Tutorial and Free Pattern Pouch-Style Doll Carrier

When Lee and Daniel were babies, they practically lived in pouch carriers. I carried them snuggled inside when they were newborns, then transitioned them to a kangaroo carry and hip carry when they got older. With Eliza I preferred the Baby K'Tan (similar to the Moby) and Ergo, but the pouch is still the easiest for me to slip on and off.

Eliza loves to carry her baby, too. After watching her shove stuffed animals and dolls down her shirt for a month, I thought it was time to sew her a carrier.

I hunted around and found a couple of tutorials (here and here), but I wanted something like the pouch that had no buckles or buttons and would be easy for her to get on and off. When I couldn't find a tutorial or pattern for a doll-sized pouch carrier, I decided to make my own and share it.

Materials Needed
Approximately 1/2 yd woven fabric -- if you choose to line it, 1/2 yd of lining fabric
Pattern (available for free HERE)
(Note: This pattern should fit a child 18mo - 3yrs)

First decide if you want to line the carrier. If not, HERE is a tutorial that describes how to sew the pouch using French seams. If you want to line it, the instructions follow.
Seam allowances are 1/2".

1. Tape pattern pieces together. 

2. Cut out fabric on the fold. 45" wide fabric should allow you plenty of room. 

3. Sew the curved edges of the main fabric, right sides together. Sew from one edge to the other. The result will be a big fabric loop. 

4. Press seams to one side.

5. Repeat for lining.

6. Now is a good time to try on the carrier and adjust the fit by making the seam allowance bigger or smaller. If you change seam allowances for the main fabric, be sure to do it for the lining as well.

7. Open pieces so that you have two big circles. Tuck lining into main fabric, matching seams at the pouches, right sides together. Pin and sew ONE long side, right sides together.

8. Turn right side out and press, leaving other long side with raw edges.

At this point you can choose to turn the raw edges of the other long side 1/2" to the wrong sides, press, and edge stitch closed to finish.

Or, you can choose to close the pouch in a style I learned from Lindsay at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. It's pretty nifty and, in my opinion, saves time once you get the hang of it.

Now, still with right sides out, grab main fabric with your left hand at the pouch seam.

Reach under and grab lining fabric with right hand. Your left thumb will be on the RIGHT side of the main fabric. Your right thumb will be on the WRONG side of the lining fabric.

Twist your left hand clockwise. Twist your right hand counter-clockwise. Continue in this direction until you can bring them together and have the RIGHT sides of the fabrics meet. 

Make sure you are matching the seams, right sides together. 

Pin right sides together, at the seam line.

Slowly work your way around, pinning all along the raw edges, right sides together. It will be awkward, but you will be able to reach the entire raw seam.

Sew main fabric to lining, right sides together. Again, take it slowly and you will be able to make it all the way around the seam. Leave an opening large enough to turn things right side out.

Pull the fabric through the opening, turning the sling right side out. 

Press well. Edgestich, catching the opening in your stitching. Or, if you prefer, simply stitch the opening closed.

To wear, fold the sling in half length-wise. Drape over one shoulder, allowing the curved pouch seam to hit around belly-button level. Open up the sling and allow the doll to ride in the "pouch" created by the curved seam.

There you have it! Eliza loves hers, and I hope it pleases other little ones who like to carry their babies. Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

Popover Sundress Remix (PR&P Week 1)

It's here! The first week of Project Run and Play begins tomorrow!

*out of breath from jumping up and down*

*catching breath*

Okay. I'm calm now. And I promise that's the extent of my effusiveness over PR&P. For today.

The first week's challenge is to remix the lovely Popover Sundress from Oliver + S. My first attempt - found HERE - was the vision I had in mind, but it needed a few tweaks. 

Here's the final result! 

The first version had a tendency to slide off her shoulders at times. I took the advice of a lovely reader and widened the shoulder straps. Problem solved! Fortunately I didn't need any kind of opening in the back as it still (barely) slipped over her head. (She has to raise both her arms and slide into it wedding-dress style, but it works.)

Also, I narrowed the depth of the flutter sleeves to make them shorter and to make it easier to sew the main body to the lining.

The last thing I changed in this version was to make it fully reversible and a little longer in length.

Here are a few pictures I took along the way to show you how I manipulated the yoke.

First I folded it in half length-wise along the dotted fold line already present on the pattern. Then I folded it again width-wise.

Finally I laid tracing paper over the folded pattern piece and added a seam allowance and shoulder strap.

Here are some detailed shots. The blue piping doesn't stand out too much, but I like the subtlety of it. The flutter sleeves are a modified version of the ones included with the Georgia Vintage Dress pattern from The Cottage Mama.

This time as I was finishing the hem I decided to let a little of the gingham lining peep through.

Here's the reversed side's sleeve and yoke.

