And this long-sleeved top is from Autumn 4/2011. #15 Dreamland. I love the shape and fit of this one. The contrasting ribbing makes me smile and the love-heart applique was a happy afterthought. These fabrics are all from Crafty Mamas – yellow solid is Gitte, pink solids are Stella and ribbing is Hilco Ringel.
You know what? I’m happy to say that it has been a long time since I bought the kids new tops! I didn’t know that I would actually get to this stage in my sewing hobby, but I love not having to go shopping for them and being restricted to dress them in what the fashion industry views as “in fashion” for kids! I will still buy them pants and can’t make as much for Oscar now that I could when he was little, but as much as I can, I am managing to fill their cupboards with clothing made by me and it is a really good feeling.
Once you get the hang of it, tops are really quick and easy. To make things even faster, I’ll usually get a production-line going. First, I’ll work out who needs what (I’m also trying really hard to only sew what they need – to make the most of my sewing time and also to make sure that they are actually going to get good wear out of it!)
Next, I’ll select patterns. I do use my Basic Tees pattern a lot but like to spice things up a bit with some different styles from Ottobre magazines…I don’t want to be known as the family that always wears the same tops!
Then the production line takes place. Usually I will sew 3-6 items at once. I’ll do all of the cutting out first, then put it away for a few days. Come back to it and sew each top individually. Usually I’ll only get one top sewn per sitting and once everything is cut out and ready I only spend about 30-45 minutes of actual sewing time. It just seems to happen faster this way, if I’m all organised and means that if I only get small pockets of sewing time in, I can be productive straight away instead of fussing about getting myself set up each time.
Anyway, it’s not rocket-science and it works for me! I only really like to sew if it is something that is needed and going to be worth my time and seeing the kids wear their tops every day is definitley worth my while!
