Easy is good, hard is… hard

I have been attempting some garment sewing. I feel I must show it to you, lest you think I am so fantastic with much besides a straight line.
030210-1
I severely overestimated the size of my daughter, and underestimated the size of the pattern (it’s vintage – who has time to figure those things out?). The jacket is the one from the vintage pattern I mentioned on this post.
030210-3
Besides the size problem it isn’t turning out too terribly. I am learning a LOT making it.
030210-2
I got this strange pucker at the side vents (I think that is what they are), turns out you can’t just sew around, you have to go up one side and up the other and hope they meet right. A little rip out and I fixed that. I still have to figure out hemming and stuff, there is some hand sewing to do. I did consider putting it on the back burner once I realized it really won’t fit until next spring. The back burner = land of the lost so I decided to just stick it out and finish it. But I had to mix it up with an instant gratification project:
030210-4
Turning all these onsies into tee-shirts. Onsies are not so practical for a toddler. I think the quicker you can do a diaper change/pull down for bathroom at this age the better. Tuesday can flip from her back to her stomach in less than half a second easy. Sciarrino brought over her serger today so I could finish some of the edges that way. Some I’ll also fold up to make them look extra nice, and some I won’t do anything to and they’ll just roll. A few are getting an extra special treatment:
Ruffles-1
(that’s me realizing after the fact that I had no before picture, hahahaha).
Step 1: cut off bottom of bodysuit (I used a ruler and rotary cutter)
Step 2: sew edge with a zig zag stitch (make both settings about as small as they will go – experiment on the bottom half that you are going to toss) and use exact matching thread. As you sew right on the edge you pull both in front of and behind the needle stretching the fabric.
Ruffles-2
Ta da! Super cute ruffle shirt!
Ruffles-3
Extra awesome is that it was a hand me down to us and had a little stain on the bottom part so it’s even better now. I read about this “lettuce hem” in Ready Made magazine, I think I might have to lettuce hem all my tank tops I love it!
p.s. total side question: the vertical pics do you like them smaller or big (like on top), I’ve been wondering this for a while.

Join the Conversation

15 Comments

  1. I like the pictures bigger–can see better detail without having to blow it up 🙂
    That lettuce hem looks so cute!! What a great idea. And you make it sound so easy…
    That coat is going to be adorable!
    I need to sew. When am I supposed to have time?!?! arrggg

  2. Super cute! AS I’m in the middle of potty training my 2 year old daughter, this is a project that just got added to my to-do list, like for today! Yay, off to do some sewing!
    (And I prefer them smaller so I can see the entire photo without having to scroll.)

  3. Lol! Ok, I was dying laughing at Tuesday’s expression in the first picture—she looks like, “mom, are you kidding me?!?” (doesn’t she know how cute her polka-dot ensemble is?!)
    What a great idea to turn the onsies into shirts!! And I don’t have a preference of picture size 🙂

  4. She looks so much like you in the first photo! She has a look like “seriously, Mom”. Too cute! I admire your willingness to tackle such complex sewing projects. I’ll stick to my straight lines for now.

  5. that first photo is priceless! i agree with ceara…she’s all “um, mom? are you serious?”. and oh my goodness does she look so much like you in that photo too! she’s so adorable.
    and photos. i have no preference. i just like to see photos 🙂

  6. Very cute & love the lettuce hem idea. We’re a couple years beyond onesies so I’ll just have to try it on… well, I’m not sure what. But I’ll try it! Thanks for the quick & easy tute, too!
    Also, I like the smaller pics. Easier to see without scrolling, and when they’re bigger I don’t think the picture quality is as good (at least on my monitor).

  7. Hi – I have a couple super duper cute patterns for girls that are not much more than a straight line (my kind of sewing). They are from Frog Legs and Ponytails and are PDF patterns. I have been making some pillowcase dresses from her patterns and she even supplies sizes for adults (a little matching Mommy and me) and doll sizes. Go take a peak at my blog to see what I’m talking about. The jacket looks great – and hey it is a really good learning exercise. Hemming…don’t get me started…

  8. super cute! Love the bigger pics. She is such a doll. You have an amazing eye for fabrics….that coat is great! And the onsies, brilliant!

  9. The jacket is AMAZING!!! I really love the liner you chose. In the first picture it looks like a kimono robe, very luxurious. Tuesday looks great in those colors! I also love the onsie idea. It is on my to-do list, especially now that I see how cute that ruffled edge is!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *