Blame it on the kids, Carisa Burchak says. They are the inspiration and reason behind the Gilman Village shop X Marks the Tot.

The children’s clothing store, owned by Carisa Burchak, her sister Andrea and mother Tarri, features handmade clothing for infants to 5-year-olds all designed and created in house.

Tarri Burchak said what isn’t created by the trio is usually customized in someway, like adding patches and patters to T-shirts or blankets. This makes everything unique and gives the store the ability to customize something specifically for the individual as needed. One of the stores most unique items is the T-suit.

Made out of gently used adult T-shirts, the suit is created from the main body of vintage shirts, while the sleeves are molded into hats. Tarri Burchak said it’s been a popular item, especially with overseas people looking for a different spin on Americana.

“It’s really a unique, comfortable gift. They are really cute,” she said. The T-shirts come from all over, including locally, e-Bay and a bulk seller on the East Coast, Carisa Burchak said, who sells them in huge bales. Because everything is done in house, or locally, they can easily create a T-suit out of a shirt a customer brings in, Tarri Burchak said.

“We can always make whatever’s needed,” she said, including resizing or creating something in a different fabric. “That’s what we do.”

The whole idea is to keep the items coming and going locally, whether it’s the fabric, the work that goes into the clothes or the customers purchasing it.

“We try to keep it within the community,” said Tarri Burchak. “We’re always coming up with new prototypes and patterns. Everyone has a little input.”

The store, which opened in December, was in the making for several years before the doors officially opened.

Tarri Burchak owned and operated a custom clothing store in downtown Seattle for years, and always made her daughter’s clothes, a tradition which continued to the grandchildren.

“It’s really fun to do,” she said. The idea spun out from there, and now the trio has a store to call their own.

The clothes, which were recently expanded to include sizes for older kids, are a mix of practical items in fun fabrics, designed for comfort and long term use.

“We want clothes to fit kids for a long time,” said Tarri. “That way they can grow into it so it fits for a while.”

Items like circle skirts, shorts, pants and organic T-shirts are all designed in house or customized for the store.

The store also features a few other local designer’s work, helping to highlight local talent.

Other regulars at the shop are Carisa Burchak’s daughter’s Violet, 3, and Nova, 1, who also act as models, moving billboards and are often the final test for the clothes.

X Marks the Tot is located in Gilman Village, Suite 24 and can be reached at 425-391-5588 or by visiting www.xmarksthetot.com.