Ottobre 06/2012-3 & 06/2008-2 baby outfit

One of my friends is having a little baby girl. After 3 boys, she's very excited (and a little nervous!) to be welcoming some pink into their family.

I thought this little set was nicely girly, but without making her big brothers want to run and hide! Both fabrics are from Chez Ami. The floral print is a cotton/lycra jersey and the aqua is a coordinating interlock. It's so soft I want to make my entire wardrobe out of it. Perfect for a wee princess.

The tunic is from the 06/2012 issue of Ottobre. It's very simple, but with some fun details.

The body of the tunic is gathered into a sweet round yoke, which is finished with a knit binding. The neckline is snug, but the binding has a lot of stretch, so it should be easy to get onto baby and comfortable to wear.

The full sleeve is gathered into a hemmed cuff. It's a pretty little detail. A full sleeve is lovely, but gets in the way sometimes. I think this is a nice functional compromise.

The pants are a basic legging pattern from the 06/2008 issue. I've made them quite a few times now. In fact, I think I've made a pair for every baby gift I've given for the last several years. Leggings are such an essential baby basic.

For this pair, I finished the leg opening with a binding, rather than a plain hem. I think this is a nice look and ties the two pieces together well.

I hope the sweet princess and her mom like her new clothes. I can't wait to meet her!

Ottobre 06/2012-4 & 5 Baby Boy dress clothes

I mentioned in the post about my jeans that I had a lot of family stuff to sew. I promise I won't bore you with most of it, but this outfit...

You'll have to pardon the maternal gushing, but that kid is CUTE! And he has been madly wearing out and outgrowing all of his church appropriate clothing.

I was pretty thrilled with the 06/2012 issue of Ottobre, but I was particularly excited about this shirt. It's style #4. It's nice and dressy, with a collar and button front, but it is made of knit fabric, so it is super comfortable.

The fabric I used was a knit remnant from the stash (yay for stashbusting and using teeny bits of fabric!!). The collar, collar binding and pocket are cut from the cotton twill I used for the matching pants.

I just love how Ottobre patterns are relatively simple designs and easy to make, but with great details that make them special. In this shirt, the contrast pocket and collar are super fun, and make it easy to personalize. Seriously, how cute is that little pocket?!?

I'm pretty thrilled with my stripe matching across the front and the seams. I'm kind of neurotic about stripes, and when I see mismatched stripes on the street, it makes me cringe. These make me smile. It was a little tricky getting the stripes across the front just right, since I used ring snaps as the closure. They really had to align just perfectly. And they do! Yay!

Of course, he also desperately needed pants. These are from the same issue of Ottobre. They are style #5.

They are an elastic waist pant, but with a few fun details. In front, patch pockets and knee darts, which make bending and crawling more comfortable. Duncan is a walker, but he does a lot of climbing, so I thought he'd like these. They also have a faux fly and jeans style topstitching.

In back, we have patch pockets and a yoke, again styled like jeans. Since these are for church, I didn't do any decorative stitching on the pockets, but if I were making these as a casual pant, it would be a fun addition.

The fabric for the pants is a very densely woven cotton twill that was given to me by a cousin of mine. She had used some of the yardage, but gave the rest to me. It's really lovely stuff, with a nice sheen, and just perfect for durable boy pants.

Seriously, the cuteness... A note on sizing - Duncan measures to an 86 in Ottobre right now, but they are a PERFECT fit, which means they are exactly one growth spurt away from too small. I made these in a size 92, and while they are a little big, as you can see, he can still wear them, and I won't have to make another set next week when he outgrows them. I think this is one of the trickiest things about sewing for young children. You just never know! I tend to go a bit larger, since they will always grow, but I have yet to meet a kid who shrunk.

Ottobre 06/2012-12 jacket

While I've been busily sewing totally unnecessary clothing for Myra, Duncan had a massive growth spurt. The most urgent need was a new coat, as his old one is now sporting 3/4 sleeves. Ooops. Not useful in the snow.

