It has been a while since my last post. I have been busy sewing infant clothing. I have been sewing sizes 6-9 months, mostly baby girl dresses. I enjoy doing girls' clothing because you can get really creative by putting bows, trim, and so much more on the their clothing. And the boys...well, ho-hum.
I was asked to make an outfit for an infant boy, somewhere around 8 months old. I paid a visit to Joann's Fabric. I paid and walked out with McCalls 6873. There were not a whole lot of choices amongst the big 3 when it came to infant boy patterns. You can find a greater selection of doll and dog patterns than you can for an infant boy. So I settled for what I thought might look nice if I tried my best.
The first vest and pants that I made would be my toile (test garment). It would be this garment that I would determine what changes would need to be made and what I would do differently on the garment I would give away.
The pants were pretty easy. I had never done a cuff, though, so the cutting out portion of the pattern was a bit confusing. I did do a flat felled seam on the outside legs.
I sewed through the vest with no problem until I had to close up the vest at the side seams. I think I was confused for about 1 1/2 hours. I was determined to understand the instructions before going to bed. Once I understood the instructions, I went to bed.
The next day I began where I had left off. I couldn't believe the ridiculous method they wanted me to use to close up the side seams. The method left me with little room to sew the lining and the fashion fabric (See photo) Well, I sewldiered on and succeeded. This would be the first and major change that I would make because I knew there had to be an easier method.
After hours of searching for a better method to attach the lining, I found a website called Bloom's Endless Summer. Her website does give credit to Mary Ruth Shields, author of "Industry Clothing Construction Methods", but I thank her for posting the instructions online. The method is sooo much easier. It demonstrates how to close the vest at the bottom. The photo shows the part of the garment that you would leave open to turn the garment.
The second change would be the top pocket. There isn't a whole lot of room on such a small garment. The pocket was just too close to the buttonhole, so I eliminated the pocket and replaced it with an embroidered Pooh.
I think this is a very cute and versatile infant boys' outfit. The tie makes it even cuter. Pattern instructions could have been a little bit clearer, but once you get through the confusing part, sewing goes a lot quicker. I am sure I will be making more sometime this year.
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