Stumped

Images from Mini Boden

Infant size boys clothes have stumped me for a while now. Slapping an iron-on on a onsie is easy enough. Yet not enough for a seamstress. With baby girl fashions, I've been able to create new styles and outfits I couldn't find in stores. Baby boy fashions are more basic: shirt & pants. Easy items to find well made in the ready-to-wear market.

Then I had an epiphany: don't re-invent the wheel.

Instead of coming up with original designs, I pulled out the staples from Geth's wardrobe. Drafting patterns from rompers, pants, and onsies, I've come to the realization that boys clothes are about simplicity and fit. Now, those two goals I can achieve!

Geth is a long and lean baby, with a long torso and shorter legs. Any standard pattern needs a bit of tweaking to fit him perfectly. My first romper draft needs a few tweaks, still: ie, a gusset in the crotch, an inch out of the sides. Also needed is a snap machine. I am finding snap tape to be an expensive headache I'd rather avoid.

Cute boy knits are proving elusive, so I've descended on our DI pile like a vulture. The Hubs has discarded quite a few polos which are made of awesome knits. I snatched my two favorite polos and cut out a romper from each. One shirt easily yields one romper, while shirts with out a placket would yield two. Only one romper has been completed, while the other lies in the pandemonium of my sewing room.

My mother gifted her sewing center, made my father back in the 70s, to me last week. A beautiful piece of practical and functional furniture, it's arrival has caused an explosion of fabric and crafting debris in my room. An explosion compounded by my purchase of comic book boards, which I am using to create miniature bolts. (inspired by Craftiness is Not Optional) When the dust settles and organization reigns once again, I plan to add onsie and shorts to the list of patterns to draft up.