It is so easy to sew for little girls.  Dresses, skirts, tees, more dresses.  Little boys often get the short end of my sewing machine.  Now while part of that reason might be that for many years I had five little blonde females of my own to sew for, now that there is a grandson in the mix is no reason to let him feel left out.

At just barely two years old Master C is a grandpa cardigan kind of kid.  Since his amazingly sweet Nana keeps him pretty well supplied with those, I thought it was  time to introduce my little man to the world of sweater vests!  Enter the ever reliable Ottobre.  Ottobre 4 2009 has a vest pattern in it and that is what I used, but you could realistically use any tee or pullover pattern and adjust the armholes.

The pattern is sized for 104 and larger, and the young man is only about a size 92, so I just graded it a bit smaller.  No biggie on a garment that only has a front and a back!

The first look at the photo had me thinking that  I would have to locate some argyle fabric, but a closer look had me realize (with relief!) that I was actually supposed to MAKE the argyle. How fun!

For the main fabric I visited my fave local thrift store and chose the best looking medium knit sweater I could find.  It is so easy to be able to  scrounge for  “fabric” for little people in thrift stores!

I cut the front and back out placing the lower edge on the lower edge of the “fabric” .  Not only did this cut out any need for a hem, it also makes the vest look more store bought. professionally made.

For the diamonds I used a suiting remnant and a grape wool knit.  I pinned them, handbasted them in place, and machine stitched them down.  This vest won’t be seeing a crazy amount of use, or I might have used Wonder Under to stabilize. (Read…I couldn’t find my stabilizer so I went without.) I placed the diamonds in a different pattern than the magazine has you do it. I decided on three rows instead of 2- I think it makes it look a bit more substantial. 

I chalked the argyle stitching lines on the wrong side, using the pattern picture as  a guide and coverstitched – also on the wrong side.

I bound the sleeve and the v-neck edges and topstitched them. Ugh- poor photo quality here! I used Jalie’s method for doing a V-neck.  You can find the video here. (hint- turn down the sound as it is just music- sorry Emilie, I love you like a sister, but that background music is sad!)

I added a purchased off- white Joe Fresh shirt under and sat back and admired, and admired. and admired.  Truly I admired longer than it took me to sew the vest!

And of course I forgot to take any posed shots.  This is my pathetic photo shoot attempt. “Casey, look here. No HERE! Leave the cat alone. Look here.  No don’t hide!! Here, stand on the couch.  Okay JUMP on the couch.  Watch Aunt Lauren jump on the couch.  Honey, stand still for just a second for Oma”…

Oh the energy of two year old boys! Especially this little  oh-so special little boy whose favourite thing to do right now is magic tricks…and play with little cars- or trains… and to sit with his beloved Oma right beside him!

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year’s Eve.  In the next day or two I will show off my “Welcome 2013″ outfit.  We are going out for some dinner and dancing with a group of friends Motown style. Should be fun!

I’m kind of a snob lately when it comes to patterns for kids.  Oliver + S, Ottobre, Jalie or the odd vintage pattern are my go to, never deviate from, can’t go wrong with brands.  I don’t care too much for a lot of the other stuff that is out there. Ill fitting, poorly designed- I’d rather stick to basics from companies that I know and trust.

That was until I had an idea for a skirt for Miss H that involved ruffles, suiting fabric and tulle- all in the same size 3T skirt.  I had thought that I would self draft, but nothing was looking right. Some were too ruffley, others too cute, or just the wrong proportion.  Scouring the interweb for ideas, I came across this website and was instantly smitten.  The Vivienne skirt pattern was in the shopping cart before I could say “Done”.  (The Chloe dress jumped right in alongside it, but that dress will be made in the summer for some flower girl dresses).

