No-Pattern, Baby Girl, Gift Set

About two months ago, I decided I absolutely had to sew a personal gift for a friend's baby shower. I had an idea, so I went out and found the nearest Joann's. Yep, I bought full priced fabric. Thankfully it was baby-sized, so I didn't have to get much. :)

My original idea was a stylish tag blanket. I bought a minky-style, pink star fabric for one side, and a lovely black and grey baroque-patterned (I think?) flannel for the other. I also chose an approximately 1" wide pink and white chevron ribbon, and a 1.5" wide silver and white baroque-style ribbon for the tags. Unfortunately I didn't even get a phone picture of the finished product, but this gives the basic idea and shows all the fabrics.

After making the blanket, I ended up having a lot of fabric left over. I was afraid I would never use it up, so I decided to see if I could throw together a little dress as well! I don't have any of my little girl dress patterns with me though, so I also decided to try my hand at creating something without a pattern. On top of that, I wanted to make it reversible. And once I got designing, I thought a contrasting band around the bottom edge was a cute idea as well! I really forgot how much I enjoy sewing and creating. I had a lot of fun creating it, and I think it turned out very cute.

But I still had a good bit of that pink minky fabric left over, even after the dress! So I immediately thought "Diaper cover! What baby girl dress is complete without a diaper cover?!" I was a lot more nervous about this idea though (still am, actually. Baby girl's not here yet, so I have no idea if it'll fit her!). Drafting pants is a lot more difficult than a basic dress. So, Pinterest. I found a pattern, and drew up the basic lines, and just decided to go for it. Hopefully it'll work for her. :)

Tomboy Toddlers' Denim Jumper

Yesterday I was doing some minor repair/adjusting work on a few of my clothes. I didn't take long, so after I finished, I was dealing with some old overalls that Mama was getting rid of. I'd already taken the hardware off of them, so pretty much all that was left was the denim. I don't know about y'all, but I really can't stand getting rid of perfectly good fabric, especially if it's denim. So then I had this crazy idea: Why not make a little girls' gored skirt? I set about doing just that (terrible timing on my part; we had far too much going on for me to start an unnecessary project!). Once I'd sewn several gores together, I realized that, for the length, it was going to be pretty heavy for a little thing to keep on with only elastic. I didn't want to get into buttonholes, and all the zippers we had on hand were too long. So, I turned it into a jumper!

I was thinking of myself as a young(er) girl. I was usually tomboy, through and through. I figure I wasn't the only one out there. This jumper is for those little tomboys, and for their mothers who have to wash all their clothes. ;) It's cute in an attempt to cultivate the girl in the tomboy, but at the same time it's comfortable and hardy so as not to restrict that vigorous energy she exudes every healthy, waking moment!

Matching Sister Jumpers

Well, sort of matching. I ended up having a lot more of this fabric than I thought originally, so matching jumpers immediately came to mind. I used Butterick 4842, views E and C. The little one, view E, I went along with the pattern exactly, I believe, but I experimented with the bigger one. I used bias tape around the the neck and armholes, and serged the flounces (I just couldn't bring myself to hem those two small circles!). I added the thin ribbon to both as well. They turned out cute, I think!

Thrifty style!

This is probably my favorite kind of style: the kind I can create inexpensively and quickly!

Yeah... I don't have a good picture of this, but I thought a post with a picture of a creation was a lot better than no post at all! This jumper was SO easy! I found the denim vest at Goodwill for somewhere around $2. The skirt fabric I had on hand from a trip to my all-time favorite fabric store, Sir's! I just cut out a couple of rectangular panels, and gathered them onto the vest. I put the two seams in front and back, so I left about 4" unsewn on the front seam. That I hemmed and put 3 snaps down. It was probably unnecessary, but it does make getting it on and off easier.

Here's the step-by-step version:

• Buy a cheap vest. Make sure you love the fit!

• Buy some fabric. I probably used 2.5 yds on my jumper, but yardage will vary depending on the desired length.

• WASH/PRE-SHRINK YOUR FABRIC!!! Always an important step. Oh, and you may want to wash your vest too!

• Cut 2-4 rectangular panels out of your fabric. (If I had this jumper to do over again, I would do 4 panels and add in-seam, side pockets!)

• Sew up all your seams EXCEPT for 4-6" on your front seam. Iron the seams open.

• Narrow hem the 4-6" you left unsewn.

• Gather your skirt to the same width of where you want to place it on your vest, and pin the skirt to the vest. COOL TIP! Zig-Zag stitch over a long piece of embroidery thread, and pull the embroidery thread for easy gathering!

• Sew your gathered skirt onto your vest. You're almost done!!!

• Try it on for size, and hem up the bottom of the skirt.

• Enjoy your thrifty, stylish, new jumper!