Monday, February 24, 2014

Pattern Review: Old Tyme Baseball Shirt from Dandelions n' Dungarees

First, a shout out to the lovely ladies at  Dandelions n' Dungarees for the opportunity to test this awesome pattern, and a congrats on being featured as an aspiring designer on Pattern Revolution.

There are so many patterns out there for little girls, that when you see something super cute and original for the little men in your life, you jump on it.  I signed up to test for Connor, and then when they were short on a little sized tester, I jumped on one for Squishy (my nickname for my friend Heather's cutie pie).

The size range on this one is awesome too - it's available in three size bundles
1. NB -18months
2. 2T - 7
3. 8-16

Or for extra savings you can by two sizes or all three!

Mom, leave me alone, I'm not modeling, I'm eating puffies.

This was a very enjoyable testing experience, which to me says a lot about a designer.  April from Dandelions n' Dungarees was responsive and involved and the test group had a lot of fun going through the pattern.

The options that you have with this pattern are great too.  Buttons or Snaps.  Contrasting fabrics.  And the piping detail makes it look so professional.
Ignore ugly me in the background - how cute is Squishy???
For both sizes I did 100% cotton fabrics, but the pattern works well in a cotton-blend if you are looking for something that won't wrinkle.  One of the testers even did it in a low-stretch knit and it came out darling.

Gavin's shirt is made from a gorgeous deep blue cotton solid from In The Beginning fabrics.  I used a bright yellow piping to contrast and added an anchor applique as a nod to his Coastie daddy.  And, because for small wiggly babies, snaps are a little easier, so he got matching bright yellow snaps.


And for Connor who is in a Curious George phase (I think we've seen every episode on Netflix at least 10 times now), I had this small piece of Curious George fabric left.  Since I'm still working through my 100 items challenge - slow, so slow and painful, I couldn't really justify buying more cottons for the tester, and it was just so perfect, so I came up with a great workaround.   I used the remains of the George print for the front and cuffs.  I used a matching red solid for the back and sleeves, and added a dark blue piping.  And I splurged and bought these really cute baseball buttons to match!



The fit on the shirt is great - its winter here, so we tossed on long sleeved shirts under them, and they fit perfect - if only I could have got one of them to hold a bat as well.  But then again, my crazy little man with a bat... yea, that just sounds like a bad idea.






The pattern is well written and the instructions are clear and easy to understand.  The pictures within the tutorial are great for those of us who are more visual as well.  And, despite my initial confusion when I read how to attach the facing - I tell you, just go with it!  The final result  is a professional, well constructed garment. 



The pattern includes the note to put the buttons on the opposite side if you want to make it for a girl, so don't think this one is just for your boys either!  And, as we are heading into Spring - its getting time for baseball, and you know the sports lovers in your life will flip for this pattern!

So run over to their site and pick up the Old Tyme Baseball shirt today!


Keep and eye on this designer - I definitely see lots more awesome patterns to come!


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