Stats
Pattern: Modified Popover Sundress by Oliver + S (free!)
Fabric: green gingham and vintage feed sack from my grandmother's stash.

My grandmother has supplied me with enough gorgeous fabric to make my 6-month-fabric-buying-abstinence pledge realistic. You will all hear me wail when my feed sacks are gone. Wail. I. Will.
Modifications: Modified yoke, shortened length, added ruffle sleeves, added piping below yoke, made it reversible.
Thoughts: Two other patterns have come out recently that have a similar style: The Sally Dress by Shannon of luvinthemommyhood and the Fly Girl Pattern from Little Lizard King. I didn't see those before I designed/made my first version, but they're similar! They're both really cute patterns with lots of details and options for customizing.

The Project Run and Play blog will be FULL of inspiration this week -- the contestants and sew-alongers will be sharing their makes. Hop over and visit!

This Moment {September 6, 2013}

This Moment {August 23, 2013}

Tutorial: Favorite Shorts Romper

As part of the FLIP this Pattern series at Frances Suzanne, I've switched up another pair of Bubble Shorts from Elegance & Elephants. Last time I upcycled a woman's dress. This time I used vintage feed sack fabric from my stash and added solid pockets and a peter pan collar. 

I'm calling it the "Favorite Shorts Romper" because you could use this technique to add a basic bodice to any shorts. My favorite shorts happen to be the bubble ones. 

As promised, I took pictures along the way and put together a basic tutorial. (I'll list references at the bottom -- there are quite a few great resources out there for rompers!)

Materials:

All necessary materials for shorts

Fabric (main and lining) for bodice

Buttons 

1/2" elastic

Thread, etc.

**This romper won't have instructions for snaps at the crotch. The more buttons, the more difficult it'll be to get off and on.** 

1-2. You can draft your own bodice pattern from an existing dress or shirt. OR, you can use a free one like The Cottage Mama's Party Dress or The Sewing Rabbit's Oh, Jackie!. Measure your girl from shoulder to waist to determine where you want the waist band to be, then add 1" to the bottom of the bodice. It will become the casing for the elastic waist band.  

**If you want to use elastic that's bigger than 1/2", add more than 1" to the bodice and shorts top. Leave room for seam allowance.**

3. When you're tracing your pattern pieces for the bubble shorts (or whatever shorts you use), add 1" to the top of each piece. It will become the casing for the elastic waist band.

4. Cut bodice and lining pieces.

5. I used instructions from Gertie to draft the peter pan collar. You'll see (in a bit) mine didn't quite make it around far enough in the back, but they'll get better with practice.

9. If you overlap the collar about 1/8", it'll lie nicely when it's flipped right side out.
10. Baste the collar in place.
11. Sandwich the collar between the bodice and lining, right sides together.

Be sure to smooth the lining and bodice completely before sewing to avoid any puckers.

It's hard to see my lines, but you should sew the lining to the bodice this way: Starting at one back piece, sew up the back, around the neck line, and down the other back. Sew both arm holes.

You can also topstitch or edgestitch if desired at this point.

17. Overlap back pieces, matching center back lines. Pin or baste back pieces together so they stay put for the next steps.

19. This can be tricky with the bubble shorts because of the side pieces. Be sure you are matching the bodice side seam and the shorts side seam.
20. The 1" seam allowance will become the casing for the elastic waist band.

I tried about 30 different ways to attach the top and bottom. (At one point, I even partially disassembled one of Eliza's rompers to see how the Big Box store put it together!) In her free Pleated Playsuit pattern, Heidi has the best method I found.

When you're sewing, don't worry too much about sewing over gathers. The elastic waistband will cover for most of that.

22. Again, you may not get a completely smooth finish when you're sewing the top of the casing; however, the elastic waist will be forgiving of those puckers.

26. I opted for big, fabric covered buttons this time -- partially because I wanted to break up the busy fabric, and partially because three buttons are easier to operate than five.

At this point I also added the bow to the front per the pattern's instructions. I waited so the placement would be easier to get right.

There you have it! My baby girl loves these shorts. She stores her pacifiers in the pockets. And rocks. And berries.

Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions, and I'll do my best to answer them! Thanks for visiting!

References and Other Resources:
Excerpt from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, via Martha Stewart Crafts Dept.
Part One of Gertie's video on how to draft a peter pan collar
Clever Charlotte's Finch Romper (Finch shorts to romper -- includes a great tutorial on a precious top) as part of Shorts on the Line at Imagine Gnats
The Pleated Playsuit by Elegance & Elephants (FREE pattern!)

In addition to linking up to the FLIP this Pattern party, I'll be adding this romper (and my other) to the Shorts on the Line flikr pool and the upcoming Romper Week party at Sewing Mama RaeAnna.