The Cowl Neck Pullover

It's getting really cold here in Michigan. And we happen to live in the snowbelt, so it's even colder than normal michigan temperatures. My littles have a plethora of summer clothes in their drawers still, but I needed to get something a bit warmer, for fall and winter wearing.
That's when the Cowl Neck Pullover Pattern was created!

The most exciting thing about this pattern is that it was my first pattern that I have had meticulously tested. It was such a fun process and I learned so much!

In the process of testing, I've been learning about new fabrics that are making their way into sewing rooms, and turning out to be favorites. I'm also finding that many fabrics that I thought were the best options, are just a fraction of what's available! I still think that a favorite option of mine is to recycle t-shirts or sweaters into my baby wear....But mostly because I like to be thrifty. :)

This photo was taken from one of my sweet testers!

Enough about fabric choices, let me tell you about this Baby Shirt Pattern!

When I first started in the designing process, I knew that I wanted something wide enough that you can layer a onesie in, but fitted enough on the sleeves that it didn't hang/drape like a sweatshirt. 

My heart was set on a boy shirt design. You know there aren't enough boy patterns out there!

However, when I originally had my testers on it, they thought it was more of a feminine cut. I was so bummed! It looked great on Elijah, but I could totally see what they were saying.

We decided to do something amazing - and that was when we created a "masculine" AND "feminine" cut to this shirt. That way it is most flattering for boys OR girls. :) 

Masculine cut pullover pattern

Feminine cut pullover pattern

Lets talk about the Cowl. It's Warm. It's cute. It fits perfect over the head. It makes the shirt look so posh and trendy. I love it so.much.
Since I had "BOYS" on my mind when I was creating this shirt, I wanted to make sure that it was a trendy looking cowl that would look great on boys. Nothing floppy that would get in the way while playing legos....but something that would add the warmth and cute factor that this shirt needed. 

I also had the mindset that many boys have larger heads than girls, so I wanted it to easily slip on and off. This design is p.e.r.f.e.c.t. 

 The pocket. Oh the pocket. When I was making my test shirt, I told Elijah what I was doing. I said, "mommy is making you a 'pocket shirt' that you can put things in." He literally stood by me the entire time I sewed this shirt for him. The whole process took me about 20 minutes, and he stood there, using his 2 year old vocabulary to tell me how much he loved pockets, and what kind of things he would be putting in his pocket.
Boys. Love. Pockets. Enough said.

Look how much room Elijah has to put stuff in that pocket!

Look at this great tester photo - He loves his pocket too!

The sizing of this shirt is fantastic. It's sized Newborn to 36 months. Each size fits perfectly. The sleeves are perfectly fitted, but there's room enough in the body to have an under shirt to keep littles extra warm. I have also included an added bonus of a "tiny" size. Look at how tiny the smallest one is! It is perfect for a doll to have a matching shirt!

 Overall, this Cowl Pullover is a new favorite of mine that I am so excited to share with you. It sews up really quick and fits great. I hope that you love it as much as I do.

Free Bib Pattern

Lets face it, keeping baby faces clean is a full time job. Keeping their clothes clean doesn't have to be though. OK, maybe that's not true, cleaning baby clothes is definitely a full time job; but keeping drool and food off of them can be a bit easier. That's where bibs come in.

Baby bibs are really a necessity when it comes to making supplies for our little ones. They can be pretty expensive to purchase, but when you make them yourself, they can cost next to nothing!

Lets get started.

To begin making baby bibs, you'll need to make a plan. 

Which bibs do you need to make? What phase is your baby in and going to be in soon? Take a look at the checklist below to see what you need to have in your bib arsenal.

• The Drool Bib
• 0-6 months (for when your baby is in the drooling phase)
• The Cereal Bib
• 4-8 months (for when your baby is starting baby food)
• The Shoulder Snap Bib
• 4-8 months (similar to the cereal bib, but snap is on the shoulder)
• The Dinner Bib
• 5 months - 4 years (for when your child is eating solid foods)
• The Spaghetti Bib
• 4 months - 4 years (A large bib with a snapping pocket for messy meals)

Joy is modeling the Cereal bib

How many bibs do I need to have?

