handmade kids clothing swap. . .

Several weeks ago I was asked if I wanted to join in on a handmade kids clothing swap organized by Robin of Nested in Stitches. Though I haven't done many swaps in the past, this sounded like a lot of fun so I signed up right away. The premise was that we would sew a kid's outfit that was inspired by our recipient's Pinterest boards. The person sewing for us was kept a surprise so that made it even more fun. 

Sydney received an absolutely adorable outfit from Gail of Probably Actually - a pretty yellow jacket  (with wooden buttons which are my fav!) and a swingy linen skirt (I paired the outfit with a polka dot tank from Syd's closet). The colors, the style, and the fit were spot on. Gail did such an amazing job and Syd loves the outfit - especially the skirt! The day we received the package in the mail was definitely a happy mail day.

From Gail...

There was so much great inspiration in Vanessa's pins - I saw tons of yellow, lots of jackets with clean lines, and several chambray dresses and skirts. I ended up combining a few pins to create an outfit that I thought might match her aesthetic and be fun to wear.

These were the specific pins I used:  jacket | scallop fabric | skirt style

Pattern/Fabric info:

Jacket - Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket | cotton/linen from Ellen Luckett Baker's Stamped Collection

             Seams are bound in raspberry shot cotton

Skirt -    Oliver + S Swingset Skirt | Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in denim with raspberry shot cotton lining

I had such fun sewing for Vanessa! Not only do I love her bright, simple style, but sizing was easy since our daughters' measurements are very similar. Plus I knew she'd end up taking amazing photos and make my stuff look better that it really did! :)

I think Gail did such a great job in weeding through the million pins on my board (I may have a problem...) to come up with something that is cute, modern, and very wearable. The jacket and skirt are impeccably sewn and I really like the fact that the pieces can be worn together but will also mix well with other things in the kiddo's wardrobe. Thank you so much, Gail! You rock!

I was matched with Heather of Well Crafted to sew an outfit for her little girl. I was drawn to the outfit in this pin and used it as my inspiration. Along with the Pinterest boards, we were given a bit of info about the child we would be sewing for...their measurements, of course, along with color and fabric preferences, etc. Comfort was definitely something I kept in mind when putting together my look. In searching for a dress pattern, I came across the Narita dress pattern by Hey June and knew it would be perfect. It had a similar look to the inspiration dress and I liked that the bodice was fully lined. I paired the dress with a super soft stripe-y tee I made using Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern. 

Here's a sneak peek of the outfit I made...

Make sure to head over to Heather's blog to see more photos! To see what the other participants created and received, be sure to check out the links below...

cherie from you and mie 

danielle from my sparkle 

delia from delia creates 

gail from probably actually

heather from well-crafted

kristin from skirt as top

meg from elsie marley

sanae from sanae ishida

robin from nested in stitches

and me!

Thank you, Robin, for putting this all together!!