The Review – Violette Field Threads Vivienne Skirt

How would you describe this skirt? This is what the company says “The Vivienne is a classy, sophisticated skirt. Peeking from under the front folds are 3 ruffles. The back of the skirt is elastic, allowing for growing room. The flat front and arched row of buttons make for a very polished look. Whether you make this skirt dressy or for play, you’ll be as much in love as we are.” I’d describe it as a sassy little number, just right for impressing adults, with just enough ruffles for that necessary cuteness factor.

Who can I sew this for?  The sizes of this dress range from 2T to 10.  That makes it perfect for any toddler to child.  I cut a 3 for my little “I’m only two, but pretty soon I will be three” person. I wouldn’t sew this for a child in a diaper, as it is a pretty slim fit and the bulk of a diaper would cause it to ride up.

Can anyone sew this garment?  I would say yes.   It is pretty well all straight stitching, and the instructions are  clear and well written.  A beginner with ambition could tackle this, and an advanced sewer would find it a quick diversion from mundane sewing.

Are you pleased with the way it looks?  I am.  The fabric I used didn’t make my task easy, but that was my problem!  It is a cute looking skirt all sewn up.  It looks like the photo from the designer, and my finished product looks like the picture that was in my head. (and if you think THAT happens often, you have another think coming!)

What drew your eye to this pattern?  Oh come on now.  Who wouldn’t want to sew this skirt once you see it?!  It’s like a backwards mullet- business in the back, and a party in the front!  It’s not a twirly party number, but a skirt that is just as great for school as it is for dinner out with Oma!  Oh and this pattern is available as a PDF download as well as a printed pattern.  I used the PDF format for instant “it’s midnight but I need to start this skirt NOW” gratification.

What fabric did you use?  I used some bouncy black houndstooth-y boucle-ey with lurex fabric from Fabricland.  This stuff was expensive as heck.  If you know me and my sewing, you will understand my love of grown-up fabric for little girls!  I got a metre of it on sale, and made two dresses and one skirt from it.  It frayed like the dickens so I serged all cut edges.  I also used some very lurex -y knit from the stash (likely Gorgeous Fabrics, but my fabric organization is no where near the status of my obsessive pattern organization!), some black netting and a bit of silver mesh that was on deep clearance also from Fabricland. The pattern does not call for knit, but I run like that anyways!

Did you stick with the pattern or did you deviate?  The pattern calls for 3 rows of ruffles.  I cut the width of the ruffle down a bit and added a fourth row.  The width of the original is fine, but I thought that a narrower ruffle would be fine for the smaller size.  I changed the way the waistband went together as well.  The boucle I used was pretty thick, and folding over the waistband made for eight layers of fabric (nine?) to be sewn.  That looked bulky, so I added a separate waistband instead made from some black knit.  I think with a lighter fabric the way it tells you to do it is fine though. The elastic in the back is a great idea to allow for fitting.

Any concluding thoughts?  I really like this skirt.  I think in denim and white cotton it would make a sweet summertime casual skirt.  The tee that is pictured with the skirt is Ottobre.  Of course!

Miss H smiling for the camera

There is a bit of puffiness at the back waistband- due entirely to the fabric choice!

What is a party without some Christmas music- they were rocking Jingle Bells – toddler style!

All of my reviews are works in progress till after Christmas!  All sewn, all delivered or wrapped.

Here instead is a sampling of what I call

Christmas on the Farm….

Just so that you know I try NOT to take myself seriously!

From us and ours, to your and yours

Merry Christmas!

We  are not the type to stay at home on New Year’s Eve.  I am not the type to stay home on New Year’s Eve, MyMike would be more than happy to grab some Vietnamese cuisine and watch a movie!  Actually, we tried staying in once when the girls were little.  By ten pm I was mending clothes, and the kids were jumping off the ceiling, so I turned all the clocks in the house ahead, told the kids it was New Year’s, yelled Happy New Year, kissed their overtired little faces and tucked them all in bed!  After that escapade I made a secret vow to myself to make sure that we do SOMETHING to ring in the New Year.  We’ve run the gamut from house parties, to dances, to dinner out with friends, to a Rodeo (yes, I said a rodeo!), to a gay restaurant (complete with the funniest crossdressers I have ever seen!).  This year we are going out to a 1960′s Motown Jazz Gala with a few other couples for dinner and dancing.

