Having discovered that the beautiful details of this pattern are easily lost in a busy print (see previous post), I bought some plain Jane chambray and made these pants a second time. The result is crisper and easy to match with basically anything. Next time I make this pattern, I need to remember to make the rise a bit longer to accommodate a cloth diapered tushie.
This sweater pattern, from Chic Knits for Stylish Babies, is a major pain in the neck. I hate lazy authors who don't bother to spell out directions in clear language (example: for sleeve decreases, the pattern tells you to copy the front decreases for one side of the sleeve and the back decreases for the other). Also, the neck is enormous. Nonetheless, I chose this pattern because I loved the stripe pattern, had leftover yarn, and found the raglan zip clever; and it has proved to be cute, thrifty, and easy to wear. Although it's quite warm today, I made Jonah wear it briefly this morning since he was already dressed in matching pants.
I found fringing the knee patches to be time-consuming and messy, but I wanted to follow the pattern slavishly the first time through. Turning the edges under would have been an equally tedious operation, I know.
These booties, from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones, were a nightmare to sew. If you are a visual learner, beware Ms. Butler's long paragraphs of explanation and wordy remarks on pattern pieces. There was only one picture in the three pages of directions for this project! The first shoe took me about a month, since I did each step wrong at least twice, thus causing me to seriously consider the possibility that motherhood has damaged my brain. Happily, the second shoe took a small part of one morning. They are very cute and easy to put on, a rarity for baby shoes, but Butler could use a clever sidekick to rewrite her directions. Mine are made from leftover polka dotted denim and lined with Kaffe Fassett shot cotton.
This is another sweater in which I attempted to use up my endless supply of Debbie Bliss cashmerino in ultrapale pink. I love this pattern, which is one of my oldest failproof baby patterns: Jack Flash jacket from Tiddlers and Tadpoles. The buttons are wooden hearts. Combined with the pink and brown colorway, I'd like to think they complete the gender neutrality and baby perfection of this cardigan!
In preparation for daycare, where he will take long outings in the stroller, Jonah has a new fleece bunting in a whale (and palm tree!?) print. I adapted a pattern for a sleepsack, crossed it with another pattern, and added a hood with an elasticized face.
To keep things simple, I just made open feet with elastic at the bottoms. It would have been classier to sew actual feet, though.
Below you can see how the mittens work.
Here is Jonah, showing off his raglan owl sweater, Guatemalan n' corduroy pants, and red velour cloth shoes.
I have been doing some speedy crafts lately. Above, a pair of souped-up blue jeans with star appliqués and patterned cuffs for Eytan Yarden. Below, a swallow onesie and a peapod onesie for Jojo.
And, a polar bear appliqué for a onesie that Jonah inherited from Nikhil:
Here he is in one of the onesies I made before he was born. The 3 month sizes fits him perfectly!
The baby slept until 10 a.m. this morning (!!!), and I used that time to fix up a bunch of his clothes. Top: onesie from Lizzie, enhanced with French ribbon. Middle: overalls from Lizzie, enhanced with veggie ribbon. Bottom: Old Navy sale items & romper from Lizzie, enhanced with various appliques. Many of these feature purchases made with a bday gift certificate to Reprodepot from my dear husband.
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