I helped host a baby shower for our friends Katie and Chris this weekend, so you know I had to make the gift, right? They're expecting twins (a boy and a girl) very soon, and I wanted to make them coordinating outfits. I finally got on the Castle Peeps band wagon and thought they'd be the perfect fabrics for my look.
For the boy, I made the Quick Change Trousers from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book.
They came together very easily and are completely reversible — Castle Peeps in Royal Blue for the front and Castle Flags in Royal Blue for the back (all purchased from Hawthorne Threads, though it looks like they've now sold out of a lot of the line).
This was the first pattern I made from Anna Maria's book, and it was fabulous. Her instructions are so clear, with lots of pictures, and I'm looking forward to getting started on the other projects I have lined up from the book.
For the girl's outfit, I made the Itty Bitty Baby Dress from Made by Rae. I increased the pattern size so this should fit around 3 months (the pants were 6 months).
Close-up of the piping under the bodice.
Like the pants, the dress is completely reversible — Castle Peeps in Cardinal Red for the outside and Castle Heraldry in Cardinal Red for the inside. However, I had to make several changes to the pattern to get it that way. The bodice in the original pattern is lined, but the skirt isn't, so it's not reversible. After a little tweaking, I was thrilled with how it came out! I used store-bought piping and bias tape in maroon for the detailing.
To match the outfits, I made a bib and burp cloth for each set. The burp cloths are fronted with the Heraldry and Castle Flags fabrics, with knit jersey from a t-shirt for the backing. The measurements and the idea to use the jersey backing were taken from Made by Rae's burp cloths tutorial.
The bibs were made from a pattern in Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol, a great book for beginners. They're fronted with the Castle Peeps fabrics and backed with terry cloth washcloths for easy clean-up.
I used sew-in Velcro for the closure, with one longer piece for variable sizing.
The entire collection!
UPDATE: See this post for instructions on making the dress reversible. Enjoy!
So cute!!! I think this is the best use of Castle Peeps I've seen yet. Those are gonna be some stylin' babies! :)
ReplyDeleteDang, those are so cute!!!!!!!!! Love the little girl dress. :) That fabric is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI saw your lovely dress on the flickr pool, it's so cute!! I'm gearing up to make one too but I can't wrap my head around how to make it reversible. Would you mind sharing how you did it?
ReplyDeleteHi, Maria! Thanks for the compliment! I've tried to write up some directions for making the dress reversible in a new post: http://ablueskykindoflife.blogspot.com/2011/06/making-itty-bitty-baby-dress-reversible.html. Good luck!
ReplyDelete