I’m really looking forward to it, but of course my mind wandered immediately to “What to Wear”!

I have this pattern in my collection that I really wanted to sew up anyways, and I think it will work really well.  At the moment I have way too many dress-me-up dresses in my closest for my lifestyle, so introducing a top and new pair of pants will fit in well. It doesn’t read Sixties in a big way, but heck can you really go wrong with a one shouldered sequin number for the occasion?!

I am using fabric that I found at our local Fabricland. 

It was originally priced at twenty-six !!!! dollars a metre, but any seasoned Fabland shopper knows that member sales come frequently.  I grabbed two and a half yards at seventy-five percent off, which makes the price for this top a mere $16.25.  Can’t beat that with a stick!  The fabric is a beeech to photograph….It is a thinish black knit with black shiny round sequins sewn on in a random pattern.  The stitching takes quite a bit of the stretch out, but I did a quick and dirty muslin, going up a size, and it looks like that will work.

Sewing that and hemming Christmas dressses for little girls will fill my Oh So Precious  Evening With Nothing Scheduled tonight!

What are all of you doing for New Year’s?

When the girls were growing up, one of my wonderful aunts made an Advent Calendar Christmas tree for them.  Every year for the last 25 Christmas seasons, this calendar has been a part of our Christmas tradition.  Passing on this tradition seemed like a great idea so I devoted a few hours to putting one together.  Okay, fessing up time…I started it last December and it got put on the back burner till yesterday when I was cleaning up the sewing studio and found the box of 25 felt ornaments that I had abandoned. The rest of my free time yesterday went to making the tree and pockets.

There. Conscience cleared!

Here are some of the ornaments.  For ideas, I just searched “felt christmas ornaments” and drafted from ideas I found.  They are mostly made with two layers of felt and blanket stitched around the outside. Not sure what was going on with the focus on the camera here!

Doesn’t Santa look like he is sporting a Movember Mustache?!!

I love my Three Wise Men!

Mittens are a great way to get some ornaments done quickly!

You can’t really see the detailing on the trunk!

To make the tree, I freeformed a whimsical looking shaped out of green felt. The tree is about 28 by 31 inches.

I backed it with quilt batting and did some stitching to make it look three dimensional.  Some Christmas ribbon was sewn on to add the look of lights.  I added a trunk and did some free motion quilting on it for bark detail.  I was at a loss about what to do to hang the ornaments on, until I came across some tiny buttons in the shape of trees, gingerbread men and stars.  Along with being functional, they look like little ornaments!

The backing is some red twill that I had in inventory.  I think it was going to be a jacket at some point!  I added some side hems, and casing for a rod at the top.  I turned up the bottom to make the lowest row of pockets.   I added two additional rows of pockets on top of the bottom row. (the pockets are about three and a quarter inches square.)  Cutting out the numbers from felt was t-e d—i-o-u-s!  Best done while watching a good movie!    They were glued on the pockets.

I may be a day late getting this wall hanging to Miss H and Miss B, but they will likely forgive me- especially if I place candy canes in each pocket along with the ornaments.  That’s what grandmothers are for- right?

***Leaving you with some other Handmade for Christmas projects from other years, and some outside decorating.

Paper pieced wall nativity wall hanging.  I finished this while on a trip to Israel.  I think it  is so apt that is a remembrance of that trip!

Living on a farm means that there is always scraps of something laying around to be used!  Leftover 4 x 4′s became 6 sets of Noel decorations!

and some aluminum sheeting and scrap steel were transformed into stars..

Now all we need is snow to transform the decorations into this..

