consider my arm twisted

seriously. I can’t stand the pressure.  I was resisting joining in on elsie marley’s kids clothes week challenge…feeling like I had enough going on with my summer sewing project but I’m a weak, weak person and apparently a sucker for a good sewing challenge since I’m already involved in this and this and just want to keep going!

but, honestly, elsie marley has been knocking it out of the park with her great guest posts.  I think this post from meg @ sew liberated was what tipped me over the edge.  what about you? tempted? it’s great fun, it really is…one hour of sewing everyday with a goal to make clothes for your kids.  for me, the trick is to widen the definition of sewing to include things like ‘reading a pattern’ and ‘cutting fabric’ or even ‘shopping for a zipper’.  the point is to just get in one hour every day toward the goal of making your kids some clothes.

I can do that, right? I have participated twice before and even got a shot of my littlest man on the elsie marley page…he is the really adorable one in a little coat (really, truly, he is so freakin’ adorable!)

so, here is my plan this time around:  I’m going to sew an outfit each for both of my little men…one pair of shorts and one shirt. I’m restricted myself fabric-wise to only using old clothes I’ve set aside to reuse.  and lastly,  (this is the big one) I’m going to make the shirts out of knit fabric.  that’s right, I WILL CONQUER MY FEAR OF SEWING WITH KNITS!  it is happening, you heard it here first. I’m done shying away from them or making tentative (and often disastrous) steps toward working with them. I’ve even started a pinterest board that I hope to keep loading it up with good information about how to sew well using knit fabrics.  And this very official looking pdf from the University of Kentucky…hopefully by diving into even academic literature I can make this happen. just kidding about that.  I always over-intellectualize things that I should really just jump into head-first.  it’s a hard habit to break.

so, what do you say?! join in!  be crazy sewing mama with me for a week! need some ideas? check out the new patterns from oliver and s and the spring and summer patterns at made by rae! oliver and s even has some great free patterns. 

edited to add: check out this treasure trove of great (and free) tutorials by dana at made.

wow. there are a lot of links in this post. phew. I think I’m on a bit of overdrive.