This is a real question that really depends on a few factors. 

First factor is your individual baby. If your baby is a drooler, and you make drool bibs, you might get away with having only one per day. But if your baby drools excessively, you'll want to change the bib 4-5 times a day. 

Second factor is how often are you washing? If you wash your baby's clothing and bedding separately from the rest of the family's, then you might only wash it once a week. In that case, you'll need more bibs than if you wash them with the rest of the family's laundry. 

What's someone to do who doesn't have a baby yet? 

I'd start with making 3 of each type of bib. Once the baby comes, you'll get a better idea of what your needs are. When you reach the stage where you want the baby to start using bibs, you'll have a desire and time to do something at your sewing machine. Don't feel like you need to rush to get it all done before the baby arrives.

5 baby bibs that coordinate make a great baby gift!

How to make baby bibs as a gift?

Making baby bibs as a gift is easy and fun! For a gift, I usually make one of each type. That's a bundle of 5 bibs that goes from birth to 4 years old. If you make the bibs in coordinating colors and fabrics, it is a pleasure to give the gift, and even more of a pleasure to open!

So how do I make a baby bib?

I have a sewing pattern for the baby bibs here. 

If you want even more of a visual, I have free bib making class with two of my daughters while we made a few of these bibs. View the free bib video below.

Don't forget to get the printable bib sewing pattern for the template and the step by step tutorial.

Happy sewing!

Reversible Baby Romper Tutorial

Recently I was asked to design a reversible baby romper for baby boys. Cute baby boy clothes are hard to find patterns for, so I decided that I was up for the challenge. Elijah is still leary of modeling for me, but I did snap a few adorable pictures of this process so I hope you enjoy it!

The first thing that I did was start with my shorts pattern and my reversible jumper pattern. I wanted something that fit as great as the jumper did on the bodice, but with the great fitting shorts as well. After almost an entire day of adjusting pattern pieces and finagling ideas, I finally had my design. It couldn't be more perfect! I needed it to have a large range of sizes, so you'll find this one in sizes newborn to 36 months.

A partial screen shot of my pattern in the design program

I knew that I didn't want the typical romper design which had a seam up the front. I wanted something with a bodice that one could embroider on, or have a cute contrasting fabric. I also knew that I wanted this pattern to be used with woven fabrics, so it had to fit perfectly.

So after I made the initial romper, I was hooked! It's just beautiful  handsome and fits like a dream!
I even made a tutorial video to go with it! You can find the video here:
https://mammacandoit.com/pages/how-to-sew-a-romper

Once the pattern was made, I sent it to the person who originally requested the design. She gave me great tips on what I could do to improve the pattern as well as a beautiful picture of her first one that she is putting in her etsy shop!

Aren't these adorable?!!?!

Today, after edits, I am finally posting the final pattern and have it available on my website. You can find it here: Reversible Baby Romper Pattern

Overall, this project was really fun and I would love to do another one that someone has for me! Special requests are so much fun!

How to make a Newborn Baby hat

I can't believe that my pregnancy is half way over! I need to start thinking about newborn clothes and hats. Today I put together a pattern, tutorial and video of how to make a newborn baby hat. I love it! My girlfriend is coming over tomorrow with her brand new sweetheart so that I can model the hat. I can't wait! I have been recycling t-shirts like a crazy person and this is the perfect way to do it!

Enjoy this free tutorial on how to make a newborn beanie hat.

Maternity Shirt Pattern | Ruched Sides

Since the knowledge of my current pregnancy, I've been looking for and haven't been able to find many maternity shirt patterns. Much less ones that don't look 'tentish'. Lucky for me, I love to design! So I created a fantastic ruched maternity shirt pattern.