I don’t often (have I ever?) include photos of our cats!  Here is Levi (Lee-Bye if you are 2  and a half!) nestling into fabric and pattern scraps.  That must be the National Pastime for cats who belong to people who sew!

Before I go, I just want to say Thanks for all the support I’ve had returning to blogging!  Your kind words mean so much to me!

Till next time!

When my latest granddaughter was born, and her parents wisely chose the iconic Audrey as her name, I went on the hunt for a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” type dress for her 16th birthday. ( I like to plan ahead!) The  only comment from my daughter was “why wait till then?” and a new hunt was on! This adorable New Look pattern seemed to fit the lines of a modern and chic look for a toddler. (I know, I know- chic and toddler in the same sentence equals grandparent craziness!)

This first variation of the dress was made as a donation to a silent auction table for a Fashion Show Fundraiser for a Splash Pad for our local town. I thought a dress for a toddler would be an interesting inclusion, especially for an event where the funds raised were going to a play area for children.

New Look 6115

What does the pattern description say?  From the website…Workroom from Project Runway, toddlers’ flared or bubble dress with trim variations.

Who can I sew this for?  The sizing on the envelope says  1/2 to 4. I made a size three which fits a 2 1/3 to 3 year old perfectly. I know because I bribed my 21/2 year old granddaughter with Ipad and kitchen sink playing time into trying it on for me. Strange but true, this child will do anything for me if I let her wash dishes or use my iPad.  She turned down the “I will give you a pony if you let me fix your hair and take a picture of you in the dress” request.  She actually gave me the stinkeye at that one- but wants the dress “in bwlue please Oma“!

Are you pleased with the finished look?  Yes I am.  It didn’t look at all like the New Look photo, but I generally look at line drawings first and the dress looked like it was supposed to in the end.

  Could anyone make this dress?  Yes. I looked at the instructions for clarity, and they were clear and well outlined.  I didn’t use them, and added elements, but if you wanted to sew this dress and were an advanced beginner, I am sure you would have success.  Do note that this dress has a lot of pattern pieces.  It is not a “make it in 2 hours”type of dress. The skills you will be utilizing  when you sew  this dress are- lining a bodice, underlining, applying interfacing and inserting a zipper.

What drew your eye to this pattern?  I like that the style of the dress was clean, and lends itself to a myriad of possibilities. It is easy to dress it up as I did, or use a cute cotton for a totally different look. There is not a lot of fabric needed for the dress- the skirt is seven gored, so it is easy to squeeze it out of small yardages. I like the way it is cleanly finished on the inside, nice and neat!

What fabric did you use? Menswear suiting and satin for the main fabric. Leftovers- YAY!. Lining from stash. Netting for added volume.  I adore using a grownup fabric for a child’s dress!  Wait till you see what have planned for 3 little Christmas dresses!

Did you stick with the pattern or did you deviate?  While I didn’t make any changes to the pattern per se, I did add a lining and a layer of netting (trimmed in black ribbon). I used satin ribbon for the double layered bow. It really makes the fabric stand out well. I made the bodice in a coordinating fabric, instead of the same for some “drama”.  Haha- drama for a toddler dress- it’s that grandmother silliness sneaking in again!  Note to self- remember to cut the hem differently- see where I had to ease the hem in?  That little piece of stupidness could be alleviated with a little thinking when cutting! I would have changed it when I was hemming it, but there was a time crunch involved- needed to do my hair and makeup seeing that I was a model (insert snort and guffaw here if you please!) for the fashion show.

Any concluding thoughts?
I will be making it again- I may be using it for a base for some flowergirl dresses for next summer, and 9 month old Baby Audrey will be getting her Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress for Christmas!

On the auction…It did work out well.  I wasn’t too impressed with how the auction itself was set out, but that is totally a separate issue. Suffice it to say that my mother asked me when I had time to crochet a baby blanket..that’s how crowded the items were!   I made a custom hang tag to add some professionalism  and a hair bow to match.  The dress had a few bids and ended up at $35.00. ( someone told me $45, but the last bid I saw was 35, so I am sticking with that) Considering that there were no material costs for me- only time- I think that was okay.   I had considered offering a “custom” dress, and may do that another time, but thought that a finished dress would be more attention getting, and I had to muslin the dress anyhow.

