Stop the sag

Saturday 10 April 2010
Finally, a politician with something worthy to say:


Too bad for us here in Australia he's in New York because we too are being plagued by this horrendous epidemic. So you can imagine my shame when I saw my daughter doing the same thing when I picked her up from day care last week! Since she's such a beanpole, her store bought pants are all too short now but still way too big around her waist, especially in the disposable nappies she has to wear to the child care centre.

So I decided to take a little time out from sewing my pain in the a$$ BWOF dress that I've been working on to whip up some little pants for her, using an OOP Kwik Sew 2216 pattern. My past experiences with sewing patterns for little kids has so far been a bit hit and miss, as some of them tend to be way too big, but the Kwik Sew pattern was a good fit using the T1 size for the waist and the T4 size for length. Although I did still add elastic across the back of the pants to make sure the fit was nice and snug. I made two pairs in cotton drill, one in a caramel brown colour and the other in black because you're certainly never too young to have some wardrobe neutrals to mix and match with all the pink in one's wardrobe! Anna has put them through their paces, and if she could I think she'd give them a big thumbs up (although shaking her head 'no' to everything is her favourite move at the moment).

They are proper little pants too - with a zipper fly and a button waistband, side pockets and rear patch pockets. I left off the zipper fly shield because that was getting way too fiddly for little pants but they are pretty cute:



And check out Anna striking a pose for you, this is almost worthy of a Kmart catalogue!


I also made her that purple gingham shirt, from vintage Butterick 422 which is a boy's pattern but really a shirt is a shirt and in purple it's girly enough. I made no changes to the pattern other than sewing the pocket on the bias and using my trusty plastic press snaps instead of fiddly buttons down the front because she doesn't sit still for very long these days and trying to do up buttons would drive me nuts.

Happily, all of these were made from stash fabrics, and now I can send my daughter off to school safe in the knowledge that she's not flashing her nappy around as though she is a yuppie reliving the 90s trend for showing off a pair of Calvin Klein briefs!

23 comments:

  1. She is growing up so fast and love the last pose.

    The pants and shirt are gorgeous, she is one smart dressed little girl.

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  2. Way to 'strike a pose' Anna!

    Have you been watching American Idol?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkeAzqhlkNk
    This "Pants on the Ground" song is very apt! :)

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  3. I love seeing the little girl clothes, even from the boy patterns. It's lots of fun. You have a very cute girl.

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  4. Very cute! Sorry to say that I don't comment as often as I should but I read your blog all the time and enjoy it a lot. Anna is just adorable, but I can't believe she's so big already! Who said kids are allowed to grow so fast?

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  5. It's hard to believe that Anna is running already. I have enjoyed watching her grow. She is so darling in her new clothes and quite the model. Like Debbie I follow but don't often comment. I do so much enjoy your blog.

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  6. I love that you took the time to put pockets on her little pants. I think you need to make a little soft-stuffed cell-phone like toy to stick in them. :) What a cutie.

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  7. Wow, Kristy, you are patient! I'd have made a pair of drawstring pants, if I was ever even going to sew anything, and called it a day. Anna looks adorable, and the pants look great! (As does the shirt.)

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  8. The pants and shirt are so cute. Your little model is adorable.

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  9. Epidemic here too. The last year or two another thing has become the trend here: Stuffing your pants down your white tennis socks. WHAT'S WITH THAT?!

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  10. Too cute!
    I heard a few years back that the police department in L.A. said that they really like the sagging style... ahem, it makes it easier for them to catch perpetrators... cause they can't run and try to hold up their pants at the same time! LoL...

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  11. These are the cutest pics I've seen in ages! She really is growing quickly. As for the pants, I watched two young guys shuffle down the street the other day and wondered how they can walk. A colleague of mine related a story about how his teenage son phoned him and asked to be picked up from his friend's house. Father replied that it was only around the corner and why couldn't he walk. Son answered that he couldn't walk very far in his pants!!!

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  12. Have you seen the toddler pants that you can buy with an undies/boxers waistband sewn in to create that look? Argh.

    I have beanpoles too - at least we have the ability to alter the pattern to stop the sag. I do feel for the non-sewists of the world.

    Annas pants look fantastic. Hmm, should have said that first instead of the waffle.

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  13. I loved kwik sew patterns when my kids were little because some of them were skinny and tall.

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  14. Cute, cute outfits! Don't you feel sooooo good when you complete one of her outfits and you see her wearing it!?

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  15. What a fun post. I was very fond of buttonhole elastic for my own beanpoles and hand-me-down play clothes.

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  16. Oh, most gorgeous. It is never too early to aquire those wardrobe neutral basics! And as ever, I love a snap. So much so, I have gone and bought my own snap press. Stay tuned!

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  17. What cute clothes (as ususal of course!). I made those Kwiksew pants for my firstborn about a million times - and their jeans in the next size range as well, because he DEFINED beanpole! A bit of elastic in the back and he had pants that fit perfectly. Must get it out again for my latest teeny tot...

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  18. Your daughter is a little cutey! Kwik Sew patterns were my favorites when sewing for my sons. They have great classic styles, wonderful sewing instructions and don't have the huge amounts of ease that the other pattern companies put in their children’s patterns.

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  19. She is so cute! And I love the outfit.

    Have you seen the Onegirl Kidlet pants? They are super simple, but look like a nice cut and like they would be good for play pants. I need to extend the pattern a bit, and then I'm making some for my chunky little monkey.

    http://onegirldesignwrks.blogspot.com/2010/04/kidlet-pants.html

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  20. She looks lovely in her new clothes.

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  21. The outfit is too cute. She is so adorable.

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