My youngest daughter has a complicated medical life that includes some growth troubles, and I have long been embarrassed that I roll up her sleeves, etc. instead of just fixing them, especially since I
sew! I always adjust what I make for her, of course, but since my crafting interests have expanded, I do less plain ol' sewing than I used to (I sewed a lot of Audrey's clothes). I finally gathered her shirts and knit dresses that needed adjusting and did the whole batch in evening snatches this week. The impetus was the purchase of this darling Gymboree one-piece jammy, which was the right sleeve length and, I thought, long enough for her tummy if I cut it just at the crotch, though not full enough. She has a Mic-KEY button feeding port that leaks if she wears anything tight. I fell in LOVELOVELOVE with the little squirrels at the after-Christmas sale price,I thought, hey, I can just use fabric from the legs to add fullness to the belly, and....(stories I tell myself when holding very soft knits on sale, though I too-often don't follow it up with action). The pictures are all low-light orangey, because it was late, and I took them pre-pressing, so they're not as lovely as they could be, but school resumed the next day, and she liked the squirrels as much as mama.
I cut the one-piece in two at a point that allowed for a long top and still enough length in the cut-off legs to have a large enough piece to insert a gusset at the side seams. I unpicked all of the hems and seams, rather than just slicing them off, to maximize the cloth size, and was grateful for every inch.
I cut the largest sides of the legs into as big a wedge as I could, nearly as tall as the sleeve-to-hem seam that I unpicked, and just inserted it. Since I have an ancient Bernina, not a fancy serger, I just zigzagged the edge, which holds up very well and looks quite neat, even if it's not as speedy.
Both to maximize length and to satisfy a little girl who loves them, I chose to use a ruffly lettuce hem, which I didn't know I could do without a serger until I read about it on craftster. I'd tried it a year ago or so, and it worked pretty well. Set your machine to a fairly narrow zigzag with a short seam length (for me, it was nearly "0"), and zigzag the edge while stretching the knit as much as you can. On later sleeves, I found that folding the edge just-under with my fingers while sewing and stretching leaves a neater hem. I also started using an even shorter seam length, which left a better satin hem.
Attempts while adjusting my technique.
The final product! I'll have to get a photo of it on her to add later.
I sewed a little squirrelly patch on the bottom of one of my tees, too, I loved it so. On try one, the knit-on-knit stretched a lot and got all wonky. For try two, I used a bit of wonder-under to hold it in place, which worked nicely. I'm hoping it will wash up even better.
My husband rolled his eyes, but in a happy-for-me sort of way. I think he said I was cute. I'm very happy to have me some squirrel love, too. Plus, sharing acorns! So awesome.
