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.