stripey romper
January 18th, 2011
This romper was under a huuuuge pile of fabric until last week when I finally tidied up my studio (I wasn’t joking when I told Rachel I hide failed projects in the corner). I started this for kids clothes week challenge last spring–yes it has been that long since I cleaned the studio, shut up–but after I sewed it together I realized it too huge to even finish. When I found it I felt like another person made it. I mean, a romper with snaps and ribbed cuffs made out of a very thin knit fabric, really? I wouldn’t even think about making something like this now. But maybe I should–my sewing skills seem to be regressing instead of progressing.
When I made the pattern, I traced a lovely jumper Mary Jo gave me when this little one was born. He wore that thing until it was embarrassingly small. I wanted to make a bigger one, so I just made the pattern bigger. But as I know absolutely nothing about pattern drafting I made it bigger in all directions. While babies do grow, they do not grow in all directions at once. So it was too big then, but now that it’s sort of the right size it’s too big in some places and weird in all the others.
It’s handmade in that insulting way some people say handmade, but we are going somewhere very hot and very muddy soon, so it will at least get worn. And for next time (because I will sew some clothes again) I will just make all the patterns taller. The wider part I’ll leave for me.
Thank your for posting this Meg! I have also made a few things out of thin knit, and thought “what was I thinking?” Those, too, are our around the house things….
Maybe I should have the huevos to post something that I don’t love…….but I do always end up loving the most the stuff that looks “handmade.” It’s so much more special!
I see supplies in my stash sometimes that I wonder “what was I thinking”. I always consider failed projects as learning.. which you did. I do like the design though.
Thank you for sharing the “fail” as well as the successes! Gives hope to people like me, for whom most sewing projects are still mostly failures. :-)
your fail still has a degree of cuteness to it! and who doesn’t like a baby in stripes? i crocheted my first hats for the kids this winter and it was a little embarrassing, but they loved them and it kept their little heads at least somewhat warm. so, is there a spring kcwc in the works for this spring??
oh they were cute! and yes, there will be a KCWC this spring. I’m thinking maybe in April.
Why thank you! I’m learning to knit, so maybe they’ll get some new ones for next winter. And I’ll be making my list of what I want to make for the little ones in April–hopefully it won’t be too long! Looking forward to it though :)
That is too funny. I love posts like this. Thanks for sharing “failures” as well as successes.
Meg, I just turned two dresses that I made for the kids sewing week challenge into skirts because they were too tight around the chest. My pile of sewing project mishaps is embarrassingly enormous. Maybe we need a week of redoes and transformations.
umm, are you kidding me? this frigging ROCKS! i want this in adult size; EXACT same fabric.
by the way, i don’t know if you saw my reply to your comment on the ikat fabric i used for my chair. blogger really needs to get some sort of comment reply jammy… here it is:
“meg, the fabric is “Robert Allen Khanjali Peacock” from onlinefabricstore.net, which is a GREAT store recommended by the cupcake goddess. my first online fabric purchase ever :)”
awesome! thank you. I forgot I even asked and I just looked at the chair again (http://oonaballoona.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-just-need-little-trim.html) and it still rocks–as do all the dresses you’ve been cranking out lately!
This is making my day, too. I have steered clear of making larger sizes of things they’ve outgrown because I know I’ll end up with a hot mess and then get frustrated for having ‘wasted time’ when really it’s a learning process in itself. Right? Right?!!! I love this fabric and the concept at least.
Since you’re done tidying your studio can I entice you over to mine with some wine? Or four yards of vintage gingham in brown and white? I’m talking at least six hours of work on our hands over here. It’s pitiful.
all the fabric folding is no fun for sure, but it will make you feel like a new person–or maybe that was all that wine I had while I was cleaning up.
Hilarious! Thank you so much for sharing, as a very new sewer it’s nice to know I’m not the only one with projects that don’t go as planned. Although if my work turned out this well I’d count it as a victory.
This is wonderful. It’s perfect for muddy messy places. I am so glad I am not the only one that makes patterns wider as well as longer with bigger armholes. Woo hoo. life is meant to be lived, if we didn’t try it we wouldn’t learn anything, nor would we have lovely stripey rompers that are perfect for muddy places. Thanks so much for sharing.
I love that you sewed the snaps on with *red* thread. So cute.
And I would guess that you’re going to Australia soon – its summer there (hot!) and definitely muddy. ((totally kidding))
today must be the day for sharing the things that we didn’t love as much as others lol. I was having a horrid day until I read a similar post elsewhere and then came here and read this. I am feeling better now. Thank you ; ) I really think the romper is quite cute in all actuality. I love that you share your hiccups as well as your most amazing items. I don’t feel so bad for not being perfect now.
I don’t know why you think it’s a failure because it’s the cutest thing ever! :D
I love this little romper! It’s super cute and its bagginess only makes it more endearing. And I’m jealous you’re venturing somewhere warm! Can’t wait to hear more.
Besides, inside the outrageous romper is a gorgeous child!
Dear Meg,
This is what I really like about your creations – you take risks.
And the result is one sweet romper – nobody can tell that you weren’t going for a more baggy style right from the start. Great colours.
oh you’re too hard on yourself! i love how pink-tinted your little one’s skin is– so cute!
Very cute, that is a failure a lot of people would be jealous of. That mannequin of yours sure knows how to sell a garment.
It’s cute! I’ve also made things with unfortunately thin knit…one reason I think knits can be such a challenge to sew is that there is so much variability with fabric thickness, stretchiness, recovery, etc. :)
So cute!!!! i love it!
Your baby is adorable, which makes the romper pretty cute even if it is a bit ‘off’ in certain areas. I It looks perfect for the hot, muddy place you mention! :)
I think this is gorgeous! I can’t believe it’s being chalked up as a failure. Indeed, it’s the deviations from “normal” that give us new inspiration and ideas. Three things work beautifully here: its bagginess, the wide shoulders and the cuffs at the bottom. I would totally dress my littlie in this if we didn’t live in sub-arctic temperatures :-)
I think it looks rather cute! I love the fabric and the snaps at the shoulders. It’s got character. I really don’t consider this a fail, but a cute idea. :)
I think it is absolutely adorable!! it has a very vintage type look to it which I love! I am definitely going to try this for my little guy. :)