A Free Hat for Baby Spongebob

I am working on a hat design.  It's a square.  Done.

No, but seriously, I have been making these boxy hat's for Josephine and they look really pretty cute on her, but they can look a little, mmm, pope-like on other kids, I don't know why.  I think I need to concede to changing the pattern, and get into contouring it, but I was so liking the simplicity of these.

As shown here, Phinny The Chin is quite delighted with a fine gauge knit one like this, that stretches well over her enormous bulb.

(Okay, that gleeful full-body running shot was gratuitous, but C'MON!)

Another version of the hat is two layers of densely knit stretchy sweater + a t-shirt jersey knit lining.  So warm, right? She wears this daily and it's field-testing very well.

And finally, the little newborn seamless hats.  I have to admit, I haven't actually tested these on any little noggins, in person, myself, but it would seem that the same principles of fit would apply.  I've given them as gifts and have some at Green Genes, but I need a good fit model.

What person wants a free newborn hat, like the one in this picture, in exchange for promising to send me really good snapshots of it, on an actual baby?!  (PS, the tag goes in the back.  I'm not THAT self-promoting.)

Slowly Losing the Frontbutt

It would seem easy to alter the baby pants pattern I am working on.  Poochy in the front?  Shorten and straighten the front.  Not so easy, Hoss.  I don't know why I couldn't get this extra space out of the front of the pants!  I kept shaving off the line of the front seam on the pattern, but it was never enough (/shaking fist at the Gods of sewing).

Several times, I have referred to the INCREDIBLY handy primer for altering baby pants at Sew, Mama, Sew, which has helped me before on this beginner's quest.  To no avail.  I'm going for the slickest, most perfectly tailored cut for the Baby Hobo sweater pants and it's hard to have them allow room for diapers- especially cloth diapers, yet not be poofy and awkward.  Since they are sweater pants, I need them to be snug-but-not-quite-leggings.

Trying to make a pattern that worked with sweatshirt fabric too is a no-go.  Fo' sho'.  I know that now.

Here is a run-down of the pattern's evolution:

FIRST PATTERN

 

A good butt cut to start with.  Got sort of binding after only a wash or two though.

 

 Cozy looking, right?  But here you see the start of the problem with Frontbutt 2010.  Also they are ever-slightly too tight at the bottom.

 

 Here's a shot of the back end.  I am trying to achieve extra space on the butt only.  These are obviously too evenly weighted in the front/ back ratio.

ITERATION 2:

 

Booty near perfection.

 

Somehow still smuggling items up front.  This pattern was overall a little looser, so I have the right length and all that now. 

Here's the front.  The front seam is much shorter that before and less curved.  Duh.  Pants Patterning 101.

And the back.  You see that seam sticking out, that's good buttroom.

 

Here's the line of the butt seam.

 And here's the line of the front seam.  Still too curved out.

ITERATION 3

 Yes. 

 

 Yes.

 

Super Yes.

 

Mega super ultra Yes.

Really short, straight front seam.

 

 I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie!

(Ignore that pucker by the waistband, it doesn't exist in real life.)

 Sweet detailing courtesy of my old sweatpants, Champion brand "G9" from Target.

So, I tweaked it one more time, and the next two pair will be for sale on Supermarket!  More on that this weekend!

And Now For the Fun Part...

I have been spending a lot of time sewing.  I want to spend more time designing.  Who can help me?!

Baby Hobo is on the cusp now, I think, of needing to make some big decisions.  As a hobby, it has become hard work.  I had several commissions over the holidays and was forced to really sit through and sew sew sew for dollars.  I don't need the dollars that bad, so it was hard to do so much work for not that much money.

As a business, there's a ton of potential in this tiny brand.  I have an abundance of design ideas and I go ballistic with zen happiness when I have the time to work on them.  What I need to do is make a bridge from the small, personal scaled production that I do for one store, to a larger scale operation that will at some point pay me for my efforts.  I have that entrepreneurial craze, I can't help it.

Problem is, I don't want a job!  I mean, not a real job where I am slaving away at my sewing machine hours and hours on end.  But there's got to be a way, right?  I am interested in finding models for design brands made from re-purposed materials that have found a sane way to grow into money-making ventures.  I could, surely, find some benevolent soul to trust in me thousands upon thousands of dollars, and make what the business people call an "investment".  I may have to do that.  I would rather grow from the inside out though, if possible, and take on very little risk in inching this whole shebang forward.

I have been looking at brands like Cate & Levi, for example (see here, a supremely adorbs monkey from re-purposed sweaters). 

This is a brand that started, seemingly,  exactly as I have started.  With a parent who ventured into design using re-purposed materials.  He has in the last few years found a way to systematize the specialized creation of these one-of-a-kind items, such that the brand has grown large enough to be offered through West Elm! 

Now, I don't know if dude had a money tree in his house or what, but he describes the trajectory of the brand in terms that seem really doable.  Starting with him and a few artist friends sewing in a small studio office together.  I can do that.  I just need help.  I have interviewed a couple of people, still waiting to see how it will all work.  What with the no capital and all.  There's a lot more to be discussed about this. 

In the meantime,  I wish I could spend more time on the most fun stuff.  Like this part (bib colors):

 And this part (working on a design for floor textiles!):

Stay tuned, my trusty reader, and I'll find a way to get this show on the road.

Can't Stop Believing...

Here I am sewing these many years hence (okay, like 2), and I still refuse to believe that re-purposed sweatshirt fabric can't be used to make most things.  I keep trying to make little clothes from it and it just doesn't have the stretch once it's cut down to such a small scale.  Weird, right?

It doesn't stop me from trying  (and failing repeatedly) to make things from it though.  Mis-shapen, badly fitting things.  Like this hat, for example:

 

"SO CUUUOTE!", Right?

 WRONG.  It doesn't stretch, therefore fits like a medieval helmet.  But check out my bebe's hilarious "Boyfriend Jeans".  That was actually the name of them in the store.  They have stitching all over that is supposed to look like inkpen doodling.    "Boyfriend Jeans" for a 1 year old.  Hilarming.

Anyway, back to the evil known as re-purposed sweatshirt fabric.  It's a mirage, you guys: looks cozy and clingy from afar, and then fits about as well waxed canvas once you use it to produce small clothes.  See here:

 Reverse sweatshirt.  Clever!  Stylish!  Comfortable!  It cannot be denied.

Then why my baby look like she's channeling Grimace from McDonald's?!  Okay, I will concede that there was a problem with this pattern (what with the smuggling compartment up front there), but it's not all because of the bad cut, because I made another pair from this pattern before I fixed it and they aren't nearly as poochy.  It's the heavy stiffness of the sweatshirt.  I blame.  I blame. 

And finally, in case I still hadn't learned about cotton blends, I worked on this lap-shoulder sweater again using the most lovely salmon colored sweatshirt.   I don't have a picture of the kid wearing it because she hates it and screamed the few times I tried to put it on her.  It's boxy, ill-fitting and restrictive.  Because of the fabric.  Not because of my pattern, of course.

Okay, maybe some of its because of my pattern.  It looks pretty good flat though, so I'm going to post it.

I have a lot of ideas for Baby Hobo that involved this kind of fabric, but alas, I don't think I can source enough of it in the right stretch blend, in the right colors, at the right price.  So I need to re-think some designs.  Please try not to let this keep you awake at night.