Cheeky Mummy

Look at this:

After I put this top on this morning, I decided I didn’t like it. It’s just not long enough & people really don’t need to see my tummy. So I thought it would make a perfect romper suit for Squishy…I just love babies in stripes!! So began the bodge fest. Step one was to get some idea of a pattern. Obviously this involved dressing Squishy into the top and taking some ludicrously cute (& blurry – I’m not a photographer and she is very wriggly) photos that really didn’t get me any closer to a romper suit design.

Step 2 was more sensible – find romper suit that fits her & sort of cut round it. I say sort of, because I wanted to keep the pockets and all the neatly finished edges (because that way I don’t have to hem anything!). So it may turn out to be a little roomy in places, it is definitely not symmetrical and the sleeves are definitely going to balloon out at the back…but hey…I bet she’ll love having all that space for her elbows! I also didn’t have any matching thread, but babies like contrast…right?!

Basically I cut out a romper suit shape (without legs) from the front and back, detached the sleeves (keeping them the same shape as on the original top as each end was edged already) and saved a strip of edged material to add to the top of the back piece as the back of my top was taller than Squishy and had to be trimmed. I know that doesn’t make much sense, but as I’ve mentioned before, this was a bodge job and I just cut a little bit here and a little bit there until I thought it might do what I wanted it to. Then I just sewed it all together, turning the sleeves upside down so the bow is at the shoulder instead of the wrist. Sewing the sleeves involved lots of mini pleats which explains the odd shape, but sleeves have never been my forte and they usually look alright once they’re on.

So far I’ve done everything except finish the legs. That can wait until my model is awake and can try on her new outfit so I can adjust the waist (if Madam prefers a more fitted design) and figure out where the crotch needs to be. Here is the outfit so far:

This is the first real item of clothing I have made for myself or my family in too long. Thank goodness for the inspiration provided by my adorable daughter! One day I aim to make a larger proportion of my children’s wardrobes (my sewing room is a work in progress), but for now, every single item is a cause for celebration! Hopefully tomorrow I can post a picture of Squishy in her new finished romper suit!

Edited: Here is the finished article:

Squish doesn’t stay still for very long, so I’m sorry about the blurred photograph. The romper suit is definitely a botched job, but it fits well enough, and the fabric is so lovely and soft. If I do it again I think I’ll either decide against randomly adding a gusset at the last minute or will actually make it properly. I.e. I’ll copy the shape of the gusset in the romper suit I copied rather than just cutting out an odd shaped bit of fabric, hemming it & sewing it on. It ended up ridiculously too small (to the point where it may as well not be there!) & is the cause of a rather large hole…but you can’t see that unless you’re actually looking at her crotch…and she’s always got her legs moving so fast you’d probably be struggling even then!

As with everything last minute, I had decided that I HAD to finish it that evening, so adding the poppers on was done in a rush and therefore had to be done several times. For the record, you can remove hammer in poppers with a pair of pliers and a helpful husband! I just kept on putting the stupid things in back to front…there’s some saying I could put here….something about haste and speed…but I won’t, because even though I know it’s true, the next time I get excited about a project for one of my children, I will once again be in a mad rush to Just Get It Finished!