the beginning of kcwc and a tiny giveaway

do you know what time of year it is?  it’s time for the kid’s clothing week challenge!

usually, i get my act together about two weeks after kcwc and miss all the fervor.  this year, i’m slightly more organized, so let’s see if i can manage to keep up with the challenge to sew for an hour a day and get some clothes made for the happy toddler.  not that he needs any new clothes (hooray for low pressure “challenges”!), but he does need some mama-made clothes.

today, i turned this big sweater into a small sweater.

i used the classic “90-minute shirt” concept although the pattern may have originally been traced from growing up sew liberated.  i love an envelope collar.  so easy to sew.  so easy to put on and take off.  are you ever too old for an envelope collar?  i chopped off some of the ribbing at the bottom of the original sweater to make seam binding for the collar*, but wanted to try something a bit more relaxed for the sleeve.

i considered just doing a rolled hem for the whole sweater, but i’m glad i didn’t.  i think it would have constantly been rolling up and i didn’t make the sweater big enough to accommodate that sort of thing.

to celebrate kcwc, i’m giving away a copy of martha stewart kids magazine from fall of 2005.

martha stewart used to publish a great kids magazine (the only kid magazine i miss more is wondertime), but since they ceased publication, i’ve been slowly collecting the old issues.

the ideas are timeless and the photography is the same eye candy we all associate with the martha stewart empire.

i have an extra copy of this issue and it’s full of great ideas for halloween and the rest of the fall season.

it also has a generous baby section and a pull-out “how-now” mini-magazine for kids.

if you’re interested in winning this copy for yourself, just leave a comment on this post by friday, october 12 and i’ll try to get it to you in time to glean some good halloween ideas before halloween itself.  good luck!*p.s.  a note to remind myself and anyone else reading this.  when sewing ribbed seam binding onto collars like this, stretch the ribbing slightly as you’re sewing it on.  it will make it so the collar doesn’t gap forward.  i ended up picking the stitches out of this one and re-sewing it, but i’m soooooo glad i did.  it worked like a charm!