Thinking I had baby-clothes patterns, I volunteered to make some for my church's women's group
White Cross quota to go to
hospitals and clinics in DR Congo.
Well, I didn't have a pattern. So I went to the fascinating world of open-source clothing patterns on the Web.
I first downloaded this
baby bolero pattern (the word bolero is misspelled in the file name, but it's the right one). I had never seen a baby wear a bolero, but I thought I could adapt this into a open-front baby gown.
It came out looking like a lab coat:
I think I sewed two backs together to come up with this snap-at-the-top turtleneck-like one:
Then I came upon the pattern pages of the group
Newborns in Need. I ordered one of their sets. They were kind enough to send both their sets for the same price because my order was delayed.
I don't want to disrespect this group and its work, but have a care when working with these patterns. First, they're printed double-sided on newsprint, with some patterns overlapping, so you'll need a copy machine -- ideally, one that takes 11x17 paper, or you'll be doing a lot of cutting and taping of multiple copies to make a pattern.
Second, this group specializes in preemie patterns, and they mean it. Additionally, most of their patterns call for a quarter-inch seam. If you sew half-inch seams on a preemie pattern, as I did, you get, well, doll clothes:
I thought about using this
layette pattern from the United Methodists. It can be worked in flannel, and was my backup if I ran out of cotton stretch jersey. But I pressed on, by way of
PatternReview.com, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (Mormons frequently use the initials LDS when referring to themselves, sometimes creating confusion between them and me.) Their
baby layette pattern looked, and is, pretty easy. It did require me to buy ribbing, but a little goes a long way. (Actually, attaching the ribbing at the neck is the only tricky part. Pin the ribbing evenly before sewing, which is not the same as pinning at the seams. Otherwise, this goes together very easily. I did the sleeve ribbing by hand.)
But this makes up into a a gown for an enormous baby! I did one with the controversial drawstring (a style still sold in America, if not by the larger companies):
And one with the recommended ribbing at the bottom.
Then I learned how to print out a .pdf file at 90 percent. My final version is more newborn size, and, as you can see, I had received another donation of stretch jersey:
So here they all are.
I plan to keep on experimenting. They'll go to DR Congo with blessings for babies of all sizes.
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