My gorgeous grand-nephew C.Q. "trying" on my gift.
Patterns used: McCall's 8574 (OOP): T-shirt with overlapped shoulders, one-piece romper, nightgown, sleep sack, diaper cover, beanie, and booties. Sized for babies weighing 7 to 21 pounds.
Three FREE patterns: Purl Soho's Newborn Kimono Shirt and two patterns from Made by Rae, her Basic Newborn Baby Pants and Just Hatched Baby Leggings patterns.
Fabric: Luckily, I had some great fabric perfect for them. The best piece was a linen/cotton blend I scavenged from a pair of Target Mossimo pants that no longer fit. What a way to recycle, right?
There was enough fabric in them for a jacket and a pair of baggy baby pants plus probably enough for at least another baby garment.
I had enough fabric from the pants for the Purl Soho Newborn Kimono and was able to use the finished pant hems as the bottom of the jacket!
Unfortunately, it was too small for him even before I met him. He was a big baby, over 9 pounds at birth. However, it was the piece I was most proud of...just check out that itty bitty binding!
I was also able to use a shortcut when making the pants too. I was able to reuse the original factory finished side seams for the side seams of the baby pants.
Additional Fabric Used: One half yard each of three juvenile prints from the Doodles line at Joann's: Little Dogs, Scooters, and Cowboy Owls in 100% cotton interlock ($2.50 each.)
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made no changes, the instructions were all great. For the knits, I pinked all the seams or did two rows of stitching and then trimmed the seams close.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I would recommend each of these patterns, especially that workhorse of a pattern, McCall's 8574, even though it is out of print. Copies are available all over the Internet, so you should definitely seek it out.
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| Looking good! |
Conclusion: These were great patterns and great fabrics. I not only made up these pieces for my grand-nephew but also some baby leggings for co-worker/friends who are expecting their own bundles of joy. The best thing about this project was the minimal expense, ease, and quick turnaround.