He's ridiculously cute. Focus on the coat. The pattern is from the latest issue of Ottobre, and I have to pause a moments and say what a great issue this is! I've only had it like 3 weeks and I've already made two things from it! And have plans for more. Myra particularly likes it and has requested the cover look and a duffle coat.

So, back to the coat - This is pattern #12 in the "baby" (62-92) sizes, but is repeated in the "school age" sizes (98-128) as #15. It is intended to be sewn from jersey, but I had this blue separating zip in the stash that was a perfect match to some blue corduroy I thrifted, so I decided to go with that.

Inside is fully lined with fleece and all of the bands and binding are cotton-lycra rib knit - all from stash. Ottobre's lining directions for the cuff are excellent, and you end up with a completely enclosed seam, but not having diagrams makes it a little tricky to decipher, so if you are making this, be sure to check out Amanda's reversible sleeve 'tute, as it is basically the same method, just with a cuff stuck in between.

With regard to sizing, Duncan is pretty much an 86 at the moment, but since this pattern was drafted for knits AND I was using a bulky fleece to line is AND I didn't want him to outgrow it before Spring, I sewed a 92. I think it is perfect. There is a little bit of growth room in the sleeve, but it isn't swamping him and he can play easily in it. I love how the binding (applied slightly stretched) snugs in the waistline to keep out cold breezes.

The hood is a particularly nice feature. It has a high neck and the binding cups it around the face, which keeps wee ears warm. Duncan refuses to wear all headgear, but it was easy to sew, and if he needs it, I know it will keep him super cozy.

I'm really pleased with it overall. It is cute, soft and snuggly. He seems to like it and is comfortable wearing it. As a bonus, it's perfect for eating playing in the snow.

Ottobre 06/2012-13: Onni jeans as cords

When this winter's issue of Ottobre came last week, I didn't even bother putting it away. I knew I needed to make the elastic waist jeans for Logan. He just had a major growth spurt and suddenly all his pants are high waters. Not cool. But pants for Logan can be a bit of a challenge. As in, storebought isn't an option. He hates anything on his waist that might bind or scratch, like a button, stable waistband or really anything that isn't a basic elastic waist. If I didn't sew, he would wear sweatpants 24/7.

I love Ottobre, but in Logan's size (now 116) there just aren't a whole lot of options for an elastic waist pant, which is why I jumped on this pattern, #13 from the 06/2012 issue. The details are great, but won't be a problem for my sensitive guy. Although Ottobre says that it is designed as a plus size pattern, I think perhaps these are meant to be a plus size slim pant, so they work well as a relaxed fit jean on an average sized child.

The fabric is a wide wale cotton corduroy from Joann. It's a little on the thin side, so I don't suspect these will wear very well, but it is very soft and Logan likes it. If the pattern is a win, I'll try it out again in something a little sturdier.

The pattern includes all the jeans style details. There are even belt loops, a coin pocket and rivets, although I omitted them here. The front fly is faux, but topstitched just like "real" jeans. The waistband is basically just a casing for the elastic, but it is a separate piece and is topstitched down. Since the corduroy has a pretty high pile and is a bit bulky, I decided to make the waistband in 2 pieces so that I could face it with a thin cotton.

In back there are typical jeans pockets, which I didn't embellish. Most of the RTW corduroy pants I looked over had plain back pockets, so I went with that. Topstitching wide wale corduroy is a bit dodgy anyway, so I was glad to not have to attempt it here. There is also a back yoke with pretty minimal shaping. It is cut on the cross grain, which looks particularly cool in the cord. I even managed (by complete chance) to match the wales across the yoke pieces. Woo hoo!

Logan's favorite part is the sneaky peek of Lightning McQueen in the pockets. Mater is in there as well, just a little deeper. Overall, I am pretty happy with this pattern, although I will say that I didn't find it to be as perfectly drafted as your typical Otto pattern. Now, perhaps this was a tracing or seam allowance error on my part, but I found the side seams didn't line up by about 1/2 inch at the top. I ended up just trimming off the excess length from the yoke, and it wasn't a big deal, but if you make this, do be sure to match your side seams based on the notches and hem edge, or you may end up with a twist in the leg.