Bad news, friends. The problem of childhood obesity in this country has gotten so bad that the pattern companies are now drafting their patterns for enormous pre-schoolers.
Ok, that's an exaggeration. But seriously? WHO ARE THESE PATTERNS FOR?? Over the weekend I made this for Daughter:
Sorry it's sideways. You get the idea. I made view B (the blue floral in the above pic), thinking it would be such a great quick-n-easy sundress for summer. I could use up a bunch of cottons in my stash and Daughter would have a rack of easy-to-pull-on garments. The pattern only really has 2 pieces, a front and back. You make a casing, then put something through it to make the shoulder straps (for this one I used the fabric itself). Pockets are optional, but Daughter did request them. She picked out both fabrics.
What we got is this:
The view on the hangar does not do justice to the ENORMOUSNESS of the dress. It is a sack. The whole thing is so wide it barely stays on her shoulders, and it sags down in front something awful. It might work over a t-shirt with some leggings as a tunic, but as a dress? FAIL.
Oh well, that is what I get for trying to shortcut my time and effort. Luckily we used cheapo "Quilter's Showcase" fabric from Joann's (on sale for $1.49/yd), which, by the way, I would never showcase in a quilt. It's junk. So essentially we have a wearable muslin which taught me that I do not wish to waste good fabric on this pattern ever again. Anyone want the pattern? It's uncut (I traced). If you think you could do something with it, leave a comment.
I started a new dress yesterday and it looks much more promising. Details are really everything with these little girl garments, and the sweet tucks on this dress should save the day, fit-wise:
Isn't that fun? Buttons go between the center tucks for interest. The ghosty white lines are just the chalk from drawing the lines for the tucks. I've already hemmed, so I just need to finish the neckline and armholes, put a button on the back, and voila! I think it will be great. And I feel good about using this fabric purchased many years ago...to make this wee dress. I had more than enough left to make this frock. I might even be able to squeak out bias binding so everything will match perfectly. What do you think? Round red buttons? Or should I go in search of cherries? Cherry buttons might be too busy. I think juicy round red buttons will do.
Let's see, what else? Well, we made good use of the leftover Easter egg dye, I think:
Or maybe not, depending on your taste! This year we decided to try the McCormick "neon" food coloring. Ummm...eew. No likey. The eggs looked just ok. Of course Daughter loves all the colors, and she is thrilled with these tiny hanks of wool. We got the Knits for Barbie book from the library, and I've promised to make a few little doll garments out of this stuff (100% wool fingering weight).
And I kind of hate to say it, but I've been purchasing a bit of yarn lately. I've decided to stop feeling so guilty about my stash. Yeah, I have quite a bit of yarn, but I'm not nearly as bad as some people. I like to buy at my price, and then I have what I need when something comes up. Lately people are having babies like mad, and I like having a few skeins of pretty baby-color yarns stashed away. Now that I've made a February Baby sweater, I'm itching to make more in different weights, fibers, and colorways. These were only $1.50 each, so can you really blame me?
This is 2 skeins of Caron Spa (sport) in 'green sheen', 2 in 'naturally', and 2 skeins of Caron Country (worsted) in 'renaissance rose'. Each colorway should be enough to make one baby sweater; the green and the natural are suitable for either gender. Yay, a baby sweater for $3! As an aside, I don't just do this because I'm cheap - I do it because I can give more when I spend less. If the sweater is only $3 to make, then I can throw in some little matching clothes, accessories, and books without breaking the bank.
Off now to brew up a strong caffeinated beverage so I can make it through the afternoon (another aside: so, so excited for Iced Dunkin' Dark Roast this summer). I must fight the urge to curl up in the sunlight coming in the patio door and sleep away the afternoon...must make use of naptime...
3 comments:
I will never forget that the first thing I ever sewed for Bethany when she was 18 months old didn't fit her until she was almost FOUR. Yes, I really did follow the measurements on the back of the envelope. It's so ridiculous how oversized the patterns are.
I vote for juicy red buttons.
Isn't that the truth? What's so crazy is that the things for kids are so crazy-big, and the patterns for adults are often cut kind of small-- I have to make things with huuge size numbers for myself.
One source that I've enjoyed is the block patterns from Children's Fashion Workshop (http://childrensfashionworkshop.squarespace.com/)-- I think they're cut with only 10% ease (at least in the pants), and I've found them to be very true-to-size. If there's one thing I hate, it's spending time making a garment I can't use!
Lovely dress.....my vote is also for juicy red buttons.
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