Kids Clothing Weekly Challenge - Day 4

Today is day 4 of the Kids Clothing Challenge. I spent WAY more than an hour sewing today. I had issues with my bobbin, had issues with the sleeves, bla bla bla.

Anyway - today I made a shirred top and a set of quick shorts. This is my first time doing shirring. And, it was really easy and the results are really cute. Basically - you hand thread a bobbin with elastic thread, use the highest tension, and highest stitch, and sew in lines on the RIGHT side of the fabric. There are TONS of tutorials on the web about shirring, but here is one. I don't think she uses the highest tension, but I did and thought it came out great.

I used colored thread for the shirring, two different colors. I intended to do that - to match the shorts. But, it kinda looks like I ran out of the blue and just had to switch to the pink. Oh, well - no biggie.

I used ric-rac on the hem, because who doesn't LOVE ric rac. I know I do :)

I attached (and took off) the sleeves 3 times. I am STILL not happy with them. I like how they "ruffle" out, and that was on purpose. But, the seem too close to the edge of the shirt, and are falling down. For now, they are fine. I really wanted to get a few pics.

The shorts are too small, but OK for some quick pics. Since these are really fast, I will just make again.

The shirt is made without a pattern. Just a rectangle of fabric, shirred on the top, and then sewn. Same with the sleeves. I left a lot un-shirred to make the ruffle.