Summer vacation clothes!

The kids have outgrown their warm-weather clothes, so much so that I have to look them over before we go out of the house! So some quick wardrobe build-up is in order for everyday, but also for our planned trip for P's birthday. Oliver + S is good for this simply because they're basic and a quick sew, and come out good every time... with some mods to change things up every so often!

Pants first -- I realized in spring that P was wearing his pants at the hip-line and that was why he still hadn't outgrown them in length... I made him stick it out a month or so for the navy uniform pants, but made these for knocking around and summer: Grey brushed cotton twill Field trip cargos; the loden viscose gabardine, forest denim and khaki polyblend drill are lengthened Sketchbook with snap/zip fly and buttonhole elastic. Since the khakis are for school (they transition to a new color this grade -- the main reason I didn't want to make new pants! :D) they have belt loops and reinforced knees.  

Pantssss!

Next, shorts... three pairs for K and three for P. (Except that there were tears about the pink check being "too boyish!" (???), so I gave them away to another sewist's little girl.) They are all Sketchbook shorts with snap/ zip fly and buttonhole elastic, except the black ones which are a Ottobre jeans pattern. Her shorts are actually from earlier this summer, as she wore the purple ones for her birthday in the park. His are more recent, the green and gray are canvas from IKEA (!) and the khaki poplin can do duty as a uniform this fall.

Next is a Butterfly top, made from fabric I brought home from my 90's stash of country kitsch. She can pull it off, unironically.

 This is a mashup of the Croquet dress and Sunny day shorts... I guess it would be a loose woven cotton version of the "shortards" in my previous post. I'd gotten some of the Little Lisette icepop poplin and had been saving it for something summery and cute. The orange is Kona cotton.

Some quick fixes: since they are shorts, they can't be pulled on over the head, so I made the back opening longer so she can step into them instead.

original facing is in pencil, new facing outline is in red.

facing sewn and opening slashed.. the little bit sticking out are the ribbon for the button loops.

 

bodice pattern pieces... red is the new cutting line.

turned to the inside, with the button loops showing.


 I also took 2 inches off the length of the bodice to eliminate the drop-waist but keep it a bit blousey,

 and attached the elastic to the bow (which I cut in half and finished the ends) so that the bow actually tightens the waist. 

she looks pretty happy here, but really she only likes the bow and wants dresses. Um, I can do that too!