Monday, June 12, 2017

Sewing with remnants

Definition of remnant: noun
1. a remaining, usually small part, quantity, number, or the like.
2. a fragment or scrap.
3. a small, unsold or unused piece of cloth, lace, etc., as at the end of a bolt.


I came across a free pattern for a little dress. It's called Little Geranium. The size is 0-3 months. Since I have two brand new granddaughters, and since it will be summer soon, I thought I'd make the girls their first little dress. I headed for my bins of fabric looking for little remnants. I found two pieces that were similar in colour.


These are the two fabric remnants I found. One is the polka dot and the other one is just underneath but is a bit hard to see. It has a small floral motif on it.

The skirt part is the whole width of yardage which is between 40-44 inches. I had some teeny tiny rick rack and decided that it would be a perfect trim for the pockets.

Just to give you an idea as to size, the ruler is an 8 inch square.

Here's the second one I made. The colour is not true in this photo. The back yolk has a button or snap closure but I opted for circles of hook and loop (Velcro) since babies spend a lot of time on their backs or propped up leaning on their back. A button or snap just seemed like it might bother a little one.

Here's a close-up of the wee rick rack.

If you want a free similar dress in an 18 month size, I found one here.

This is a super easy pattern - with French seams. My daughter wanted these pants for Teemu because they were roomy in the bum area and tapered down the leg. The front and the back are identical. I found a small piece of seersucker  on my shelf that I had purchased when my children were little. It was a remnant and the price tag on it was $2.44. 

The second pair. I really like this fabric and I found two different pieces of it. It's a soft cotton and the weight is just perfect for shirts and pants.

That's it for now. I still have a bunch of sewing to do - some of it just repairs or alterations. 

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network
Pop on over to see what's new.

5 comments:

  1. The dresses are as sweet as can be, and very tiny indeed! The pants look comfortable, and in a different fabric great for girls too. The fun thing about sewing for little children is that you can use the remnants from your stash and save a lot of money.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my, are those dresses cute. So girly and pretty. Nice job, Grandma. Will you be able to pass a remnant bin without stopping and going through it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those dresses make me wish I could wear something like that - terrifically sweet, Dolores, and the rick-rack is perfect. Those pants look so comfortable and I love all the fabrics!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have been very busy! Love the cross stitched cards you made. Especially the one for the twins (:

    ReplyDelete
  5. Alas there are no little girls in my life (altho', come to think of it, a couple of my friends have little granddaughters).

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting. I appreciate your thoughts.