******

Oh. to catch up on reviews!  I have sewn a lot for myself this summer/fall, but photos are not so quick to come by!  The project for this weekend though  is “cleanup the sewing studio for photos” I’ve made a lot of changes there that I want to share!

See you on the fashion bus!

xo  Connie

This is the story of a girl.  A woman.  Okay, a middle aged woman (now how did THAT happen?)..

She started off life with juggling a couple of balls. School..Love life..married life  It all seemed pretty easy so she added more.. children..work..volunteer work..

Juggling was going well.  A few near misses at times, and some frantic moves to keep those balls in the air, but it was all working.

Somehow- she still doesn’t quite know how it all happened- some more balls got tossed her way.

Work became a business. A pretty busy business.

Children needed rides to school, music lessons, ski races, university.

Weddings were planned, and yes, overplanned!

Exercise became important as her body started to realize her age.

She seemed to take on volunteer activities without letting any others go.

She started to love Photography, textile art, acting, writing, golf, upholstery…

grandchildren…four in two and a half years- make that 5 in 3 1/2 years!

Her circle of friends widened and diversified.

Sewing was becoming a sideline business.

Then it happened.  One day the girl dropped a ball. A Very Important Ball. So she thought.  She Who Never Forgets Anything forgot something.  An Important Something.

“Oh

My

God”,

she thought, and her eyes widened as the ball hurtled towards the earth destined for a shattered and ruined end.

But

It didn’t. The world didn’t stop, shattered pieces of an important piece of her life didn’t scatter over the floor.  Instead, the ball simply  bounced and rolled away into a corner. The missed deadline was not even noticed.

“Hmm”‘ she thought, frantically keeping the rest of the balls in the air, her eyes glancing into the dark corner where the ball slowly rolled to a stop.

“I wonder what other balls I can let go of?”

And she experimented, finding to her amazement that most of her balls were pretty resilient.  No one really cared if she didn’t answer that email, join that committee, skipped a meeting, write that blog post or article, take that photo, attend that function, review that dress,, or if she occasionally missed church on a Sunday morning.

She did shatter a ball or two on the journey.  The glue on those balls is holding- tentatively for some of them, but she knows to handle those balls with extra care.

Life quieted down.  Requests slowed to a trickle.  Apparently her importance was just that.  Important only to her. She felt sad not to be missed at times, but realized in her heart that life hurtles forward at a pace that can be exhausting to try to keep up with.

She is ready now to pick up a couple of those dusty balls hiding in the corners. Not all of them.  Not all the time.  But some of them- and those with a measured eye towards a simple organized existence.

Like this one…Couturesmith, the blog

Babysteps.  No apologies.  No excuses.  Just moving forward.

This is a blog post I did way back in 2009.  After experiencing my blog meltdown, the photo links to it have disappeared.  Since the information is still relevant, and I still get asked the question, I thought it warranted a re-do.  A make-over. A refashioning!  Sewingwise I have been a machine- or at least my machines have been a machine!  Everything is in varying stages of completeness, and as it seems that I created a capsule wardrobe without trying, I think it should all be presented at the same time.

Meanwhile on to the blog revival!

It seems that the question comes up every few weeks over at PatternReview.

“How do I make a storyboard?” 

“How do I get pictures in a horizontal row”?

“How do I make a composite picture?”

“How do I do a before and after shot?”

          “I can’t enter this contest because I don’t know how to make a composite picture!”

So here is how I do it.  Consider this a tutorial.  From me.  Will wonders ever cease??!!

