Free Little Owl Toddler Top/Baby Dress Pattern

Everything old is new again, or so the saying goes, right?  It blows my mind that it's been over 10yrs since I originally made this little pattern.  

I was still relatively new to sewing back then and did this as a jumper-style dress for my then new baby girl.  Who is now thirteen.  Wow does time fly!  The roomy fit worked well from about 3mos-12mos as a little dress.  I saved it for my next daughter who was born in 2020.  I found it at the back of the closet recently and I was thrilled to discover it also make a perfect toddler top for her size now 2T body, so this really is a grow-with-me DIY item!

It's a relatively simple sew - just 4 pieces to cut out.  Totally easy to whip up in an hour or two with basic sewing skills.  Not bad for an item that can be worn for 2yrs and then passed down to another kid!

You can use any woven fabric and it only takes 1/2yd.  I had this adorable corduroy:

And it looks so cute from the front and the back:

 Just excuse the ancient, so-so quality step-by-step photos (taken before I had a decent camera or any photo editing skills).  They're basic, but I think they do the general how-to job.

Materials:

- 1/2yd woven fabric (cotton, corduroy, etc)

- 1/2yd double fold bias tape

- 2 snaps

Notions: Iron, pins, tailor's marking pen or chalk 

Click Here For FREE Little Owl Dress/Top PDF Pattern

Printing the Pattern:  Print at 100% (actual size) no scaling.  

Cutting: Front body (1 cut on fold), Back body (1 cut on fold), Front collar (cut 2), Back collar (cut 2)

Mark all pieces with front and back notations and start & stop points of collar.  Put the front and back pieces together with right sides facing and pin along side seams.  Stitch with a 3/8in seam allowance.  To easily keep the raw edges from fraying I trim them with pinking shears, but you could serge them too.  Press seams open. 

 Encase the raw edge of the underarms in bias tape and stitch in place:

 With right sides facing, put together the flat short end of a front and a back piece of the collar and stitch together.  Do the same with the remaining pair and press seams open.  When complete, that seam will go over one shoulder and the open end will go over the other.

 Pin those collars together (again right sides facing) and stitch together starting on the outside at one marking point and stitching all along the inside and back over the other end as shown:

Trim the seam allowance down and clip around the curves to make it easy to turn right side out.  Press the flat.  Then take the raw opening edges and press those under, toward the wrong side of the collar fabric.  Insert the raw edge neckline of the top's front and back in the collar openings and pin together.  Top stitch close to the folded edge, making sure you sandwich the top between the collar's inside and outside edges. Go all the way around the entire collar edge to attach everything together on the front and the back.

Fold the hem up 1/2in and fold again and stitch in place.  Attach the snaps and the shoulder opening.  Back then I didn't have a snap press so I did the old hammer & setting tool:

It's been really rewarding seeing this little item get a second life and for so long.  It seemed like a good one to pass onto others here so they can enjoy making some too!  Happy sewing:)

Ottobre Design Pattern Hack: Easy Toddler Coat

My now 2yr old needed a versatile little jacket that could stretch from fall to spring.  Something that would keep the chill out in the milder weather, but could also comfortably fit with bulky winter sweaters and fleeces worn underneath this time of year.  So I did what us sewing moms do - I hacked a pattern to make one on the cheap!

I sifted through my pattern & fabric stash so I didn't have to buy anything new.  

For my base design I borrowed from a pattern I've used several times before, Ottobre Design's Funny Dots Coverall.  The last time I made it I used minky lining with an interlock knit outer.  I originally made it for my now almost 4yr old and he & my little lady each wore it for an entire season and it still looks almost new:

For this jacket version I used anti-pill fleece for the lining with a fun print corduroy for the outer fabric.  The fun colors mean it works for fall, winter and spring seasons:

Since my daughter was almost 2 when I made this, I used the largest size (74cm) and added an extra 1/2inch or so to size it up a bit.  The European shape always gives extra growth room too, which is a big plus when sewing for smalls.  

I turned the original "snowsuit" style into a simple jacket by cutting the pattern pieces just below the waist area and skipping the placket front of the coverall - instead just extending the length of the front pieces to match the back.  Then I cut those and the hood pieces out from both fabrics.  Since I didn't have to worry about direction for either one, I was able to easily cut everything from a single yard of fabric for each layer.

Assembly was pretty fast since you just need to stitch the front halves to the back from shoulder to sleeve cuff along the top and from lower sleeve cuff to hem at the sides.  No sleeves to set in!

The trick to easily bringing the lining & outer jackets together is to baste the hood (with both fabrics already stitch together at the front) onto the outer:

And then, with right sides facing, stitch together the outer and the lining all the way around, leaving a gap at the bottom for turning. 

To attach the sleeves, I use this technique of folding over the lining like this and inserting it into the corresponding sleeve opening of the outer fabric and stitching the right sides together.

It looks crazy, but when you turn it right side out from the gap in the bottom, it puts everything perfectly together.

I used plastic snaps to finish the front.  I had some cute heart shaped ones in my stash, which echoed the small hearts in the fabric print and in the perfect matching color too.  These durable snaps make it really easy to get a restless toddler in and out of it.

This little coat has been nice and roomy.  We turned up the cuffs at the beginning of the fall season, but I'm confident it'll comfortable fit her into the beginning of next fall by turning them down.  Not bad for a thrifty stash-bust!

What Happened to Corduroy?

Fall is here.  Leaves are turning.  Pumpkin spice versions of everything is all over the place.  But where is all the corduroy fabric?

