Because I'm in a hausfrau phase, that's why

[feldman]

How crazy would it be for a person who has done very little sewing
(and has no machine) to tackle the following project: Nightshirts.

Namely plain, small toddler-sized nightshirts in flannel and cotton.
Do they even make patterns for this, or am I going to run into the
same problems I'm finding off the rack (obnoxious frills, puff
sleeves, etc)?

I want Ebenezer Scrooge's PJs, I want Mr. Bennett 'roused out of bed
for the express post' sleepwear. Simple, comfy, and gobsmackingly
adorable on the Cmonkey. I know, she has 2 of them in 12 mos. size
that she's outgrowing as I type (bought used and hence tagless--argh).
More importantly: warm without being sweaty (kid has radiator feet),
and easy to pop the hood to change the diaper in the dark.

You know it's bad when I'm contemplating *sewing*.

So I'm begging for a clue re: finding a pattern, if anyone can point
me to a good source or what company might have what I want?

On the next episode of TechnoLuddite: knitting non-gender-stereotyped
doll clothes for mini Cabbage Patch dolls (or, Abby Normal gets a
sweater!)

Comments

[kernezelda]

*is afraid, is very afraid*

Heck, I made a couple of shirts for myself shortly after high school, without a pattern, that I wore for years. Extreme of simplicity - measured myself, measured out the material needed, cut out two identical shapes of cloth, then pinned the sides inside out, sewed and hemmed.

I still have them, though they're way worn now.

[stlscape.livejournal.com]

They shouldn't be difficult to make, but if you use a woven fabric you'd probably want to finish the raw edges so the nightshirt doesn't shred apart during (assumably) frequent washings. You could just use French seams, which would require stitching each seam twice, or "pink" (zig-zag cut) each raw edge, which would require pinking shears...or there may be a pinking rotary cutter blades available (if you have a rotary cutter & mat).

[fbf.livejournal.com]

Patterns: go to Michaels or a JoAnns if you have one, or some other fabric store and look through the patterns books. Simplicity is a good choice for a beginner. Also, the patterns are rated on how difficult they are. The thing to remember about sleeves is that you pin them into the shirt from the inside and that if you fuck up., just take them out and repin them. As to the amount of pieces, it will be four (front, back and two sleeves) so long as you make it a sinple boat neck. If you have questions, you can call me and I can try to talk you through it.

[robynbender.livejournal.com]

Check out the "Little Folks" pattern at http://www.folkwear.com/children.html May not be what you visualized, but, sure solves the puffy sleeves & obnoxious frills problem [g]. Since these are real folk-wear, the cuts are mostly based on rectangles and not tricky to put together. More expensive than the patterns on sale at JoAnn's, but lots of pieces, printed on durable heavy paper, and it does contain all sizes up to 4T.

Another site to check out is http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/topsearch.pl for consumer reviews of patterns... search on "toddler," maybe.