Tutorial- Making a composite using PowerPoint

So students, you have decided to enter a contest in PatternReview, or want to put together a collection of photo’s, but don’t know how?  Follow these directions and you should be able to stop pulling your hair out- those bald spots look so unattractive!

Open up Powerpoint.  First make sure you have it!  Open up a blank “slide”.  There are a few ways to do that.  Click on “file”, “new”, then on the far right side “blank presentation”.  Or you can cut out the default text boxes too.

Now pictures…For fun I will use photos of my darlings.

Go to …

Insert  

Picture  

From File

Then choose your picture.  Do this again for all the pictures you want to be included on the composite.

It will begin to look something like this.

Arrange the photo’s.  Preferably creatively!

Just click on them and drag.

 Now it is time to save it.  Click on Save As  then name the file however  you wish.  **important** save the file as a JPEG file!

Now close PowerPoint and go to wherever you have saved your file.  Hint- It helps to take a good look at where your photos are going when you save them.  For fast projects I usually save them to my desktop, then organize from there.  I TRY (but don’t always succeed) to keep my photo’s/blogging files and PR files fairly organized in a way that makes sense to me!

If you double click on the file name/thumbnail it should open up in whatever photo editor you use.  Here I am using iPhoto on my MAc.
Here you want to do 2 things.

First.  Crop your photo, which you can do since you saved it as a JPEG-

right??!  If you couldn’t find your composite, you likely didn’t save it as a JPEG. Go back to PowerPoint and do that!

 Resize the photo.  In iPhoto I have to export it to do that – yuck! Unless someone knows of a better way?  Hint- save a copy and keep the original in case you want to go back and edit differently some time in the future.

Now SAVE THE COMPOSITE!  Save it somewhere that makes sense to you and name it something that makes sense to you!

It should look something like this- Of course instead of my cutie-patootie grandson and his amazing parents, it will be of fabulous YOU , your patterns and your garments!

Let me know if I missed anything, or if it didn’t work for you.  I should be able to walk you through it.

Betcha didn’t think that I have been sewing for myself did you?  Well I have!

While I have Burda sewing magazines from way back to the 80′s, (and Knip Mode from the 60′s!) I admit that lately Burda has been a big yawn for me.  I let my subscription drop about 2 years ago as I found the styles too boxy, boring and too simplistic for my tastes.  If I really want a magazine, there are three places in London where they can be purchased by the single issue.  Whoops, make that two as I haven’t seen them in Chapters for a while.

That changed when I saw this dress reviewed on Pattern Review.  It was lust at first sight!  It called to me so much that I had to run out and secure an 02/2012 issue of Burda that very evening!

I adore the colour blocking- which is very 2012, and in my opinion it is quite slimming.  Of course the fact that the model is likely 5’11″, and weighs 98 pounds has something to do with that!  I was so excited that I showed the photo to MyMike.  Mistake!  This cycling enthusiasts only comment was “how can she ride that bike in that dress?” – he thought I was showing him the bike, not the gorg dress that was in front of it! Men!

The pattern calls for jersey knit.  I wanted something a little beefier, and I noticed that Aly made it in a ponte, so that was do-able. Luckily our local Fabricland carries a good selection of ponte, and Lauren and I chose a cream, a spicy orange, tan and a dark taupe.  Because I wasn’t sure of how the colour layout should go, I grabbed the (wonderful) croquis book that Lauren bought me for my birthday last year. Honestly, it makes me feel like a real designer!  I think Kyle got the same one- or one like it- for Christmas from a co-worker.  Here is a link if you are interested. FashionSketchbook

Digressing again!

I played around with the fabric layout, and came up with two possibilities.  I let the people who live in my house (MyMike and Lauren) vote, and all three of us chose the same combo.  Which one are you attracted to?

