pinafore pretty
When Eleni was a baby, my friend Jodi sent her a pretty pinafore along with the amazing Flowers for Eleni quilts. Like so many things, the pinafore was passed down to Elora, but because of some lingering bad memories attached to the garment, I subconsciously avoided it most of the summer.
Just recently I've started having Elora wear it, and I LOVE it! It's so cute how the pinafore falls open at the back. I think it'll be adorable with leggings as she's scooting around the house this fall, so I asked Jodi to point me in the right direction to make my own.
Jodi linked me to this pdf pattern by Whimsy Couture. She mentioned that she does some of the assembly differently, but that the size range on the pattern is nice. I love that this garment doesn't have any zippers, buttons or closures of any kind. It's made of quilting cotton, but pulls over the head. Seems like a beginner-friendly kind of make.
Today I made a new one for Elora. I chose to cut into that Red Letter Day duckie print I've been saving for about five years for a baby. I only had enough for the front, so I mixed in a large scale print for the back. At first I was cutting out a size 12-14 months, since Rora is wearing 6-12 month clothes and is almost 9 months old. But that was HUGE compared to the one she's been wearing from Jodi. Turns out she has been wearing the 0-3 months size as a top, when it's supposed to be more of a dress. Oops. Or.. score? You can start out wearing this as a dress and then go "top" with it.
Anyways, I scaled down to the 6-9 months size. It's quite a bit roomier on Rora than Jodi's pinny, but she'll grow into it this fall and still be able to wear it next spring. She would have been swimming in the 12-24 month version for sure!
Last weekend I took Aria school shopping and happened upon a baby sweater that I couldn't pass up. I'm a sucker for sweaters in general, but when they're embroidered with flowers... swoon. I bought matching leggings too, but resisted the coordinating top. And, tada! Now I've made one. The pinafore is fully reversible, with this Cotton & Steel sprinkle print completing this outfit rather nicely in my view!
So, about the pattern. I'm sorry to report it wasn't the easiest to follow. When the written instructions left me lost, the pictures filled the gaps. At one point I did sew the side seams together completely wrong even though I had studied and studied the directions. See the finished side seam not attached to the back side seams? Yeah, not my brightest moment. If you have any experience or gumption I'm sure you can make the pattern work as the concepts are pretty simple, but it's not the best place to start if you haven't sewn before.
But now that I've conquered it, I may make another. I'll keep this pattern in mind for featuring a special novelty print, like the ducks or unicorns, since it really shows them off with that nice, flat front. Next time maybe I'll work some trim into the bargain...
