A birthday top

Our adorable grand-niece (I think that’s how that relation goes…) turned two years old a few weeks ago. On top of that, she and her parents were getting set to move all the way to London, Ontario. These events called for a little sewing. At first I thought, I would just use my go-to reversible pant pattern by Anna Maria Horner in her Handmade Beginnings book. But then I started thinking about all the super cute patterns out there for little girls, and given that it is a rare occasion that I get to sew for little girls, I decided to try something new. Not only that, but I decided to try out a new pattern company.

After trolling the internet in search of reversible tunics/tops (I love reversible clothes for the wee kids in our lives), I came across Shwin & Shwin. I really like the aesthetic of their patterns. And purchasing patterns online as a downloadable pdf is so feasible & easy, that I went ahead and bought the Lucy Tunic pattern, not knowing whether the instructions & pattern would be good or not. Turns out, the the pattern is quite good. The tunic went together really easy. I would even recommend it to friends who are wanting to test the sewing waters, with a stylish end result. The most difficult part was choosing the fabric combination, because, again, I so rarely get to sew for little girls. Yet, I didn’t want it to be all pink & purple. I settled with some fabric that I picked up almost a year ago in Colorado at Jo-Anne. Just waiting for the right project to come along.

I really do like the autumn feel to the two prints, which is one reason I went with them. They are also only a little girlie, not over-the-top. With the size I made, she should be able to wear it for quite a while. I think it will look super cute layered with a long sleeved shirt and leggings in the cooler months.

Again, love the reversible design of the top. Makes kids clothes so much fun! Two tops in one. If they spill something on themselves, you can just turn it inside out and you’re still good to go. I’m all for cutting down on the number of laundry loads that have to be done each week 😉

And of course, one of the reasons this particular reversible tunic stood out to me, was the use of buttons in the design. Big, funky, colourful buttons. None of the buttons are the same, just mixed-and-matched them. It was a little tricky sewing the buttons back to back to create the reversible closure. Probably the only tricky part of the design.

Let’s be honest for a moment. I make mistakes. Yep. Your heard that right. My sewing is far from perfect. I cut things out wrong. I sew things incorrectly. And for the first time, I put a button hole in the wrong spot… and realized it after I had already cut the button hole open. The worst part, is that sewing the button holes and buttons is the very last step in the pattern, the finishing touch. The whole top was done and here I ruined it. I almost started crying when I realized what I had done.

At first, I thought the whole project was a right off. And I was so sad because I wouldn’t have a chance to sew anything else before little Sumerlee’s birthday and big move. I held my head in my hands for a few minutes and wallowed in my stupidity at making such a mistake. Then I began to tinker a bit and soon discovered that if I put a patch on the incorrect button hole, you wouldn’t even see it while she was wearing the top (that shoulder piece is always toward the inside). So I stitched on a patch, by hand (for a little extra love) and it turned out OK. Hubby said I’m my own worst critic and that he thought it was part of the design, until I told him the story. Far from perfect, not my best work, but cute none-the-less. I look forward to making more of these Lucy Tunics for friends, hopefully without the patch next time.