Guest blog post by Lexie from @brunchie_girls
What to sew or not to sew, that is the question.
When I became pregnant, all my friends and family affectionately said “she will be the best dressed baby around.” While this was with the best intentions to give me a complement I felt a huge weight of responsibility and pressure to make sure I lived up it. While I had been sewing for years and made bits and pieces for friends and family I had actually never sewn a kids clothing pattern before!
Later I would come to realise where my passion would lie would be with kids patterns. But to take a step back to the beginning of my venture. I found a Facebook group and started asking for recommendations. I also had a friend that explained a lot of Indi pattern companies create free patterns so you can try there patterns out and see if they are for you. So I found a few I liked and created a few pieces for my nieces and nephews. Funnily enough those patterns I am yet to use for Lilah. But why you ask, well I quickly realised the patterns or garments that actually were worth sewing for a newborn weren’t what I had in my stash. So once Lilah was born I realised the first 3 months they eat, sleep repeat so onesies were what she lived in. Now there are onesie patterns out there but for me I felt it was a big task and I was still adjusting to the sleep schedule or eating like every meal was my last. So what did I sew, leggings, harem pants and a dress. That’s it. Oh and some headbands.
I had also sewn up some change mat covers and hemmed some blankets but as for clothes that was it. But why when there are so many patterns out there and clothes to make. The answer was simple, I went for quality over quantity. I wanted to chose pieces that would actually be seen and make the most impact to an outfit. The dress pattern I chose was no sleeves so I could layer it, as we are in Melbourne and the weather is so unpredictable. I used store bought basics like long and short sleeve bodysuits that could be paired with the dress. Both pants again a perfect pair with a basic ready made bodysuit. I chose bold prints for my creations as well so they were the star of the show. So did my plan work? Yes. I got and still get so many compliments on clothes I've made but don’t feel stressed. As we are coming into the summer months my plans are more dresses and lots of rompers! Until the heat really amps up I’ll simply put tights on Lilah and away we go. So if you have or are feeling the pressure, my advice is to choose patterns that have the most impact to the whole outfit. Oh and make them a size up because by the time I made the garment it was a perfect fit and lasted longer than just a few days.