Hi Sewists,

Something ‘for the little-uns’ today as I’ve finally got around to making the baby grow pattern from the Great British Sewing Bee book. I remember it was quite a tricky piece on the T.V. show so I’m not sure why I added the extra element of trying to match a striped fabric!

I have the most adorable great-nephew (… how old does that make me feel?!) and this is for him.

I used some striped cotton jersey that I have no idea where I got it from. And a few bits of left over ribbing from other projects (actually, I always buy a bit of jersey ribbing if I see it). The snaps have been knocking around my stash for a while now too, so I could get up in the morning and get straight into making this in the comfort of my pyjamas!

Once I’d figured out the weird shaped pieces it actually came together fairly speedily… I had plenty of time to wash and dress before lunch!

It seemed impossible to match much more than one stripe across the shoulders, so I aimed for the middle one. I’m really pleased with how the matching worked out down the front though…

As it was my first, I took extra care to get the gusset in, but those tiny little cuffs were tricky to get under the machine!

The snaps all behaved themselves (except one which misaligned and was gently ripped out with some small pliers!) You can see a little bit of the leg seams matching in the photo below too…

I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. And my great nephew seems really pleased too! He’s such a cute little bruiser! Adorable, although he wasn’t really up for the rigours of a full photo shoot! Unlike his sisters, he does like to sleep!

This was a great fun little project. I like to think I’m not too much of a softie, but baby clothes are sweet aren’t they! It was great to get it done in a few hours and to use up some of the fabric that seems to be piling up in my flat. On that note, I’ll be getting through a bit more of that fabric soon as I’ve started work on my #TheRefashioners2018 project in which I’ll be wrestling some old velvet curtains and a 1980’s red silk pillowcase that were donated to me by one of my colleagues. I’ve decided on my #inspiredby theme, and can’t wait to share it with you!

But for the meantime, I’m keeping it under wraps!

Happy Sewing!

Notes to self:

  • I’ve opened a can of worms – now my great-nieces want matching onesies!
  • Where has all my sewing time gone?!
  • What on earth am I going to wear next weekend in venice?