Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Cold Weather Sewing

While packing away Phoebe's summer wardrobe last week, I noticed two things - 
1.  No more 12 month clothes for this baby (Does that officially make her a toddler?  Already?!)
2.  This dress loving momma hasn't really prepared for the cold, Michigan months coming up. 

Luckily, that same day I happened upon a pattern review for Heidi & Finn's Urban Unisex Hoodie on The Train to Crazy.  Well it was so adorable and the timing was just impeccable (plus they were having a buy 2 get 1 free sale!), so I had to snap it up right away.


 I have a big laundry basket in my sewing room full of clothes that I don't wear or don't fit anymore (thanks, Phoebe) that I have been re-purposing into toddler clothes.  I whipped this up out of a polar fleece, and lined it with a thermal knit - both from Old Navy. 
  


I made the 18 month size and it fits her perfectly right now, so that means that we'll get maybe about a month out of it before it's too small.  The fleece didn't have nearly as much stretch as I thought, so I'll definitely use a knit for the outer fabric next time so it will fit for longer.  I also cut some corners and used the finished edges of the shirt so I didn't have to add any cuffs or hems, and I simply sewed the buttons on the front and used velcro underneath so it can go on and off rather quickly.

I'm super excited with how this turned out!  It took me about 2 hours or so, and the pattern was incredibly clear and easy to follow.  And have I mentioned how much I love printable patterns?  No tracing!!  You can expect to see a few more of these throughout this winter.

8 comments:

  1. love the cute buttons. thinking i need velcro underneath actual buttons on my clothes ;)

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  2. You are so very talented! I love the re-use of what was old is now new!

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  3. I thought the same thing about stretch when I used fleece when I made this pattern! I'm working on another one now with a very stretchy fabric so that my little man can actually fit into it! :)

    And I agree on the printable patterns. LOVE.

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  4. Adorable! The addition of the velcro is a great idea and I love the color on Phoebe!

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  5. I really like Heidi and Finn patterns, but I've never purchased one. It looks adorable on your little one! I really like that it can be unisex depending on the colors that you use.

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