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A baby gift inspired by Frances Blondin

Our friends Kir and Beth just had a baby boy. The Brit is on Thursday.  I  knew that at least one of my old sewing books would have directions for making baby stuff. I am a big fan of Frances Blondin.She edited my new obsession, the Smart Sewing magazines put out during the late 1940’s and into the 1950’s. She produces wonderful easy to follow diagrams for making clothing. This diagram came out of her  The New Encyclopedia of Modern sewing  from 1946.baby jacket diagram

You can buy this book on Amazon for a couple of bucks. It is worth every penny ( and more). Blondin's grid is in inch per square and is really easy to follow.
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I made the jacket out of two smooth cotton shirtings. Both were renants from other fabrics. the red and white from a dress that failed. The blue and white from a summer skirt I had made a few seasons back. I think both fabrics were from mystery bundles from www.fabricmartfabrics.com. I think I may have selected that blue fabric. I tend to love fabrics with a '60's vibe for summer. The jacket closes with a velcro tab, I know that most moms these days see tie closures as a choking hazard. So although Frances Blondin shows her cute little baby jacket with a tie closure, I had to come up with a suitable alternative.  I added a bias cut standing collar to the Blondin diagram.

I think this is funkier than what Frances Blondin had envisioned, but I don’t think that she would object to my take on her baby jacket.
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  1. markyJune 2, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    Too adorable. Almost makes me hope for another grandchild!! (almost!! lol...) Also I love that you repurposed the 'failed dress'.. great way to phrase it!! Sigh... how many of those have I had over the years!!
    marky

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