I'm currently at the age where most of my friends are getting married and having, or about to have, babies. Whilst evading these rites of passage myself for the time being, this new period does seem to be providing a test of my sewing flexibility. Can I make wedding appropriate atire? Yep. Can I make little peoples' clothing? Yep, again! Phew.
I made this little dress over the course of a week and a half for my friend who is due to give birth in three weeks, and finished it just in time for her baby shower yesterday. It's the first baby or child garment I've ever made from scratch and I thoroughly enjoyed the process (after the initial 'what, this sewing project isn't for me?' phase that I have to go through!).
It was made from fabric that the parents-to-be bought back from their honeymoon in Africa. I used this vintage pattern pictured above that I found in a flea market recently, which was published in 1975. I made view 3 with the frilly sleeves, but would love to make the other versions in different fabrics. Unfortunately, the pattern was for size 1 year, so we'll have to wait a while to get a modelled shot. That said, I did put it on the bizarre child's mannequin (which is sized for 3-4 year olds) that hangs around at work to get a bit of an idea what it'll look like when 3D (see below).
There is something so adorable about little things isn't there?! Plus something this small was surprisingly quick to make. Now I've got the construction process down, I think I could whip one of these up in 2.5 hours including cutting (there's a bit of hand-sewing involved). Next task: boy-baby or unisex appropriate garments, possibly using stretch fabric. Fear not Umi, Emma, Anna etc., Auntie Zo is getting her sew-on!
14 comments:
You nailed this one out of the park. It is gorgeous!
That is incredibly cute!
It's gorgeous, I really love that fabric. Good thing about sewing for kids is you can be a little more daring with prints as they can pull them off. OK, yes, my 6 year old does on occasion look like a mad grandma, but sometimes she is on the right side of chic!!
Aw! I'd have loved a hand crafted gift like this when I was preggers. (well, except for the fact I had a boy...so maybe some stripe dungarees would have been better...;)
This is seriously sweet though.
Px
So cute! Another great thing about baby clothes is that they neatly fit those smaller pieces of fabric left over from adult-sized projects. Great for stash busting... and for when you wish to look like a mother-daughter (or auntie-niece) superpower combo!
That fabric is gorgeous and the finished outfit is adorable. I'm sure your friend loves it!
This is very cute, I love it! I'll be making something for my cousin's baby boy in the next few months and I have a 1930s romper pattern in mind. Hope it turns out half as good as 'your' little number ;o)
Yay for little people and small sewing!
Little girls clothes are great because you don't have nearly as many fitting issues, plus cute girly fabric is so fun. Your friends are lucky to have you.
That is adorable, love the fabric & pattern!
That's a lovely dress, and like you I love to give a hand made gift for new babes but I find patterns are so unreliable on size. Its a while since my own children were that small so my own judgement is not very good either. I have made things and they have come out far too small but most often the patterns seem to be too wide and too short. I tend to stick to knitting a gift or sewing a quilt or nappy bag these days as it seems so much safer!!
Ooh, it's lovely! I can imagine her wearing it with white socks and pink sandals :>
Cute cute cute! None of my really close friends have had babies and I'm not clucky myself either yet. But I look forward to being a 'sewing auntie' and making clothes for little peeps! You can be adventurous with colours and embellishments. How lovely that you used the parents' honeymoon fabric!
Love the bold fabric! I've had to make a few baby outfits this past year, and I used vintage patterns too (which didn't say what size they were, conveniently!!) and I have to say they take nearly as long to make as adult ones!! Maybe cos I like to decorate them a fair bit... here's one with links to another, hope it inspires!
http://stylewilderness.blogspot.com/2010/10/baby-love-2.html
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