Shirred Romper

I never did get around to making the shirred romper with long pants that I had planned, so I made it as a shorts/bubble style.  I used this tutorial, but made a few changes.  I didn't want straps that had to button, and could picture in my head some elastic straps with a little flutter sleeve.  I tried it, and they turned out awful, so I switched to just some plain cased elastic straps and they were much better.  I had read through the tutorial a few times, but I had not realized that the crotch was designed to meet face to face instead of overlapping, and I didn't care for that, but I had already cut the fabric before I noticed.

I thought I had measured carefully, but it ended up just a little short and she was showing much more chest than I like.






Since it was too short for her to wear again (after squeezing her into it once), I had to come up with a solution. I didn't have enough fabric to cut off the bottom and turn it into a top and bloomers, so I added a small panel to the crotch that is sort of hour glass shaped. I cut out two pieces and sewed them together, flipped them right side out, then top stitched them, and sewed one end to the inside back of the romper. The panel is about 3 inches, so added about 1.5 inches to the length and it now fits so much better.  With the addition of the panel, I was able to change the snaps to overlap, and I like it much better.

I didn't get a great picture of the crotch, but you can see the better fit.





I really love this color on her. I chose the fabric based on some colored snaps I already had and wanted to use up.

Criss-Cross Pinafore

About a year ago, I saw some beautiful fabric in the remnants bin at the fabric store.  It was just shy of a yard marked down quite a bit from the original price.  I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to make with it, but I was pretty sure that Dorothy needed a dress of some type from it.  In the pile of clothes that my mom had saved from when I was a baby was a criss-cross pinafore, made from some truly hideous fabric.  I loved the style of it though and tried it on Dorothy last year.  The cut was a little funny, so I used the ugly fabric one as a pattern, then made some changes to make it fit better. 

I love how this turned out! I might regret dressing her in all white, but it is just so sweet and summer-y on her. I'm getting better at some basic sewing techniques and things are starting to look a little less like I made them. I had two big compliments on this piece today. First, someone commented on how cute her outfit was within 15 minutes of me putting it on her. Second, my husband said that he hadn't realized that I had made it until he was putting the bloomers back on her after a diaper change and noticed there was no tag. Yay!

I had a hard time getting photos of the pinafore, but I bribed Dorothy with a little Pirate Booty snack and she held still for a bit.


The fabric is white with white embroidered and crochet flowers on it. It is pretty thin, so I lined it with a solid white, and trimmed it with white eyelet. The eyelet is a slightly different shade of white and I wish it was closer in color, but I'm not sure I could have found anything better.



I saved so much time using the eyelet instead of making my own ruffles and it sewed on beautifully. I might plan my next project around whatever fancy trim I can find. Not gathering ribbon or fabric was wonderful.



Ruffle butt.



It has been blistering hot here and the lightweight fabric, open back, and light color are helping keep her nice and cool.



The arm holes are a little big, but I don't think there is much I can do about that with this style. They are just extra ventilation and this outfit will be perfect when we head down to Florida in August.

Super Malcolm!

Malcolm was invited to a Super Hero party at a karate studio and was instructed to dress up as his favorite super hero.  I tried my best to explain to him what a super hero was, but he was wasn't really understanding.  It didn't matter.  He had a blast and was so sweaty when I picked him up.  When I walked in, they were having a marshmallow fight; adults vs kids.

Rather than be a specific super hero, I decided that I would just make him a cape to wear. I asked him what color he would like and he told me, "Light red." Great. In my head "light red" equals pink and I was trying to decide if I should just make him a pink cape or try to talk him out of it. Since it was a friend from school who invited him, I was afraid that there might be some of the older kids from his class there who might say something that would hurt his feelings.

My mental stress was for nothing. I took him to the fabric store and told him to pick a color from the rainbow of broadcloth. He again said, "Light red," and I had him show me which one he meant. As far as I can tell, it is red, red. Maybe a little on the orange red side instead of a blue red, but no where near pink. I offered that he could choose two colors, but he only wanted red. Did I mention that this was the day before the party? Nothing like starting a project early.

I looked at several online tutorials on sewing a cape, but none were really what I was looking for. I took a little bit from a couple I read and added my own ideas. I didn't want it to tie around his neck, so I used velcro so that it will come loose if he gets caught on something or someone pulls on the cape. I wanted the neck to have a little give, so there is hidden elastic cased inside the fabric. Then I sewed ribbon on to the elastic and put the velcro on the ribbon. I rounded the corners of the velcro so that it won't poke him in the neck. I also used a longer piece of the soft side of the velcro and a small piece of the sticky velcro so that it is more adjustable.

Lastly, I wanted to put an emblem on the back of the cape. I didn't want anything too violent or aggressive, so I settled on a lightening bolt (partly because the pattern was really cheap).


The finished product.



From the front. He said that it didn't pull on his neck during the party and that he wore it the entire time. I saw him do plenty of running around and it seemed to mostly stay in place.



The back.



From the side. I didn't want it so long that he would trip on it, but I'm glad I went a little longer than the suggestions I saw to have it stop at the lower back.