Dino Set for Oskar

Hello, my dears,

As I announced recently (look here), I had planned to sew a pair of pants with dinos on them for my grandson Oskar. Since I had already sewn harem pants before, these slim pants were no problem for me. First I transferred the pattern to the fabric and sewed the seams together with the elastic stitch.

Unlike with the harem pants, for these pants I decided to insert a 3 cm wide elastic into the waistband. That worked quite well. You have to remember that the waistband may only be a little wider than the elastic so that it looks good in the end and flops around in it.

For the waistband I made 2 pieces, which I then sewed together. I didn't want a seam in the center back; I preferred one on each side instead.

I could have left off the cuffs at the legs too, but this way it seemed more "complete" to me and more practical for romping around.



Next I tackled the long-sleeved shirt. You advised me to use a raglan pattern. So that's what I used. In my cluelessness, I thought that (as in knitting) raglan seams are straight and don't run in waves. But because they have to go under the arm and up onto the shoulder, they run in waves—and on top of that, the front is different from the back.

I cut the 4 pieces (front, back, 2 x sleeves) out of the fabric. When putting the pieces together, I puzzled and puzzled over how it was supposed to fit together. Until at some point it dawned on me that I should have placed the sleeve piece mirrored once. The pieces aren't symmetrical, so you have to make one sleeve cut with the pattern turned over.

Then I made another mistake. According to the fabric cut, the shirt seemed too long to me, so I boldly cut off a piece at the bottom. Now it's probably too short. I should have left it as it was. Now, if necessary, I'll have to sew on a piece of fabric at the bottom. But that will definitely look silly because the dino pattern won't continue. Okay, I learned to leave the pattern as it is at first; others have more experience and know why it has to look that way.

Because the shirt is long-sleeved, I decided—also to match the pants—on a cuff finish. It now looks like a little turtleneck. Here I didn't have a measurement for the circumference of the neckband. So I did it by feel. While sewing, I kept stretching the cuff a little. Now I hope it fits.



Then I decided to sew a T-shirt too. So the pattern was the same, only the sleeves were shorter. But because the sleeves only use a little fabric and the dino motif wouldn't really show, I used solid-colored fabric for them. Since I had already practiced on the long-sleeved shirt, sewing the 4 pieces together went quite well.



Actually, I had wanted to bind the neckline with some jersey piping I ordered. But because it won't arrive until the end of the week and I couldn't wait, I tried to make a binding out of the sleeve fabric. I cut myself a crosswise-stretchy strip 4 cm wide and pressed it in half lengthwise. Then I sewed this together with the folded-over neckline.

Because I didn't know how much piping length I needed, I just started at the back like that and then sewed the beginning and end of the piping together. It just doesn't look nice at all. I would have been better off making up a neck circumference (since I didn't have the child there to measure) and then sewing the piping together like a cuff. Then I wouldn't have this ugly seam spot now. I'll show you the corpus delicti enlarged:



So sewing a T-shirt is definitely harder than pants! And I still have to practice sewing piping a lot. Besides, the thread kept breaking because I had the wrong thread. The color was right, unfortunately not the quality. There are like 1000 things you have to pay attention to and need to know and skills you have to practice ... I still have a lot to do.

That's enough for today, though! First I'm going to eat a piece of cake and have a nice coffee.

Best wishes from Ina

Dear Ina,
I’m impressed by your dedication.
Learning by doing, and practice makes perfect.

I’m sure we’ll see many more beautiful things from you. 

Oskar is really lucky—what great stuff!

Great job, Ina! And if the shirt is too short, just sew a cuff onto the bottom like you did with the pants—that should give it the right length. Otherwise, you’re getting better and better. Hats off to you—it’s really great what you’re doing. :-)

Best regards, Inge

My goodness, Ina, you’ve been so busy! You did a great job—it looks just like something from a store. I’m also a learning-by-doing type, and with time it gets better and better through experience. Soon Oskar’s parents won’t need to buy anything anymore because you’re keeping him well supplied. It can really get addictive when the results turn out like this.

Oh WOW, the set turned out absolutely gorgeous! Oskar is sure to love it!
How old is he, anyway? :) 

Wow 

Hello, everyone,
thank you so much for your compliments. That makes me very happy. And it inspires me to take on new projects.

Oskar is 3 1/2 years old. Right now, he’s into dinosaurs and pirates. Unfortunately, he’s reluctant—or rather, he doesn’t know what it means to be measured. He’s only used to his parents taking him to a store and grabbing something off the shelf. He just puts it on—it either fits or it doesn’t. For him, the only thing that matters is the design on the front. For the parents, it’s the material (eco-friendly and soft) and that it fits and is affordable.

The other day, I wanted him to try on the half-finished garment. But no, he wouldn’t be persuaded. Not even when I offered to take his measurements with a tape measure. He wasn’t in a good mood because a cold was bothering him. He was just “staying with us temporarily” because he wasn’t allowed at daycare and his parents had an appointment.

I think it’ll go better once he’s a little older. Until then, we’ll just have to make do with “guess-sized clothes” with elastic waistbands, which compensate a little.

The advantage of self-sewn clothes is that you have something special—not something everyone else has, since everyone gets offered the same things in stores.

Best regards, Ina

Ina, if he won’t sit still while you’re measuring him, just take a shirt or pair of pants that fits him really well and measure that instead—it’ll be less stressful for you and for Oskar, too.
At 3 1/2 years old, they’re right in the middle of the defiant phase, so diplomacy is the only thing that helps anyway :-);-)

Best wishes, Inge

I know, Inge, that he’s being a little stubborn—he thinks it’s great right now and is testing its limits. For my next sewing project, I’ll ask his parents to give me clothes that fit him now. Thanks for the tip.

Best wishes and have a wonderful day, dear Inge.
Ina

Oh, Ina, I know that feeling from my two granddaughters, too. They really don’t like being measured at all. (I didn’t like it as a kid either.) I always have the parents measure the clothes that fit well right now—that always works out fine. That’s how I always do it when we’re there, too.

Today I got a report back from my grandson: he had put on his entire dino outfit when he went over to his friend’s house to play. His friend was also wearing his dino sweater. The two of them felt really cool in their outfits. Everything fit well, and nothing needs to be changed.

Best regards, Ina

How cute—I can totally picture that.

It’s nice when it fits right away—it’s not too tight, has some wiggle room, and breathes :-) And best of all, he seems to feel very comfortable in his clothes, and that’s what matters most.

Best regards, Inge

That’s right, dear Inge. You can’t talk kids into anything. When it comes to clothes, they already have a mind of their own.

It’s also nice that the kids’ clothes you sew for the Kindertafel can be chosen by their future owners. That way, you can be sure they’re wanted and will actually be worn.

Best regards, Ina