When I started this design, I knew that I wanted the ruching to only be in the front. I don't want every angle of me to look pregnant, and ruching in the back is really unnecessary.
To see the maternity shirt pattern for yourself, click here.

This was one of my favorite maternity shirts in the design process. I adjusted the shoulders significantly though, so it looks better as a tank.

When I initially started the design, I thought that I wanted to go with "tank only", without worrying about sleeves. I quickly discovered though, that my customers WANT sleeves....and so do I. But the shape of the shirt had to accommodate both. I wanted short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves and tank options. And I got the perfect fit of all of them!

This is my favorite one so far! It features the fantastic ruching and perfectly fitting short sleeves.

Another feature that I wanted to have in this pattern, was the ability to be beautiful from "just showing" to 40 weeks. It never fails that my shirts don't fit at the end of my pregnancies, and I know there are other mammas who have the same issue. I needed length and room.

Bam! Mission accomplished!

This maternity shirt pattern fits and flatters a "just showing" tummy to "late in the game" and as you can see, there's still quite a bit of room under that belly for more growth!

Here's another shot of the difference between the two belly shots! It's classy and cute, regardless of how large that belly is!

I always feel like a tank when I'm pregnant, so classy looks and form fitting shirts is important to me. When I first started this design, it took me many many attempts before I finally had a great fitting bodice AND belly. This maternity shirt design is made perfectly for the mamma who doesn't want to wear a tent, but doesn't want skin tight clothing either!

Even at the "large" belly stage, there is still plenty of room to wiggle and not feel skin tight.

Excuse my 'backside' photo below, but I wanted to show you that the back of me doesn't look pregnant at all! I love this design!

Un-maternity looking backside

This maternity shirt pattern is so easy. The ruching instructions and technique is incredibly simple, yet perfectly effective!

example of ruching sides

example of ruching sides

 Another feature that I thought was important is the neckline of my maternity shirt pattern. I wanted something that was feminine and classy, yet nothing that went too low. I have other babies that I'm constantly chasing, and I don't want to feel like I'm "hanging out" when I bend over. This neckline is perfect for keeping the 'girls' tucked in. Because of the extra room from the ruching and the extra length, large tummies don't pull the neckline down. It's perfect where it is!

The last thing that I wanted to do with this design, was make it easy to recycle other pieces of clothing or fabrics into this shirt. I love to recycle from the thrift store, or make something unique out of something ordinary. In the maternity shirt tutorial, you will find many ideas to recycle things to help save money and our environment.

Barely pregnant, but still needing belly room

I hope you enjoyed this walk through of my maternity shirt pattern. Whenever I start a design, I have clear objectives of what I want. To make any pattern accommodate those objectives is important to me, because I design for myself! Then, when I love the design, I share it with you! What a fun opportunity it is to teach you and encourage you to make your own clothes. 

Barely pregnant, but still needing belly room

Sewing to avoid Human Suffering

I've been struggling with conviction over the things that I buy. Almost everything that we purchase in the USA originates in another country. Just because it's in another country, doesn't necessarily mean it's been in the hands of a slave or person undergoing unfair treatment (Definition: A person or child who is forced to work and/or paid less than what is required by government regulations in any particular country). However, after paying close attention for only a few  "pre-purchases", I am convinced that there is absolutely no way that I can entirely avoid slave labor. This hurts my heart.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Obviously, if you buy an item from Walmart, it's supplier is more than likely a human suffering factory environment. That's easy. Avoid Walmart.

But here's an un-obvious: Meijer. They claim to be entirely against child labor, slavery, human trafficking etc. They say that their suppliers must adhere to the laws of their country. That sounds good on paper. But what you don't know, is that the countries in which they are purchasing their goods, don't have child labor laws. They don't have laws regarding human trafficking, human suffering, or cruelty. Further, their "supplier" might only be a middle man to hide the tragedy of millions of forced workers.

