today is the last day of school for the kiddos. the last month of school is such a crazy time filled with activities and shows and events at school. not to mention the fact that the hubbs and i road-tripped it down to NYC last thurs/friday (more on that later!!). it’s always a relief to be on the other side, but of course that means they will all be home alllll day… it always takes a while to adjust, and no doubt they’ll be at each other’s throats in no time.
so the “ten” alluded to in the title refers to my oldest daughter who just turned the big one-oh. ack! double digits! i always try to make the kids something for their birthday, so i picked up a rayon challis in a fabric that is totally her. i started with the cali faye collection wednesday dress, but i utterly underestimated the fabric needed. to compensate, i cut the pattern down to a blouse length and narrowed the sides to fit the fabric. there is still plenty of swing, and it worked out perfectly.
certainly doesn’t look like much on the hangar
i skipped the cutout on the back since the fabric has so much drape, and instead left a long opening closed with a button in the back. then, i shaped the hem with a slight high/low thing happening.
she wore it to school on her birthday and when i asked what her friends thought, she told me (exasperatedly) the class practically lined up to tell me they loved my shirt. even my teacher! she’s not one who is comfortable with a lot of attention, but it totally made my day. 🙂
as far as sizing goes, based on her measurements, she sits at about a size 6 in width, but almost 10 in height. i find this utterly frustrating in kids clothing—RTW or patterns. i decided on a size 7, and would have lengthened to a 10 but… like i said, i didn’t have enough for the dress anyways. i was so bummed about that i went and bought a different fabric, which i successfully cut, and i can’t wait to sew it up so i can give a better review!
—lisa g.
She is a mini-you! Gorgeous shirt, I would totally wear it. So cute she got lots of compliments on it!
thanks! of all my kids, she undoubtedly takes after me and my family… the good and the bad!
Awww! So cute!
oh boy, get ready…the time FLIES. I am secretly losing it a bit over my daughter getting ready to turn 16. No clue where the time went!
thanks!
i totally hear ya. i can’t believe we’ve already hit 10, and i know the next 10 will fly by even faster! i keep telling them to stop growing up!
Very pretty top 🙂 I bet that rayon feels great in the summer. My kiddos have been out 2 weeks now and are at each other’s throats… and my little man turns 12 tomorrow so I feel your pain 😦 I also find kids sizing frustrating. I have one wider than longer, and one longer than wider!
Happy belated b-day to the beautiful girl 🙂
it doesn’t take long, for the kids to go at it, does it? ugh! and so often, the patterns don’t bother with height measurements so it’s hard to tell how to merge sizes. if i knew more about drafting i’d just do it from scratch every time. it would almost be less work!
I love that top. The fabric is so pretty and I love the style. I must look up that pattern!
thanks! she has several really cute patterns, though i haven’t seen them made up too many times. hope that’s not a bad sign!
Awwww, she’s adorable! I love this fabric and I would totally wear that shirt. My oldest is 6 and when I made a couple Cali Faye patterns I used a 5T length and 2T width…and they are still a little wide for her, crazy.
thanks! i’d wear this in a heartbeat too! and good to know it’s not just me with the sizing problems. i always get hung up on the size number, not wanting to go down from what size i would expect her to wear!
That’s way too funny (but not surprising) that the class was lining up to give your shy gal compliments! Well-sewn, Mom 🙂
thanks! you just never know what kids are gonna like! i usually let her help pick out her fabrics, but since this was a gift i wanted to surprise her. glad it was a hit!
Eeeeek ten! But cute top 🙂
i was a trooper and didn’t even cry once… took restraint!
Oh my gosh, she IS a mini-you! Well done on the birthday shirt. I would wear it in a heartbeat!
thank you! i keep making her things that i’d actually really love to have in my closet… pretty soon our wardrobes will look the same!
Happy birthday to your girl! Her top is awesome — not surprised that she got tons of compliments! That would have totally embarrassed me at that age too 🙂