Did you know that Charles Dickens, one of the most prominent authors of all time, had a favorite book? It was 'David Copperfield'. Charles said that he favored the book so much because it most resembled his own life, and it was a pleasure to write it/read it/constantly work on it. He also said that it was incredibly hard to draft the first time. I.Get.It.
Let me discuss my favorite leggings pattern. I realize that it's not a novel that will stand the test of time like the Dickens book. But let me tell you... it's amazing. And it was difficult to put together.
Here's my story.
I needed to have some ruffles. I have four little ladies who live with me, and they ALL (even miss 13) love ruffles. I needed a pattern that would be suitable for babies and for big girls so that they could all have some ruffles.
Ruffles. Yes, I needed ruffles. A lot of them. I wanted ruffled leggings that would stand out among the 1,000 other leggings patterns that were available. I wanted to design leggings that would make my girls gladly say, "My mom made them for me.", with their dear faces.
Side note: I swear; I do things for my kids that I never thought that I would. I love to make them laugh, and I love to talk with them. Most of all, I love to hear their honoring words. In my world, "My mom made these leggings", is honoring <3. Enough of the gushy. Lets see these beauties!
Before we begin, Rosie's Ruffled Leggings pattern is available
Here for Newborn-36 Month size leggings
Here for 3T-16
It is on sale for a short time (through 12/13/17), so get it now!
Most of the pics in this post are from my fabulous testers who helped me with this design. I am thankful for each one.
Those pumpkins were from our garden this year. I didn't even count how many there were. I'm sure there were at least 25. We had the most prolific compost pile that I've ever had! Ha! Literally almost all of the pumpkins grew out of it.
Why is it that the most smiling, sweet babies, refuse to look or smile at the camera? I JUST MADE YOU THE CUTEST THING EVER, but she acts all shy when I pull the camera out. Silly baby Joy.
As you may not know, I am fairly new to the "testing" world. I didn't realize that there was an entire 'universe' of women who tested patterns and helped make them amazing. It's become my absolute favorite thing.
Having done mostly baby patterns, I had a design drawn up for these leggings in no time. It was fairly close to the design that I ended up with too. Oh how I love babies.
Baby designs are completely different than large children or adult sizes. I think it is because their legs are a different proportion to their body size. Because their shape is a certain size, a designer still needs to make an account for diaper bulk. Above all of these things, I needed to remember to make this design to accommodate the extreme body shape differences during the precious growth phases.
Walking babies are typically smaller in the waist and body mass than babies that aren't walking yet. All of this needs to be taken into account when making a design. I love it. Each line in the pattern makes me excited to see it on a little one. <3
During this design process, I had a wonderful tester who has started helping me behind the scenes, her baby is the one below. Look at how perfect those ruffles are! I just love that I can see this little one in my designs too!
Are you ready for the hardest part of my design process? I'll totally share my struggle with you.....
I am not very familiar with older children shapes.
This test was hard. Really hard. I was tested to my max in what I "thought" that I knew.
Mid-testing, I decided to take a break from this design. I needed to work on my size chart and get the basics right before continuing down design lane. It was a hard choice, but the best decision. It cost me about 4 days worth of time, but I am so thankful.
My friend (also a designer) and I put our heads together and she helped me to draw up the size chart how I wanted it. That started everything down the RIGHT direction. Soon, the leggings pattern was ready to test again!
After only a couple edits, my entire tester team was pleased with the results.
I mean, can you believe how amazing they fit?
Each size is fitted, yet not "too" tight. In my world, that's perfect for little or big girls.
Look at how great these ruffles look too!
Length. Length is important. I wanted something that was ankle length, but that would STAY at ankle length. There's nothing worse than sitting down and half of your leg showing, and I feel that way the MOST about the clothes that I make for my kids. So you'll notice that there is plenty of length in the leg to keep those sweeties covered up.
Matching outfits are an absolute must, now that I have the big girl pattern with the baby pattern. There is a bundle available in each listing so that you can get both for a discounted price!
I mean seriously, who doesn't want to dress their kids in matching outfits?!
Our friends at Simply Ti were kind enough to provide fabric, and fabric recommendations for testing, and we loved it!
Thank you for being a valued customer and reader. I appreciate all of your comments, feedback and support. Designing is what I love, but more importantly, it is how I stay home with my little ones, and I am so thankful that I get to enjoy that process.
Happy sewing!
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