Lets take it a step deeper. Hanes. An underwear company. They seem A+. They are against human trafficking. They claim that they own 90% of all offshore facilities that make up their clothing. This helps significantly in the process which keeps their products away from human trafficking. They even audit their suppliers as far as their compliance to slavery laws. Hanes statements regarding their supply chain is here. But what about the "un-laws"? AKA The laws that don't exist regarding human suffering? What about the people who are further in the chain? What about the supply chains that they use that have nothing to do with their final products (supplies that they do not have to report)?
Let me break it down with this:

Hanes owns the Apparel Manufacturers. Not the textile companies, nor the individual textile supply chains (dyes, fabric weaving machines etc), not the farms which grow the cotton, nor the pickers of the cotton. Hanes doesn't own the machines or their supply chains which sew the products together, the "business related products" that the company uses (or their supply chains), and doesn't own the thread manufacturer (or their supply chains). Hanes doesn't own the packaging manufacturing supply chains (which is quite extensive), or other multiple facets which make the business work.
Yet, out of all of the companies that I have researched as to WHERE I can buy my underwear, this is the only company that I would buy from. If I had to.

Can I eliminate any of those supply chains? I too have a machine, I use thread, I use fabric, I print patterns on paper, I use my computer, I use scissors, all of which have an extensive supply chain.

Yes. By recycling. I am convinced that if we recycle things that other people have thrown away, that we are not only helping our environment, but we are also helping to eliminate supply chains that are filled with billions of people who are treated unfairly. I do not want to support the people who are treating others that way.
So what can the average person do? Purchase fabric from other people's stashes (think etsy or ebay), purchase used items like scissors, sewing machines, etc.

Buy patterns from work at home moms or download only options. Once you download and print, save the pattern so that you don't have to print again and again. I've seen some very good ways to store them like this:

Roll them up and slip a toilet paper roll around them

After they are rolled up, label them and put them in a box

Hang them up

But I think the biggest way that you can prevent human trafficking and help others at the same time:

Shop at Salvation Army or other non-profits who help others.

Salvation army uses other people's cast offs to raise money to help others

I know, I know. I can't imagine wearing someone else's underwear. But you CAN pick up some tshirts, or dresses that you can recycle into multiple pairs of underwear if you sew them yourself. 

It cuts down on the supply chain, AND helps people in the process. **And I'm not going to lie, making them yourself is so much cheaper, your checkbook will thank you for it too.

All of that convenience that you are paying for by buying the underwear at Hanes, is actually a multitude of lives that you could be:

a) Helping through buying from salvation army OR 

b) Using their pain so that you can get something conveniently.

This entire blog post is part of my heart that I am struggling with. It's not exactly a high importance in our society, and it's not something that many crafty people want to read or hear. In fact, the few readers that I do have might even be offended. But my business is called Mamma Can Do It. And since God has given me this conviction, my goal is to help change the world as much as I can. Because "I can do it". 

I would love if some of you joined me in this way to change what our families can, and to teach our children the importance of these precious lives.

Finally - A long sleeve baby shirt pattern. It fits FANTASTIC!

Now you can make your own baby shirts with this Fitted Baby Shirt Pattern

With cold weather coming and steadily here, I have been getting worried about my baby's wardrobe. I did a quick search online for long sleeve baby shirt patterns, but nothing that I found fit the age ranges that I would need. I was looking for newborn - 24 months.  All of the shirts that I had saved from my last baby were for warm weather. What about cold weather? Well, I stopped fretting and decided to get to work to create a new baby shirt design. After a couple weeks of design and sewing my own stash, I have finally finished the Fitted Baby Shirt Pattern. It is a very easy pattern that fits babies from a Tiny Newborn up to 36 months. There are 9 sizes that are all based on your child's current store bought clothing measurements.

If you would like to skip over all the reading about how I made the pattern, you can go directly to the fitted baby shirt pattern by clicking here.

