One of my neighbours just had a lovely wee baby girl and I dropped my other projects to whip up a couple of gifts for her. I’ve never had the chance to sew for either a girl or a newborn before, so I took full advantage! I’ve had the Brindille & Twig Summer Romper pattern for quite a while, and it must be one of their most popular. I’ve seen a ton of versions online, but my little guy was just a bit too old by the time I acquired it (in style rather than age), so I’ve been biding my time…

I had this lovely Japanese floral cotton knit in my stash and loads of little pieces of cotton lycra to use up, so I came up with this pairing above, which I think is really cute – the periwinkle blue stops it being too saccharine. I’m not really an uber-pink girly kind of person (and hopefully the recipient isn’t either :))

I’ve made quite a few Brindille & Twig patterns now and I love their style. This little romper is especially useful for newborns because there are no exposed seams at all, with the exception of the tops of the legs, where the nappy/diaper would sit anyway I think. Everything is doubled up and turned inside out, so you not only have a great contrast, but the pesky seams are all turned to the inside.

The pdf is a doddle for tiny sizes like these and the instructions are detailed and have photographic steps. As I’ve mentioned before, I do prefer drawings in general, but these photos were actually very clear, so there were no issues. There’s a nifty little suggestion for turning the straps and the whole romper sews up rather nicely. I have had the odd problem with the finishing on B&T’s patterns – sometimes I come away thinking there might be a neater way to do things – but this is a very well-thought out construction path and I was really pleased with the result.

The only mistake was entirely mine; I put the snaps on upside down by not reading the instructions properly and so the little strap ends sit outside the front of the bib rather than being tucked away inside. It’s not a huge deal and it didn’t bother me at all at first, but the more I look at it, the more it irritates me – probably because everything else went rather swimmingly. I made the 0-3 month summer romper (it comes in preemie to 3T) and I do find that B&T patterns run large, so it should do our latest little neighbor for a while yet. It uses a miniscule amount of fabric (1/2 yd total perhaps?) and you can sew it up in a few hours no problem.

The other garment I made is something else that’s been on my list forever  – and that’s the free reversible bucket hat pattern from Oliver + S, my other favourite kids pattern company. Where B&T do modern, comfy knit garments extremely well, Oliver + S is your best bet for classic children’s patterns – in particular woven garments, although their knits are very good too (the School Bus Tee is one of my regulars for Joe).

 

I meant to make this little sunhat an eon ago for Joseph, but just didn’t get around to it. Now that the weather’s looking up here in the PNW, it was the perfect opportunity to try out the pattern and even use up some pretty scraps in the process. Winning all round! I must say it does look a little top-hat-like in my photos, but that’s just because it’s not plonked on a head – you can see the proper look in the official photos above.

I actually just this second found this cool little photo tutorial on how to make the hat with a ton of customisation ideas at the end of the tutorial. The instructions that come with the pattern are superb and sufficient (as per usual with Oliver + S) but this is definitely a nice little extra to check out if you’re into visuals – and some of the extra ideas are really great. The fact that the hat is reversible and I can have two completely different looks (I can’t decide which I prefer) is already pretty exciting for me! 😀

I guess I made this hat in around an hour or so and it also goes together very nicely. The fact it’s reversible is so clever – and it goes without saying (but I shall again anyway) that it’s a brilliant scrap-buster! The smallest size is 6-12 months and that’s what I made, but it goes right up to 8T and it’s such a popular free pattern that I believe some sewists have made adult sizes.

I’m really very happy with the final gifts and can recommend both these patterns for quick, easy, but attractive little baby projects. Now back to adult garments! 🙂