Kids’s Clothes Belgian Style week 11: Craftiness Is Not Optional

Today, in our Belgian Style series, we don’t have a blogger as a guest. We have a phenomenon. Craftiness Is Not Optional is one of the most well-known sewing-for-kids blogs in the universe, and that has less to do with the fact that Jess has been blogging since 2007 (I don’t even remember the Internet existing back then!), than with the fact that she makes the most stunning outfits for her girls. Her daughters Sadie, Charlotte, and Ava are by far the cheekiest models in the blogosphere, and they are continually supplied with the most stylish, fun and colorful outfits you can imagine. Jess’s tutorial page must be the most generous one I’ve ever seen (it’s like… infinite) and Jess is supernice!

Jess is also participating in Project Run & Play’s All Star Season – don’t forget to vote for her in the coming weeks!

Thank you, by the way, to those of you who uploaded their creations to the Kids Clothes Belgian Style Flickr Group in response to my rather pathetic begging to do so last week. I feel much better now. There are some amazing outfits in the group already – I hope to showcase some every few weeks. But first, let’s all drool over Jess’s Belgian style outfit!

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Hi I’m Jess, from Craftiness is not Optional, and I’m so excited to be here for An’s Kids Clothes-Belgian Style series. All I had to do was take a peek at her Belgian kids clothes pinterest board to know that I. loved. it. 

The bright colors, the pattern mixing, the layering! It seems like the Belgians really know how to let a kid dress like, well…a kid! So I had the time of my life sewing this outfit, and Sadie in turn loves it too! With every article of clothing I pulled out for the photo shoot she got more and more excited! (pardon the bare feet)

So I was mostly inspired by these looks:

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I started with the tunic. This fabric basically jumped into my hands and asked to become something Belgian-inspired…..I got it at Stonemountain and Daughter, when Stef and I visited in February. It’s from the Alexander Henry Urban Garden line. The colors are amazing, right up my alley. So if you couldn’t tell already, I made the Geranium dress, tunic length, with pleats, cap sleeves, and a plain neckline. I lined it in some yummy purple voile that Kristin sent me. Definitely doing the tunic length again, it’s freaking adorable.

 I got the buttons from Lots of Buttons, couldn’t find the exact one anymore, but this one is similar…I think they mimic the striped fabric of the capri leggings pretty well! I also got the knit fabric from Stonemountain & Daughter, it’s super soft and Sadie loves how they feel. I used the Go To Leggings pattern-again…fantastic pattern, easy sew and so professional-looking!

I also whipped up a little mustard yellow cardigan using fabric from Girl Charlee-Look for a tutorial coming on my blog for that soon!  We added one of my belts and wrapped it around her (twice, almost) to finish off the look.

We love the Belgian kids clothes style!