Semi-Handmade Sewing
/Happy fall, y’all! Rachel here with a quick post about “semi-handmades” - let’s cut ourselves a little slack, shall we?? As back to school approached, I noticed a number of threads in the PR group and in others on Facebook that were discussing the challenge of finding the time (and inspiration!) to dress our kids in handmades for school each day. My daughter is in first grade this year, and still loves mama-made, so I’m happy to oblige. But let’s be real - there are 185 days in our school year and only so many hours in the day!
What’s a busy mom to do? Miss P and I have made sure to include at least a few “semi-handmades” into her school wardrobe to give her a few more outfits that are quick and easy to put together but still have some handmade flair. Of course, there are some days that she wears jeans or leggings and a handmade top or tunic, but these outfits were put together intentionally to coordinate with the storebought item as inspiration. When we did a little back-to-school shopping, Miss P went straight for the fun printed leggings. These panda leggings are from Target in their new Cat and Jack collection, and they were begging for a cute panda shirt to go with them. I used the Rowan Raglan from Made for Mermaids, and opted for the skirted tunic version. The pattern includes several cutting files for use with heat transfer vinyl, so I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut black glitter HTV for the panda face. Easy peasy!
The sweet pink graphic tee was from Gap Kids, and was a great sale rack find. We paid $4 for it - how could I pass that up?! Miss P loved the sequin detail on the graphic, and I really like the unique shoulder detail. It needed something more fun than basic jeans to coordinate, so I used this test pattern for the ruffled skirt with attached shorties. Keep your eyes on the Made for Mermaids page next week when it’s set to release!
My girl and I were both thrilled with the results, and I love that she’s got unique pieces to mix and match with her RTW finds. It’s a time-saver, for sure, but I think it’ll work well if she’s ever a bit more hesitant about wearing handmades so regularly. I’m lucky that she loves her mama-made clothes and her friends are always complimenting her outfits (and requesting their own handmades for their birthdays and Christmas, etc.!), but I’m sure we’ll reach a point where she’s a bit less easy to please. Perhaps our semi-handmades will help us bridge that gap, and will help me to keep up with her evolving style. How do your kiddos rock their semi-handmades? Make sure to stop by our FB group and share pics of your favorite looks!
Until next time,
Rachel
