Linen and Monkey Pants

This is from another of my packages, some colored linen from fabric-store.com. There's a yard of each color.

I like making my garments one of a kind, so I usually just buy fabric in half-yard and yard increments. This means however that often I take forever to decide what to use each piece for. It's not that I don't want to use my fabric, I can't decide on what would be exactly the right thing. I bought this linen with the intention of making pants, something that both boys and girls can make.  But now I'm looking at the green and thinking what a lovely smock it would make paired with the mushroom fabric I bought last week. And the bluey-purpley one would make a beautiful dress. Of course whatever I decide to make I can always buy more fabric, right? I don't know why I get so caught up with these decisions.

This is fabric for some shorts for Miranda. She chose it herself

I really don't care for either of these fabrics, especially the monkey one, and I've been putting off sewing the shorts as a result. Wouldn't some linen shorts with embroidery be nice? But this is what she picked out. Those of you who sew for your children, do you try and influence their choices at all? When they were younger it was easy, but now even Ivy has a pretty clear idea of what she wants her clothing to look like. I was sketching some ideas for outfits last night, I have some brown and white polka dot fabric that I want to make a sleeveless dress out of (well, maybe, haven't quite decided yet...) and loose linen pants to wear under it. I don't think she'd ever wear it, brown's not a favorite color so I guess it will have to be for the shop.

Comments

[muralimanohar]

I ended up on your old knitting blog trying to get here to reply...cute stuff! :p

Anyway, just meant to say, henna would be SO COOL for that kind of stuff!!

I buy fabric the same way you do, and then same way, spend ages trying to find the PERFECT PATTERN to showcase it. But I hate having a million yards of the same stuff, and then you just can't get rid of it, lol.

[Leah Adams]

Dressing your kids is tricky. I let my children pick their own fabrics within certain limitations, narrowing the options for them to patterns that meet my criteria and that I think they will like too. The brown fabric with polka dots sound sweet, but not right for your daughter. My thinking is that we want to encourage our children to be individuals, right? Sometimes their vision may not coincide with ours, but do you remember being stuffed into something by your mother? I do, and I remember how 'out of my skin' I felt. It has taken my years to develop my own personal aesthetic. My hope is that my children will be on their way a little earlier, and if you see the crazy combinations they wear, you would probably agree. Happy sewing!

[linda]

When my kids were younger, I picked out everything, but now that they are teens, my son won't even touch anything I sew for him and my daughter will only if she picked out the pattern, the fabric and the thread:) but this means I can finally sew more for myself-at long last!

[lynnie]

That linen is so gorgeous, I'd be tempted to use them for myself.