Made by a Fabricista: Girls' Spring Capsule

When it comes to creating wardrobes for my children, I don't tend to have a theme or a plan — I see pretty fabric or an amazing pattern and I just have to make it! While this is a fun and creative outlet for me, it's not always so great for my children (or husband!) who then struggle to mix and match their wardrobe, or discover they have 100 dresses and no pants or sweaters.

Armed with a $50 budget, I decided to plan out a series of mix and match outfits for my two girls.

Fabric Mart always has so many amazing fabrics but I just couldn't go past this gorgeous aqua floral Rayon Lycra Jersey Knit! With spring on the horizon, linen seemed like a natural coordinate choice (Fabric Mart have a TON of linens, so it was easy to pick a few colors that would work!), and finally I settled on a white Rayon Lycra Jersey Knit to use as a layer.

Like many of you, I buy most of my fabrics online. Sometimes it's hard to visualize how something will end up looking, so I often start by creating a mock-up in Photoshop with the pattern line drawing and a sample image of the fabric. While I didn't sketch out my entire plan for this collection (and I also made some deviations once the fabric arrived), this sketch was my starting point. (Photoshop is a paid product, but there are similar free apps you can get for your phone!).

My eldest desperately needed pants, so I used Fuchsia White Chambray Linen to make a long pair of Jalie Simone wide-leg pants, and the shorts version in Orchid Pink Chambray Linen. I really love the details on this pattern! The waistband is very cleverly constructed with elastic in the back and all the seams completely enclosed. It's very easy to do and creates a professional finish every time. (You may notice that I had intended to use the lighter pink for her long pants. Once the fabric arrived, I decided to swap my color choices around. And it wasn't until I started writing up this post that I realized I had forgotten to use the contrasting color for each tie. Oops ;-) ).

Size-wise, Jalie is amazing - Simone runs from 2T - Womens 2XL, so it's especially great value when you have multiple sizes to sew for! For my daughter I used size J hip, N length, and I waistband elastic.

I decided to change my mind and use a Jalie pattern for my eldest's top. Jalie Rachel (PDF only) is a super quick sew and I find it very flattering. This gorgeous aqua floral Rayon Lycra (NLA) was just perfect for it and also easy to cut out and sew (sometimes rayon makes me want to poke my eyes out!). I blended sizes I (chest) and M (torso length).

To finish out this look, I used Jalie Cocoon Cardigan and again blended sizes I and M together. I did worry that the white may end up being a bit see-through, but it's actually perfect! This one is alabaster Rayon Lycra Jersey (NLA). It's a little thicker than regular Rayon Lycra and feels SO nice! I am admittedly a little jealous that she gets to wear it and not me! This was also an easy and quick sew, perfect for any fluid knits with at least 40% stretch (this one has about 70%).

With the rest of the orchid pink linen, I made my youngest an Easter dress using Peony Patterns Petunia Dress and Larkspur hand embroidery. This dress lends itself perfectly to linen and the bonus is that since a crushed look is totally fine with this fabric, you can get away with not ironing it afterwards. Linen is also very easy to embroider (I re-discovered hand embroidery last year during our lockdown - it's a perfect activity when you're not in a position to machine sew too!). Petunia is available in sizes 1-14 and I cut between the sizes 2 and 3 for this one, lengthening it to size 5.

I had enough linen leftover to make a Peony Patterns Powderpuff pettiskirt for her. This is a very easy pattern and can be worn standalone or underneath a dress to give it more pouf. I made this one in a size 3 hip/5 height.

Finally, I used the last of the floral rayon lycra to make the Peony Patterns Daffodil Tee. This is a cute design (I adore the puff sleeves!) and rayon lycra is a great choice for it. This pattern goes from NB - 4T (I blended size 3 chest and 4 height).

I've often had people tell me that sewing for kids is a waste of time because they outgrow things so quickly, however I have found my sewing skills develop so much from working on these smaller projects, and because my children love exciting prints and colors, I can be a bit more adventurous with them than I am with myself. I hope I've been able to inspire you today - whether you're sewing for yourself or the kids in your life!

(Disclaimer - patterns provided complimentary by Jalie and Peony Patterns in exchange for promotion).