Piping Dilemma

It's that time of year for me.....Easter outfits for the grandchildren. I love picking out the patterns, designs, fabrics and trims....putting the whole package together, choosing everything. It's always fun to dream....then the task and hard work begins. I drove to Chadwick Heirlooms in January with my list in hand, and it was a long list. I knew what colors to choose: something purple and floral for our oldest granddaughter, and definitely something yellow for the younger one. I'd chosen the patterns and designs from my stash, so at least I didn't have to decide on those at the store! It's hard to choose when you're faced with the wonderful selection that Chadwick's has and I had only a little time to do it.

I found a gorgeous floral lawn by Moda (their Regent Street line) that had plenty of the purple and pink that she loves, but also navy, pale blue yellow, coral and greens. Perfect to work the 21-row geometric smocking design on in three colors: purple, pink and blue. But the dress also has piping in a different fabric....dots. I found a perfectly matching purple fabric with small white dots, also by Moda.

There was a tiny little voice in the back of my head saying "Those white dots may not show up well when cut on the bias for the piping." But did I pay attention to that voice? no....I was in a hurry. The weather was turning bad and I had an hour-and-a-half drive ahead of me to get home with my purchases. So I bought the fabric for the piping. I was able to get all of the wonderful things on my list so off I went in the heavy rain, wind and thunder......

A few days later I cut out all of the parts and pieces for both dresses to get ready to start stitching them up while on a wonderful sewing retreat. Packed it all up and off I drove thinking I was going to get so far ahead on these dresses that I wouldn't have much more to do when I got back home four days later.

Then it hit me.....after I stitched the purple dotted bias strips together and made the piping...I should have listened to that small, little voice in the back of my head...my "Sewing Conscience". The piping wasn't going to work because the dots didn't show consistently along the piping strip....I was getting a solid purple strip, then a few dots, then more solid purple. Darn. Double darn.

So off I went to a local quilting store to find something that might match. Luckilythey had a fabric that was in the same tones as my floral fabric. I was disappointed I couldn't find a larger dotted fabric, but, hey, time is precious right now and I have to get these adorable dresses done so the granddaughter's aren't disappointed. Here's the fabric: it's a "heathered" purple with hints of the blue, navy and a pinkish purple. I think it makes a nice piping accent for the floral fabric.

So here's my advice for selecting a printed, striped or polka dot fabric for piping and bias binding: fold the fabric on the 45º line and lay your clear ruler on the fabric with the 45º  along the edge of the fold. Look at that edge to see how the pattern repeats as it would for piping or bias binding.

Do any stripes (if the fabric has any)  look odd or like a straight line? Do the dots show up evenly along the strip? Does one color show up more than the others? Is the fabric pattern an appropriate size and dimension for the whole project? Take a good, long look, listen to that little voice in the back of your head and THEN make your decision!

By the way, here's a photo of the completed dress for our oldest granddaughter. The pattern/dress is "Flora" from
Perfect Party Dresses, a wonderful book of 12 smocked and sewn party dresses. I think the purple piping compliments the overall design quite nicely, and our granddaughter will love it....and that's all that counts!

Another Long Distance Fitting Challenge

I've started another Christmas project: an outfit for our grandson. He's a cute blue-eyed blonde boy, just 3 1/2 years old, and very lean in build. Patterns just don't work straight out of the paper envelope for him. I have to alter them before I start to allow for his lean frame, so I email my daughter-in-law with a list of measurements I'd like to have. She's a Physical Therapist and understands what I'm looking for.

I asked for these measurements: circumferences of chest, waist, hips, neck, wrist, and upper arm. Also the length from side waist to bottom of ankle, length from bump at back of bottom center neck to wrist over a slightly bent arm, back shoulder width from shoulder to shoulder across the back. I know that he's not overly tall just yet so I think I've got enough length in the pant and jacket patterns. Knowing what measurements to ask for depends on what is going to be sewn. I'm going to make a lined, loosely fitted hooded jacket, long pants with pockets and a long sleeved shirt that buttons down the front. Even though the jacket pattern has an off-the-shoulder sleeve seam I still needed the total length from the back of the neck to the wrist. The jacket sleeve is turned back to expose a contrasting fabric so it is "adjustable" somewhat in length. All of the circumference measurements will apply, and the side waist to ankle one is critical to get the correct pant length. If I was making, say, a girls dress with an Empire waistline (one right under the bust) I would need that circumference measurement for sure. Smaller children's patterns are usually fairly simple and obvious in measurement requirements. The larger sizes, and of course adult garments, are more involved.

The fabric is beautiful cotton baby-wale corduroy and a cotton print of cute monkeys (appropriate for an active little boy) in white, brown, blue and camel that I purchased from Chadwick Heirlooms in Richmond, VA. The jacket will be lined with the monkey fabric. The jacket pattern is Casey from Children's Corner. It runs a little large so I measured it and decided the Size 2 would work best. But the off-the-shoulder seam meant I had to line up the jacket front and sleeve pattern to get the center back neck to wrist measurement. Here's what that looks like:

You can see I've matched the seam lines, not the cutting lines.

Next I measured from the fold line of the sleeve bottom to the center back neckline. The measurement will work, especially since the bottom of the sleeves just folds up (or down).

The pants and shirt pattern are Simplicity 4760. I measured the pants, shirt sleeve and front and back of the shirt. I had to fold up the tissue pattern pieces to make them short enough. Here is a photo of the pants. I folded the tissue along the adjustment line that's across the leg, then measured the length minus the seams (5/8"), then subtracted the hem depth to get my final measurement. I did the same with the sleeves and the front and back of the shirt.

                                                       Then it was time to sew, and sew fast to get these all done.  Here's the completed outfit, perfect for a cute little boy who loves his sock monkey and cowboy boots!