar sweater pattern , i decided to include some slogan stencils that included two of my favourite Buddy and Bunny sayings. So when I made this sweatshirt i just used the slogan stencils from Mini Briar and it made life so easy! I simply cut out the letters in the sweatshirt fabric using the wrong side so that it would stand out more. To keep everything in place while i sewed the letters down i used my favourite trick – a washable kids glue stick! I just glued down the letters, let them dry and then sewed around the edge of the letters with a narrow zig zag stitch. After sewing it was a little wrinkled, so i gave the slogan a good press and it smoothed everything out beautifully.

The neckband, hem band and sleeve cuffs are all self fabric with the wrong side facing out. That’s one of my favourite sweatshirt tricks for when i can’t find just the right ribbing to match, often the wrong side of the fabric is just the contrast that’s needed.

This sweatshirt was worn constantly last winter and this winter and it’s still looking awesome! See what i did there ;)

Unfortunately this one is starting to look a bit short now too (i had originally made it a little longer than the first version). It will get us through the rest of this winter, but if he grows even a bit taller it will be too short. I’m going to be so sad when we have to retire it next year. Even worse, it means that this single sized pattern probably won’t work for him next year unless i set aside some time to grade it out. I don’t want to retire a favourite sweatshirt and a favourite pattern – the horror!

But hey, that’s next years problem!

I’m so happy that Buddy loves his sweater – and I love that it captures something so much a part of his quirky personality. Now when i asked him how he’s feeling he likes to point at his sweatershirt and just wink. And we both have a good giggle.

Keep being Awesome Bud!

Other possible titles for this post include: Why do i keep making my messy children white clothing? Maybe: Unfinished hem confessions or Bunny only wants to wear dresses and leggings. And possibly even: When did my baby turn into this amazing tween? But we’ll get to the crying later, lets talk about sewing for now.

So, recently Bunny only wants to wear dresses and skirts. This is problematic as it is winter in Perth right now. Perth winter isn’t horrendous or anything (see all these barefoot photos!) but it’s still gets cold enough to need nice warm snuggly clothing (plus *cough* shoes and socks). Here is our solution: long sleeved dresses and leggings. I have been churning out Mini Virginia leggings and long sleeved Briar dress hacks every weekend recently. I’m enjoying the collaborative rhythm Bunny and I have developed. Now that she is older I am trying to my best to let her choose what she wants to wear (within reason). But I can’t help feeling proud that her choices are so good! I absolutely adore this floral knit – it’s from Fabulous Fabrics in Perth and I honestly wish I’d bought more! The knit for the leggings is my favourite grey knit from Potter textiles. I love everything about this fabric so I actually bought 10m of it ages ago in anticipation of using it for lots of wardrobe stapes – so don’t be surprised if you see it popping up again and again!

The one problem with this dress is that it is white. If you have been reading this blog for a while you will know that my Bunny is an adventurous and curious girl who is often very VERY messy. She’s climbing trees! Playing in the dirt! Painting master pieces! Crawling around like a cat! Most of her clothing ends up stained or ripped. I never want that to stop because I love to see my kids doing art and playing outside, but on the other hand I hate seeing careful made things ruined. I think the obvious solution here is that i need to veto white fabric when it is chosen. But… who is going to veto it when i’m the idiot who bought it?! HA!

When will i ever learn!

Now you may notice that the sleeves and hem on this dress are unfinished, so if you notice rolled hems and loose threads don’t panic, this insanity is intentional! Unfinished hems have become my go-to for my kids clothing for a few reasons. Firstly it’s faster, I can skip a step and they can wear it right away, and secondly I’ve noticed my kids are mostly getting taller not wider – which means they are tending to outgrow things in height and sleeve length only. Leaving unfinished hems has made it really easy for me to just add on cuffs to sleeves and bands to hems to lengthen things for another year. I am feeling rather sneaky and victorious about this. Also im finding i just like the rolled hem look – is that weird? Can we still be friends?

I can’t wait to share more of Bunny’s winter wardrobe with you – it’s shaping up to be the cutest capsule wardrobe around!