 

 

For ages, corduroy was the fabric of the fall season.  Pants, skirts, overalls, vests, dresses, coats - for all ages - were a staple in back-to-school and autumn fashions in stores.  Loads of home furnishings and accessories like bags, hats, pillows & poofs.  As a hard-wearing woven fabric, it's easy to sew, warmer the quilting cotton, super versatile and comes in a variety of weights, degrees of stretch and fine & wide wales.  Every autumn I'd find a slew of adorable corduroy prints in the fabric store and make all sorts of sweet things for my kids and self.

 

 This tiny trench coat using an Ottobre Design pattern:

 

 

 

My reversible Serena baby dress (get the free pattern here):

 

 

and this Little Owl Baby Dress (get my free pattern here)

 

Even this fabulous Evelyn handbag (pattern by ChrisWDesigns): 

 

 

 

But I've come up empty when shopping now:(  It's nearly impossible to find.  As in, JoAnn Stores & Hobby Lobby doesn't even carry ANY on their websites.  And last time I was in a store they had maybe a just bolt of solid black and navy.  Most of the big online fabric stores have just a handful of solids - if that.  And what they do have is usually upholstery weight.  THAT'S IT.  

 

What the heck?!?

And the ubiquitous "well, Covid has impacted, blah blah" catch-all excuse (used to explain everything everywhere sucking this year) isn't the reason.  I noticed it last year and the autumn before that too.  After more than a century of being a mainstay fabric, corduroy has nearly gone extinct in fabric stores. 

 

The only excuse I could find, on one site, was "it's not in fashion anymore", but I'm not buying that explanation either.  I've seen loads of untrendy fabrics in stores for years.  Whole aisles even.  Sometimes entire stores.  LOL.  A lot of sewing enthusiasts aren't slaves to fashion trends so that doesn't seem like a legit reason to me.  Chevron print jumped the shark a few years back after insane popularity for a year or two, but you still can find it in stores.  

 

I just made this lined baby coat (free pattern & tutorial for it coming up btw) using some corduroy I bought about 5 years ago.  I feel like it's just as fresh & contemporary as anything I've seen in stores this year:

 

My only consolation is that a few years back, when I was at peak fabric hoarder/impulse buyer, I'd bought a bunch of corduroy prints and they've been sitting on my craft room shelf the past couple of years. 

 

So I broke some out of my fabric museum to recapture corduroy fashion love this autumn:

It was also impossible to find non legging or jeans for my size 12 daughter this year (or last year for that matter).  Those sausage casing tight styles in stores never fit right & the bigger kids get, the pricier those ill-fitting clothes become.  It's even a challenge to find non-legging, non-pajama pants patterns for her size too.  The age when fit is the hardest is when everywhere just stops offering options.  It's really weird.  So I grabbed a retro pants pattern my mom had given me from her 80s stash, McCalls 2947, (the one with the crossover back top every mom seemed to have back then):

 

 

 

and did a little tweaking to make these lovelies:

 

 

And these:

 

 

The pattern was quite wide compared to today's pant styles, so I slimmed them down about an inch in width on both inside & outside of each leg.  Relaxed enough to probably get 2 years of wear, but not elephant baggy.  Perfect for her changing, middle-of-a-growth-spurt tween shape. 

 

I added 4 rows of shirring at the hems with elastic thread in the bobbin to give them a cute harem style. 

  

Much more comfy & adds a longer fit span than the usual store stuff that's practically too small as soon as you wash it.

 

 

Thankfully I'd bought several yards of this fall floral print way back then.  I think I'd planned to make myself something with it but never got around to it.  I just loved the lively color combo and how the non-directional print offered so many uses:

 

 

I'd originally used it to make this Bubble Romper (Pattern by Seamingly Smitten) when my big girl was a toddler.  Gah!  She looks so little here:

 

  

 

With some careful pattern layout planning before cutting, I was able to squeeze out the new pants for my 11yr old and a mini pair for her 8 month old sister out of what was left.  

 

 

For the baby version I used a versatile pant pattern from the Kwik Sew for Babies book I love and stretched a piece of 1/4in wide elastic (cut 1 inch longer than her ankle measurement) to add a cute gathered look on hers too:

 

 

She's clearly a fan since she can wiggle away in them:

And my big girl loves matching clothes with her baby sister.

 

I was thrilled how they turned out because they look so cute together in them, but also a bit sad since this print is so versatile and easy to match with solids and now there's none left for future projects.  

 

Finding another like it seems near impossible now....

 

So what to do corduroy lovers??  Well, for the moment we can make do with the handful of solids available at some of the bigger online shops like MoodFabrics, Children's Corner Store and Fabric.com.  Not ideal, but at least something.  Maybe add some embroidery or appliques to jazz them up a bit.  And it couldn't hurt to ask for them to start carrying more.  From small acorns spring mighty oaks and all that, right?

And for corduroy prints?  This is what I really crave so it's super frustrating coming up empty in search after search, but I've found a few tiny options.  Clear Creek Cottons has a few charming prints like I used to find and at the prices I remember paying.  I'm jumping on getting some before they disappear.  Individual sellers on Etsy and eBay also have a few winners - obviously stock is limited there so it's a buy now or miss it forever with most of those.

I'm going to continue to keep my eyes open.  That's one of the perks of owning a fabric shop - I do hear a lot of fabric manufacturer news and releases (even for stuff that doesn't work for my shop's niche theme).  So if something crops up, I'll definitely share it.  In the meantime, feel free to share anything YOU discover or if there are some other fabrics or notions you feel are hard to find.  I may put my detective cap on for chasing those down too!