Sewing for small ones

My nephew and niece were at my mom’s last weekend soI sneaked in some measurements.  Then I came home and ambitiously cut out quite a few things to sew for them. 

I have no little beings to sew for besides them and it is such a fun and quick process.  I was able to use scraps for all these!  Scraps!  So rewarding.

First up: Aurora by SUAT
I know you’ve seen these cute dresses on Miss K recently when I tested the pattern; it goes together so qucikly and is so cute so I popped out a size 3mo on the height and 12 mo. on the width for my 8mo old niece.  These are knee length.  Gah they are so cute!







Next I made two tanks for my nephew.  The left one is Ottobre 03/2011 #12 “Happy Animals T-shirt” in size 98cm (he’s 3).  In the magazine there is an infant in this tank and a older kid size; however the toddler size is a T-shirt so I compared it to the largest infant size and modified it to a tank.  I added his nickname of “little bear” to the shirt.

The one on the right is Ottobre 01/2013 #15 “Victor Mesh Tank Top” also in a size 98cm.  I added the paw patrol graphic to the front with my silhouette and heat transfer vinyl.  It turned out way better than I expected. This is his favorite character so he was happy to see it. (I made this tank for Mr. T before in Feb 2013).






I’ve made the above tank 7 times before in the older kid size for for Mr. T
The first time in pirate – fun fact, I just took this away  because it’s so small now on him, March 2013
An upcycle blue stripe that he still wears for bed, may 2013
More upcycling with Hurley, Blizzard, and Pokemon– too small now & were donated, May 2013
And Orange stripe and monsters – which he still wears, June 2014


Finally, I made my niece this outfit.  The top is Ottobre 03/2011 #6 “Diamond Deer Sleeveless Jersey Top” in size 56cm height, 74cm width. 

The shorts are Ottobre 03/2011 #5 “Bubble Stripes Jersey Shorts” in the same 56cm height, 74cm width. 


My binder attachment for my coverstitch made sewing these pretty fast.  However, they did take me all day because I had to design, cut, apply the vinyl as well as cut and sew them all. 

I sure hope they enjoy them!

Happy Sewing!

Kristin

Pitiful Pants ~ the epic journey

Let's talk pants.  They are not hard to sew, but time consuming.  They look great when executed right; but they are just so darn hard to fit correctly!!  I have been struggling with finding a good pants pattern for awhile now.  I thought I would share my recent failures learning experiences. 
My main problem is the crotch curve and thighs.  I know, I know, that is like the major part of fitting pants. I have a small waist, very large hips/rear, and saddlebags large thighs. To make things worse, I am very particular in how my pants fit.  I can't even buy RTW jeans because finding a pair to fit these areas is exhausting.  

So here is my recent work on 3 different pants patterns.  I'll give my thoughts on each one.

Kwik Sew 3193: Size L waist, to XL elsewhere.  These are more “trousers” than pants so the fit will be a bit different.  They are higher rise than I like. My fabric has some stretch.
 
Jalie 3461 Eleanor: I really, really wanted these to work.  This is the look I was going for.  Per my measurements I should go with a  “V” at the waist to an “AA” elsewhere which I did. My fabric was the right stretch, too.  I could barely put these suckers on. Super tight. *Shakes fist at those who had this pattern work “right out of the envelope”*
 
Ottobre 02/2013 #5/6: My butt looks the saggiest in these.  After seeing these pictures I threw away this muslin and the traced pattern. I will not proceed with these!  Size Waist 44 to 48 elsewhere.  This fabric has some stretch.
 

Here are the back views:

Kwik sew: Yikes, my rear crotch curve needs to be let out some and I should scoop a bit more for the rear as it looks like I’m trying to bust out!

Jalie: wrinkles, wrinkles, wrinkles.  Way too tight.  Do my knees knock together or am I just standing weird?

Ottobre: Saggy butt. Knee, thigh, and under rear issues.

And the front views:

Kwik Sew: front looks ok, though the tights need some work.

Jalie: Still tight. Front crotch hanging too low causing frown lines.  Pulling across hips. Knee issues.

Ottobre: Not good, but not terrible.  Knee issues, hip/thigh issues.  Weird crotch issue trying to form a camel toe.

And the side views:

Kwik Sew: From the side these look ok.  The outer seam is mostly straight, though tilted back on top and forward in front slightly. 

Jalie: Wowza.  My waist to thigh bump looks horrible.  The outer seam is pulling to the back on top.  Wrinkles on the thigh to knee. 

Ottobre: *shakes head*  Just wrong.  outer seam pulls to rear on top. waist, rear, thigh, knee wrinkles. 
 
So there you have it.  Pictures speak volumes when fitting.  I will probably continue to tweak the Kwik Sew pattern to get a good trouser pant out of it.  The front side seems very loose on me, but overall the issues are manageable.  I would love to get the Jalie pattern to work but I’m pushing at the very top size on the pattern – which is disheartening!  I wear a size 14 in RTW pants right now and the Jalie pattern goes up to a 22 in women, you would not think I’d be at the edge of the size chart. I may or may not try it in the largest size at a later time.
 
How do you fit your pants?  Do you tissue fit? Muslin? or sew straight out of the envelope?  If you are pear shaped like me, have you had success with a certain pattern?
 
~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~