September 29, 2020

Shirts for a Baby Girl

One of the moms I babysit for is due to have baby number 2 any day now. When she mentioned the other day that it will be a little girl, I immediately thought of the small fabric remnants I have leftover from making clothes for myself. The remnants are not big enough to make myself anything, but I thought they would probably work for making something for a baby girl. 

I've made the Wee Lap Tee from Patterns for Pirates before and it comes together really nicely, so that's what I went with again. I chose the 3 month size again because that way I didn't have to print the pattern again. 

I made one using the last of this beautiful stripe fabric, which has already been used for a Summer Basics dress and a Slim Fit Raglan for me. 

Wee Lap Tees | DevotedQuilter.com
Doesn't the back of my Windows quilt make a great background??

I'm sad not to have more of this for future projects, though I do still have some remnants of the blue and black I used for my Tessa dress.

Baby clothes are so cute! Just look at how tiny this sleeve is!

Wee Lap Tees | DevotedQuilter.com
I want to get a twin needle for finishing hems and doing top stitching like around the neckbands. I have a twin needle, but the two needles are closer together than I want for hems. It probably would have looked right on these baby shirts, though, now that I think about it. Until I remember to order the twin needle sometime when I'm ordering fabric, I'll just keep using this lightning stitch, which is actually the same stitch that is used to construct the shirts, too.
Wee Lap Tees | DevotedQuilter.com
I have learned the hard way not to use my Aurifil thread for sewing knit clothes. The cotton thread isn't as strong as a polyester thread and I've snapped a few stitches sewn with the Aurifil. Thankfully those stitches were all in hems or topstitching, so there were no awkward wardrobe malfunction moments. I'm using Gutermann thread for my garment sewing, which I can get at my LQS.

I've been using my serger, too, and I love how it makes the inside of the garment look so tidy. It would look even better if I bought serger threads to coordinate with what I'm making, but I haven't bothered yet. Mostly that's because these four threads are all different colours, which makes it easier to tell when there are problems with the tension. Not that I can always figure out how to fix the problems with the tension...
Wee Lap Tees | DevotedQuilter.com
Shirt #2 is made with fabric left after I made a Summer Basics tank over the summer. Apparently I didn't take a single detail shot of this one, lol. There are a few little ripply spots around the neckband of this shirt, but I don't think baby girl will be too concerned about those.
Wee Lap Tees | DevotedQuilter.com

Both shirts have the same fabric used for the neckbands, which was first used for my test version of the Summer Basics dress and which was also used for the Slim Fit Raglan. Actually, it was used for the reverse applique heart on the Summer Basics tank, too. That means these are the fourth and fifth garments made using some of the 3 meters I bought...if it even was 3 meters. It might have only been two, lol.

Wee Lap Tees | DevotedQuilter.com
I love how they look together 😊 They make a nicely coordinated gift, and one that didn't cost me anything except a bit of time. I also love that they allowed me to use some of my fabric scraps, which keeps them from going into the trash.
Wee Lap Tees | DevotedQuilter.com
I cut myself another Slim Fit Raglan while cutting these out, and then stitched it up after they were finished 😊 I wore it yesterday, but haven't taken pictures of it yet. I'll do that soon and share it, too. This garment making thing is a lot of fun!

5 comments:

  1. Very nice shirts! I have not done as much garment sewing lately but have new tiny grand nieces and I know I will make them clothing.

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  2. Very cute!
    I'd suggest doing a lettuce edging on the hems and sleeves and even on the ribbing necklines. Fast and very easy. You stretch either the raw edge or the fold of the ribbing/fabric and do a narrow (play with it) zigzag over the edge. It makes a cute ruffly finish. My girls really liked it and it was also soft.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Vt0Oj22bQ&ab_channel=GailYellen
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5bH7xMxF_M&ab_channel=EasyPeasyCreativeIdeas
    These should give you the idea.

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  3. Great t-shirts Leanne, they will be much appreciated I am sure. The serger does give a lovely neat edge to knits doesn't it, and it is so quick! I love giving mine a workout :)

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  4. Okay you are starting to make me want to sew garments again. Seriously! These are adorable Leanne. I hear you about the tension issues on a serger. I well remember.

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  5. These are great! Totally agree that is the best thing you could have done with leftover pieces of fabric you have from making your own clothing. So impressed with your stitches, and the info about Aurifil versus polyester is helpful. I'll keep that in mind when sewing with knits. Also, I have never used four different thread colors in my serger, but that's an interesting concept. Would be good for when I don't have a color that comes close to the fabric color, but I might be able to create a blend. Thanks for your helpful tips!

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