Tuesday, July 2

Summer Jumper DIY

I was going through my fabric stash this week and decided it had been far too long since I made a little something.  I grabbed the rest of the denim I used for Smokey's pants and decided a jumper would be the perfect project for the day.

I started with these three pieces.  A square for the body, a long strip for the waist, and a longer, wider piece of fabric for the skirt.  In all, the measurements were: body:  7"x6";  waist:  23"x4";  skirt: 9 1/2"x45".  Since I was just winging it and not using a pattern, I just measured Poesy to get the right numbers.

I ironed all of the edges where I would be hemming.  This picture doesn't show it, but most of the edges are ironed and folded under twice.  Go ahead and hem all of your edges, but don't hem the waistband quite yet.

Tuck the unhemmed edge of the skirt piece inside the waistband and hem. Make sure to either pin it or gather as you go.  When you are finished you should end up with pieces that look like this:

Attach the top piece the middle section of the skirt.  After this step, I stitched the back of the skirt closed, but did not run the stitch all the way up.  That way, I could add a hook-n-eye closure at the waist and not have to worry about the dress getting stuck on her diaper booty as I try to put it on.

You can add straps anyway you please.  I stitched mine in place instead of using buttons because buttons are easy for her small fingers to undo and SOMEONE still thinks it's funny to strip down to her diaper in public places.  ;)

All in all, this project took me somewhere between 2 & 3 hours.  There were some breaks in there because, you know, kid stuff.  I really like projects that you can complete in an afternoon.  They make you feel so... accomplished.  Plus, Poesy is pretty much the BEST person to make anything for because her response is always something like: "Thank you, thank you!  Oooohhhh, I love it!  You are so nice to me!  I love it, I love it, I love it!"



51 comments:

  1. So adorable! You are super talented... I wish I could whip out some awesome jumpers for myself. Lol
    xo
    Taylor
    http://www.nothingbutapigeon.com/

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  2. oh she's so darling and the jumper is awesome! you make such great stuff

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  3. your kiddo is so cute! also love the jumper! :)

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  4. She looks adorable in it too!!! I also love that she always has temp tattoos on her, she's too cute :)

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  5. AWWWWWW so cute! I love this. I hope I learn to sew before I have little ones in my life to make things for. Well, I should probably learn to sew a lot sooner than that. But yeah. Super cute - great job! It's so sweet that your daughter appreciates the things you make for her.

    Alex from www.polkadottedpixels.com

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  6. That is so lovely! I love those bright, cheerful colors. "You are so nice to me!" Precious.

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  7. Love it! It turned out super cute! You're inspiring me to try my hand at sewing- I recently took a class and need to put my newly learned skills to use :) Britney
    http://long-road-to-somewhere.blogspot.com/

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  8. aw, how cute! She really is easy to please then, every mother's dream. If she stays this was throughout her teenage years, then she will truly be a miracle :) Oh but she is a tiny wonder just as she is!

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  9. Super cute! Poe looks super pumped about her new jumper! I love your description of her response when you make her things. That and the assortment of temporary tattoos. Too cute!

    -Becca
    Ladyface Blog

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  10. Very cute, she looks smashing in it! :-)

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  11. How cute is that!
    In the UK a jumper means a sweater - I initially thought you'd taken up knitting!!

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  12. Adorable! What an adorable idea. Her response was amazing!

    xx http://enzaessentials.wordpress.com

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  13. so cute! my daughter is finally starting to outgrow all the gifts and hand-me-downs from when she was born, and now i need to get serious about making her some new clothes, i am DEFINITELY going to make her some jumpers now!

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  14. great job! she's so cute!

    PERSUNMALL GIVEAWAY: http://the-caramel-dream.blogspot.com/2013/06/persunmall-giveaway.html

    xx

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  15. You and your sweet wee Poe make me so excited to become a Mama one day, and hand make special moments like these! Very pretty Katie!

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  16. Its cute that she's so easy to make happy! By the way the jumper is adorable. Hanna Marie

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  17. Poesy is so adorable I can't even! The jumper you made for her is so pretty - I can very much understand her enthusiasm!

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  18. Awww what a sweetheart!!

    That jumper is so cute!! I'm impressed!

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  19. This is so gorgeous! And I love her little tattoos ;) Looks like she wants to be just like mama :)

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  20. stop it right now! she is the cutest thing ever... and that jumper is so sweet!

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  21. The best part of this post was Poesy's response. How adorable! hahaha

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  22. que lindo y ella se ve hermosa

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  23. Ahhh what a cutey! And it looks adorable on her :)
    Rosie x | Every Word Handwritten

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  24. I know, sewing makes me mad if I can't finish it in one day!!

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  25. This is adorable and the print is gorgeous!

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  26. i love this. i can't wait until my schedule opens up so i can sew a little.

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  27. OMG! She looks so absolutely cute!
    I have a few sewing projects lined up for my little one this Summer. I'll absolutely be adding this one. ;)

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  28. That is adorable and I think it'd be perfect over a little tee shirt, with some jelly shoes. (very early 90's right there)

    Mana
    Fashion and Happy Things

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  29. Oh she is just so adorable! What pretty eyelashes she has. Beautiful job on the jumper. I really think I might try and find a sewing class in my town, even if just to learn the basics.

    erinbulger.blogspot.ca

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  30. I've fallen in love with your blog. This jumper is so adorable!

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  31. Seriously, good job! So happy, perfect for a toddler! Also: CAN'T BELIEVE she has some fake tattoos on her! hahah That's way too sweet and cute! I've wondered before: do your kids ask you loads of tattoo-related stuff? If my mother had some, I'd be excited and would probably ask whatever I wanted about them. :) Lovely post. xo

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  32. I love this! Your daughter is such a doll-- love the tattoos!!

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  33. Adorable dress! X

    http://hipslikecinders.blogspot.co.uk/

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  34. what an adorable dress! i love it so much :)
    Rebecca @ tr[i]b[e]cca

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  35. OK, so Poesy might be the cutest kid on Internet. For real. And if you spell Poesy with an "i" it becomes "poetry" in Swedish. FYI. :)

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  36. this is so super super sweet!! and honestly - I love your nails are not perfect :)

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  37. What a cute little DIY dress! NIce job!

    S&R
    http://www.CattailDown.com
    http://www.etsy.com/shop/therucksackrefinery

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  38. This is just adorable! Oh my gosh, how precious she looks in that. What a wonderful momma you are. :)

    xoxo,
    Laura
    http://lauraisthriftingthroughlife.blogspot.com/

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  39. This is so adorable!

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  40. oh my gosh, that would be the cutest response to hear in a video. she is just too sweet.
    <3

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  41. Absolutely adorable!!

    Xo, Hannah

    sweetsweetnoir.net

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  42. Have you ever made an adult one? obviously increase the sizes, but would that be it?

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