KCW - Cozy Squirrels and Stripes

I splurged on some Stenzo and Lillestoff knits off Etsy last winter while I was pregnant.  I bought this adorable squirrel print cotton/lycra specifically for the baby (gender unknown at the time), and chose a cream-and-brown stripe to contrast with it.

KCW was the motivation I needed to sew up a set AND to finally learn how to use the coverstitch machine my family chipped in to buy me for my birthday.

I made a Lullaby Layette shirt in a 0-3 month width with 6-12 month length.  The leggings are my beloved Playtime pattern in a straight 6-12 month size.

I used linen for the placket and the binding.  I wanted the linen side of the placket visible from the front, so I just started sewing it to the wrong side of the fabric instead of the right side.  As it turns out, that wasn't exactly the way to do it - I ended up with a raw edge of knit fabric that I had to somehow ease behind the placket when I sewed the two parts together at the bottom.  I'll have to take a harder look at the instructions and think it through before trying it again.

I did not have the right size snaps for the placket, and I did not want to make buttonholes.  So I just sewed the bottom two buttons through both parts of the placket.  The top button is sewn only to the front placket, but there is a hidden sewn-in snap on the inside to keep it shut.

After I'd sewn everything else up, it was time to brave the coverstitch machine.

The machine feels like an incredible indulgence, especially when I'm explaining its function to people and they say, "So that's all it does?"

Yes, that is all it does.  But it does it so well.  I sat in front of the TV last night after I'd finished, just stretching and stretching the hems, just to see how very much they do not pop.

Setting in the waistband elastic was a breeze, too.  I serged it directly to the raw edge, then turned it and coverstitched it down.

But given how many pairs of leggings my oldest goes through in a season, and given how truly impossible it is to find RTW ones that fit her, my new toy is really a worthwhile investment.  No more trailing thread, no more popped hems.  

Probably a few more pairs of these leggings for Niko, too.  They are perfect baby wear and are long enough that I expect them to fit him through the winter.

He just turned 5 months old, and I can't believe how big he is getting!