Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Care Bear Kimono & Footie

One day, I went to clean out A's closet, and texted my (pregnant) Sister-in-law to verify her girls' sizing and see if she had use for any hand-me downs. Her response? "V and L are size 4T and 18m respectively, and have 18 million clothes. Baby boy is a newborn and has ZERO clothes." Well, that's a disparity. I didn't have any hand-me-downs for baby boy at the time, but fortunately I don't *need* storebought clothing to ensure he has something to wear.

The fabric for this project was left over from C's Maternity shirt, and after some time spent on Etsy, I sprung for a Baby Kimono pattern from Brindille & Twig.


I made it in a 0-3 month size, and was pleased with the results. It was my first time working with snaps - so that was an adventure - but overall I was happy with how it turned out. And snaps are way, WAY easier than buttons or zippers, which is good to know for the future.


Since I had (barely) enough fabric left over, I made the footies as well. That way, my nephew could have a full set. I fussycut both toes from the scraps (although if  had it to do over, I would have skipped the cloud), and barely eeked out the legs without color blocking. They're pictured here before I added the elastic.


The set came together quite adorably. I forgot to take a picture off it, but the pads of the feet are also the same yellow as the binding. The left leg of this photo hints at it if you look carefully.


From a sewist's perspective, this was my first B&T pattern, and I'm probably not going to rush back for more. The instructions were clear and easy to follow, and the photos in the instructions were super helpful, but the construction of the garments took some shortcuts I didn't care for. On the top, the binding leaves a raw edge on the inside, and my first attempt at sewing the binding on clamshelled pretty badly (I had to rip it out & try again). On the pants, the method for attaching the elastic was fast, but left a raw edge on the inner waistband that wasn't terribly attractive. Sigh. B&T also calls for 1/4" seams, which aren't my favorite when working with knits. So, there wasn't anything particularly *wrong* with the patterns, but the line definitely doesn't mesh with my sewing style even though they design a lot of cute, unique garments.

That said, the real question is if the final product meshes with my Sister-in-law's dressing style! I have to admit I sat on this for a bit before sending it out, but my Sister-in-law should be getting a package later today. We'll see what she thinks when she gets it.




2 comments:

  1. I am seriously so very impressed with these jammies that you made! And touched, too! Thank you so much! I will send a picture of Baby Boy in them as soon as he's living "on the outside" and able to fit into them.

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  2. It is very impressive how you fussy cut those two pants legs so they match. Your binding application is flawless- not an easy skill I might add. These jammies are precious through and through.

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