I’ll be cutting it out today albiet in a ugly muslin. I want to make sure the fit is right, and I can’t tell just by the pattern pieces where the adjustments should be! By the way, it took me two days to trace out the pattern!  Usually bodice and skirt pattern pieces are pretty easy to pick out on the Burda pattern sheets, but the design of this dress defies the mind!  I ended up outlining corners, grainlines and other aspects in marker,  and tracing on my lightest tracing paper in order to get it right.  And for once I added the little number markers in the corners where pattern pieces have to line up- I almost never do that!

Hopefully I will have  an idea for you by the end of the weekend of how this will all go together!

Meanwhile the play has been keeping me Very Busy.  Did I mention that I am playing the owner of a diner who is of the very vocal opinion that the internet/chatting with friends on the internet and such is the most awful, dangerous, time wasting thing ever!  Absolutely the antithesis of me, the person who travels across the country to meet and spend time with people I’ve only met online- people who I am proud to call friends!  Acting is a hoot though.  Most of the time I work behind the scenes costuming, stage managing and helping out with set painting.  Let me tell you- being on that stage is big time scarey!

Off to the cutting table now….

(the alternative title to this post should be “How Many Times Can You Say “Zipper” in One Post?!)

Can you believe that we are expecting Grandbaby number four?!  Only two years ago we were awaiting the appearance of the first one- since then we haven’t had a moment where one of our daughters wasn’t expecting.  It is interesting how they all desire different things from the Couturesmith Shop, and I am generally happy to brainstorm and stitch up curtains, diapers, bedskirts, dresses, and the like.

Erica came to me about a month ago, bemoaning the fact that her beloved ski jacket (she’s a snowboarder, even spent a season in Banff, teaching boarding) didn’t meet in the middle any more.  It didn’t make sense to her to purchase a maternity coat, and she had scouted out a great idea to transfer her jacket into something that could take her past baby bump.

See how the jacket does not fit over “Fiona”?

Enter the bright idea.

I drafted a triangle (ish) pattern that would stay fairly narrow at the top of the jacket, and encompass the baby bump as an insert.  I found black Polartec at Len’s Mill Store.  It sure looks and feels like the Malden Mills real stuff.  Waterproof on the outside, fleecy on the other and black to match the coat.

I had the idea to zip the insert in using the existing zippers on the jacket. I tried sourcing zippers from Burton, and they were kind enough to send me one, but alas the one they sent me was coil, while the one in the jacket is plastic? resin?  I know it is YKK, but we weren’t able to match it.

It was on to idea number two.  I cut two insert pieces, and sewed them together, inserting a zipper in each long end. The trick was that I sewed one zipper that zipped top to bottom, and sewed the other side to zip bottom to top. Then I sewed the corresponding zipper to the jacket. Again one side bottom to top and the other top to bottom. I sewed these zippers in with only one row of stitching so they can easily be removed when they are no longer needed.

Are you wondering why I sewed them in  in opposite directions?

We did it that way so that…drum roll please…after the baby is born Erica can zip the insert in upside down, and when she is carrying the babe in a baby carrier, she can still zip up her coat and keep baby and mommy warm and cosy.  Are we smart or what?!

As finishing touches I added a casing and my label for that Couturesmith touch.  Erica loves that she can wear her jacket throughout the pregnancy and beyond.  I am thrilled that it turned out well.

If you would like to make one – shoot I should have taken some measurements!  The bottom edge was about 14 inches wide.  Erica is tall but very slender and that worked for her.  I would try out a piece of fabric to see what works for your jacket.  If I did it again I might make it a bit narrower at the top than this one- maybe only 2 inches.  It could even work on button up coats if you sewed the coat portion of the zipper on the inside of the coat.

So, not a real tutorial, but an idea how to turn a pre-pregnancy article of clothing into a garment that can take  the mom to be through the third trimester and beyond!

Here are some photos to give you an idea of what we did.

The insert with zipper and casing. See how the zippers are inserted - one zips up and the other zips down.

Casing and label. Here you can see how one side of the zipper is inserted.

Here you can see how the other zipper is inserted. oh and the casing has shockcord and is adjustable- I forgot to mention that!