B&T + BTP HAREM COVERALL MASHUP
Today I've got a mashup of two of my favorite patterns! The Super Slim Harems by Brindille & Twig, and the Baby Tea Party by Tadah Patterns.
On Instagram you might have noticed I do a monthly photo for Mars. I usually pick out some seasonal flowers and make a coordinating, simple one piece for her to wear. Its my one thing I do just for her, and I actually really enjoy coming up with a different outfit, plus it gives me an excuse to buy flowers because few things fill me with contentment like fresh flowers in the house. Well I had decided for March I wanted to make a green romper since that's the color most associated with the month, and thought some leftover sage green Robert Kaufman cotton/lycra I had from making Ren some pants would be perfect. However as I went through my fabric I realized that I didn't have nearly as much as I thought. Since one of my goals for these monthly outfits is to utilize supplies I already have, I had to figure out a new solution. Enter Ren's wardrobe.
Yeah yeah, I know there's some serious diaper camel toe. Cloth diapers, man.
My son used to live in leggings but for the past few months has decided that anything but jeans is unacceptable. He loves his jeans. And that's cool and all, but now there's a pile of pants that he won't wear, which included the sage green Kaufman knit pair of Super Slim Harems I made for him last summer.
The Super Slim Harems is one of my favorite patterns, especially for little boys. I've always loved a slimmer leg on boy's clothing, but as Ren got older (he's almost three now) and ditched the fluffy diaper bum, he started to look a little like Kenneth waiting for the Rapture and it just wasn't working for me. The Super Slim Harems had that slim cut look I wanted for my trim toddler, but offered a slightly different shape that was perfect for him. I drafted a simple pocket for the front honestly because at the time I didn't have any size labels for his size and it was a handy way to identify the front of the pants.
So I stole the pants from his drawer--he never noticed--and set to creating a top for Mar's romper. Brindille & Twig has several rompers or coveralls, a couple of which I own that I could've easily added, but for this I had a vision of a scoop back and cap sleeve, so I went to my go-to dress+romper pattern, the Baby Tea Party (BTP).
Oh mama, is this pattern a workhorse. With seemingly endless options (playsuit, bubble romper, dress, scoop back, kiss back, v-neck, sweetheart, sleeveless, cap sleeve, long sleeve, gathered sleeve, collars...) between the dress pattern and the collars and sleeves extension packs, its amazing how many ways this pattern can be interpreted. And I really love that it starts at preemie size (or 00000 for this Australian pattern) so you don't even have to wait to make it until your child is bigger. The BTP fits preemie to size 3, with a separate Tea Party Dress pattern for sizes 6mo (0) to 8. Awesome options plus great fit has made this my go-to pattern for holiday outfits, baby shower gifts, etc. I especially love making the playsuit option because it gives the feel of a dress but without the impracticality. Its like dressing them in a jazzed up onesie!
The BTP is intended for woven fabrics, but there's no reason why I couldn't use the general shape to make Mars' knit romper. Instead of cutting a front and two backs (which would normally be closed with a button or snap back) I cut two cap sleeve fronts and scooped out one piece to form my scoop back. I also cut a band that sits at the waist, purely because I was having to do some fancy finagling to make my fabric scraps work. once the bodice was finished I trimmed the elastic waistband from the Super Slim Harems and attached it to my BTP bodice. After the romper was assembled I used some scrap Art Gallery cotton/lycra in tender green from her newborn knotted gowns to do a binding finish on the arms and neck. Because babies have such narrow shoulders I extended the neck binding to create ties for the back. This kept the romper from slipping off her shoulders while still having the scoop back detail. The final change was cutting the cuffs off the harems and doing a simple rolled hem.
And there we are! A fun romper for my monthly photo project and not an extra dime spent.
What fun mashups have you been working on lately?
