Thursday 26 May 2016

KCW: Japanese culottes and a Japanese top

Started well before Kid's Clothes Week, then put on the backburner, here's a little outfit I made for R: a pair of culottes with a piped yoke (and side pockets, yay) and a simple knit top with an interesting shoulder detail. The culottes are from my newest Japanese pattern book Kids Clothes Style Book and I made them in the same beautiful Three Cats shweshwe fabric that I used for R's kimono slippers. I'm really happy with the style and the fit of this cute little skort, and it works well with tights underneath in our cool Autumn weather.



The top is pattern 8 from Fu-Ko Basics and, while it's hard to tell from the illustration contained in the book, it has an unusual design with the back piece extending over the shoulders to form an interesting seam detail at the front (which I totally failed to photograph properly). The back hem is a little lower than the front hem, which is another nice feature. For this top I used a not-too-stretchy cotton knit from Spotlight; good thing I bought heaps of it on clearance as my first top ended up too wide at the neck and I had to throw it out and start again. This top is intended to have a wide neckline, but taking a few centimetres off the neck width ended up being a very helpful adjustment.

It rained solidly all day today and the light indoors was rather gloomy, so photographing this outfit wasn't much fun. But never mind, R likes her new clothes and happily wore them for the rest of the day. Now to work on a much-needed winter coat!

7 comments:

  1. The outfit is really exquisite - I love all aspects of it - the patterns and fabrics go so nicely together, and they suit your daughter so well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Masha; fortunately R loves blue and it's such an easy colour to work with!

      Delete
  2. I just read about the release of that book the other day. It's a must-have! Shorts with in-seam pockets are essential and I can tell you are addicted to shweshwe fabric. Does it become very soft once the wax is washed off? I've made the same top and I agree that the neck opening is way too big. But now it looks perfect on R with your adjustment. So clever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bought the book without knowing much about it, but it's a good one with lots of stylish basics. The instructions aren't the easiest to decipher, but I know I'll be making loads of things from it. And yes, the shweshwe gets very soft (and also fades a bit) - it's actually starch that's on it, and it takes a few washes to get the stiffness out. I use cold water though - it would probably wash out faster with hot :) You should try some!

      Delete
  3. First of all, I would totally wear this outfit, all the time. It's also perfect for her, though - it's just very practical and wearable. I love your choice of fabrics and the subtle mix of stripes and prints in a very quiet way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Inder. Sometimes I struggle to match patterned fabrics, so when I found the striped knit I was very happy!

      Delete
  4. Love this outfit too. I wish my daughter would go for skorts/shorts over tights. I think it looks gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete