SEWING FOR TODDLERS PT.2

Toddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comToddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Toddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com
Toddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Toddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Fluffy Dots!

Oh, dear! I completely forgot to post these cute makes for my nieces from Christmas 2016 (!!!). I just found them while editing photos of my most recent makes for them. Better late than never!

This little jumper deserves its own post. It turned out really cute and my niece loved it.
It’s a La Maison Victor pattern. I used some scrap sweatshirt fabric for the bodice and cuffs. The shoulder insets are a faux suede jersey in blush pink. The little felt poufs are from a craft store. I pre-washed them to make sure they wouldn’t bleed and stain the fabric in the wash. So this whole project didn’t cost much at all.

Toddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comToddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Although I took care measuring and cutting the pattern and fabric, I had a feeling the neckline wouldn’t be wide enough to fit comfortably. I couldn’t be bothered to take the neck binding out again, as I had already overlocked the edges, so I had to come up with an alternative solution. This is how this quirky little keyhole opening came about. I found some matching pompom trim and button in my stash. It’s not very well done and a bit wonky, but it did the job! (My nieces aren’t very harsh judges anyway.)

Toddler Pompom Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I had such fun making this little quirky sweater. Unfortunately, they grow so fast at that age. It’s sometimes hard to consider whether it’s actually worth putting so much effort into a tiny little toddler sweater that won’t be worn more than just a couple of times. Well, luckily a nephew has been born just before Christmas – so I will make gender neutral clothes now that can be handed down the line.

xx

Charlie


Happy sewing!

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Having Fun Sewing for Toddlers Pt.1

Toddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comToddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

  MEOW, MEOW!

I don’t enjoy sewing for others. That’s a fact.

I don’t really know why, and I’d love to be able to rejoice in it. But I don’t. Sewing for others makes me feel frustrated and in that case it becomes more chore than pleasure. There’s one exception, though: Sewing for my toddler nieces.

Again, I’m not sure why. I guess it’s because you can go wild with ideas and also fitting isn’t as big an issue as with adults. Toddlers aren’t that hard to please when it comes to new dresses. They can be as crazy, loud and colourful as you like and they’ll love it! It’s also a great way to use up larger fabric scraps and try out combinations you wouldn’t be able to pull off yourself.

Last year I made a bunch of dresses, jumpers and a jacket for my oldest niece, who is 2.5 years old. I completely forgot to post these, as I mostly blog about things I make for myself. But I’m quite proud of them and they are too cute not to be shared.

So here’s the first one: A boiled-wool tartan and velvet dress with a fake Peter Pan collar and a grumpy kitten pocket.

Toddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Toddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com
Toddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Toddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Such a great little project to try my hand at appliqué (using the satin stitch setting and fusible interfacing) and simple hand-embroidery for the nose and mouth. I also tried a different technique for inserting an exposed zip.

And, of course, the pocket is fully functional. Toddlers need pockets!

How did I make the kitten appliqué? I made a little drawing and created a paper pattern from that. I cut out the velvet (recycling an old velvet top) and interfaced it. I sewed on the eyes by machine and the pink nose and mouth by hand, using embroidery thread. I appliqued the kitten to the front of the dress using the same satin stitch I used for the eyes. The bottom of the cat which you can’t see fills out the whole of the pocket, so you can’t see “where the cat ends” when you peek into the pocket.

To create the paws, I cut two pocket pieces and pinned the paws in between before stitching them together, as you can see in the picture above. The paws are lined with wool, as the velvet alone would’ve stretched out of shape. After assembling the pocket, I topstitched it onto the dress, covering the bottom of the weirdly egg-shaped cat!Toddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comToddler Kitten Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The collar was made pretty similarly. I appliqued the velvet collar to the front of the dress, before assembling the dress. This way I could simply finish the raw edge at the neckline by facing it. The pattern is a toddler dress pattern from LA MAISON VICTOR, that I adapted quite a bit. I’ve made another dress using the unchanged, original pattern which I’ll review on the blog soon.

I love how this little dress turned out. I feel the combination of pink tartan, black velvet and the golden zip give it quite a cool, grungy look. I’d love to have one in my size!

How do you feel about sewing for others? Do you enjoy making kids clothes?

xx

Charlie


Happy sewing!

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