When I started with this design, I knew that I would want something to fit like a t-shirt, but a bit more snug than the average t-shirt. Personally, I think that my little munchkin looks especially great in a more fitted shirt, so that was what I was going for. In fact, I love how onesies fit, so I started modeling this design using my onesie pattern. I also wanted the baby shirt to be fitted for the simple fact that all of my baby clothes are worn multiple times in multiple ways. I wanted to be able to have a shirt be the main 'attraction' of an outfit, but wear it as an undershirt in a few days. Simple enough if it's fitted nicely.

I also wanted to make sure that whatever shirt design I made, that it would be long enough. Either all of the shirts in the store are too short, or all of my babies have long bodies. I have never been able to find baby shirts that are long enough for any of my little ones. Anytime a baby bends over, their shirt rides half way up their backs. Or if daddy picks them up, their whole tummy is exposed. 
I say “daddy”, but it could be “sister” or “brother” or “grandma” or “babysitter” because no one is as picky about my baby's attire than I am. This fitted baby shirt pattern totally avoids all of that fussiness. It is long enough to cover a bending baby, a baby being held by someone else, snug enough to show off those yummy baby rolls and keep that back and tummy warm.

What about sleeve length? That was my next question. Have you been starting to notice that baby shirts' sleeve length from store bought clothes are getting shorter? Manufacturers are starting to make small adjustments like this to save them money. It's hardly noticeable when a baby is getting into new sizes. If you are like me, then you tend to have the baby in their current size until you absolutely have to change them over. When you do bring out the “next size” box, you find that the fit is great in the arms, but a bit large around the body. Does this sound familiar? By the time your baby fully fills into the current size, the sleeves are too short. With all this in mind, I knew that I wanted to make sleeves that fit great for this baby shirt pattern.

The neckline of this fitted baby shirt pattern took a bit of trial and error to design. To be honest, I am not crazy about lapped shoulders so I was trying a variety of different ways to make the neckline differently than the typical baby shirts that you find at the store. Don't get me wrong, I like lapped shoulders for a newborn, but when the child gets older, I don't particularly like how the shoulders end up sticking up through the neckline of the baby shirt. People are always worried about attaching binding, so I knew that I should design the baby shirt pattern to be especially suited for beginners. I like fast and easy, so I went with my favorite neck line – the t shirt neckline. It uses binding just like your favorite t shirt. It is incredibly easy and fast to attach compared to other methods. You don't have to buy any extra fabric to make the neckline, it uses the knit fabric that you are already using for your fitted baby shirt pattern.

Using a sewing machine vs serger also came up in my baby shirt pattern design process. I really like to use my serger with clothing. However, my sewing machine works great too. I have a very basic sewing machine that doesn't have a cover stitch (like some people recommend), but I do have a zig-zag stitch and elastic stitch. Few people realize that an elastic stitch works great with clothing. If you adjust it properly, from the outside, it looks like a straight stitch. Yet, it has the same give to stretch as a zig-zag stitch. I decided to include instructions for both in the baby shirt tutorial.

After I made this fitted baby shirtpattern, I loved the fit so much that I realized that I also need a baby dress that fits like this. With a dress comes leggings, so I decided to make a three part series. I call it the “Emma Series”. It includes the following sewing patterns: The Fitted Baby Shirt Pattern, The Baby Leggings Pattern and the Knit A Line Baby Dress Pattern. Be watching for the rest of the Emma pattern series.

Overall, this was a very fun sewing pattern to design. I learned a lot and had a great time trying a variety of necklines. I love how it fits my baby as I am sure you will too. I can't wait to get the rest of the Emma series out for you (I say “you”, but I can't wait for “ME” either! Ha!).

Look at this sugar. She's so yummy!

If you have any questions or ideas, feel free to comment below or write to me at info@mammacandoit.com.

Look at these baby leggings with the ruffle butt!
There's even a rear extender to fit over cloth diapers!!