Mom and Dad don’t get to have all the fun.
I made the Tiny Tyrant’s first bit of garb from remnants. The chemise is a cotton/linen blend from my high-necked smock. The dress is blue cotton broadcloth with leftover red bias tape. I used jump rings to lace up the back with cotton string. The booties are tan cotton twill, unbleached canvas, and the same broadcloth as used in the dress.
The chemise/shirt/smock/what-have-you was based off of the usual rectangle construction method, minus the gussets…cause that’s silly. There was no way I was going to fuss over tiny baby arm gussets for an item she’d only be able to wear once. I cut the pieces, stitched them together, and added craft ribbon to the neckline to make it pretty-ish.
The bodice was drafted using the Elizabethan corset pattern generator, altered for use as a bodice. I increased her measurements by an inch, since we didn’t need to achieve a specific body shape. For the skirt, I arranged what was left of the broadcloth into a rectangle, curved the bottom, and gathered it onto the bodice. The point in the front doesn’t lay right, but, since, again, there’s no shape to attain, it doesn’t matter. Next time, I’ll take out the bodice point.
The shoes were made using the tutorial from Stardust Shoes. They are fantastic! The only change here was that I based the pair on an outline of her big feet, rather than the 0 – 6 month pattern provided.
She wore a straw hat for most of the day, courtesy of her Grammy. It had been an adult hat, and was trimmed down then closed back up with ribbon. For added protection, I tied my ill-fitting coif around her head like a bandanna. By the end of the day, however, we replaced the hat with a flowered wreath. Part of it was to identify her as a female baby, part of it was so that I could say I bought her something.
The whole outfit took about six hours, and most of that was trying to draft the bodice and getting the hem right on the skirt. next time, I’ll use tiny metal eyelets. The jump rings were fine, but it’s a waste to use them on something like this. Her next chemise will have an elasticized neckline. This one didn’t keep the square shape with which it was drafted. Using remnants, I don’t feel compelled to make her clothing “grow-able”. We only attend faire over a three month period, so I don’t mind putting out the labor for each event.
Green Linen Shirt 