Sewing for Kids: Little One-Yard Wonders

I love sewing for kids, so I was thrilled to receive the opportunity to review Little One-Yard Wonders! This book is part of a series of projects that require only one yard of fabric or one skein of wool – I have written in the past about two other books in this series: Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders and Crochet One Skein Wonders. I expected to love Little One-Yard Wonders primarily for toy sewing, and surprised myself by preferring the clothing patterns in this book. Anna is wearing my version of the Sierra Tiered Skirt, one of the simpler projects in the book. I have plans to try several other skirts, tops, and dresses because there are so many cute designs that also look very do-able!

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Anna is as tall as some of our three-year-old friends, so I made the 3T-4T size of the Sierra skirt (which also happens to be the smallest size in the book for this particular pattern). I knew that this produced an 18.5 inch skirt, but I didn’t stop to think about how that this would be more than half her height! This skirt will only be knee length on some very tall three- and four-year-olds! Fortunately Anna LOVES her ballroom-length skirt, and I can also very easily adjust the pattern to make shorter skirts.

I rarely follow pattern instructions exactly (I tend to see them as guidelines rather than strict rules), and this skirt was no exception. I used an old sheet for the fabric, and cut it so that the selvage runs along the bottom of the skirt. No hemming, and this strategy also meant that I was able to combine two pattern pieces. You are *supposed* to cut skirts with the pieces running the other direction, but for a toddler tiered skirt like this it really doesn’t matter. I added top stitching to keep the ruffle stitching where I wanted, as well as to add definition, and made the back seam a French seam, just to make things look neater.

Note: I get asked about this play kitchen every time I post a photo. Yes, it is very pretty and yes, we love it, and it’s even on sale right now…

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to sew for kids! I am excited to make more clothes for my kids, and I have a few handmade toys picked out as possible Christmas gifts as well!

MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.