Gownin' outta control!

After having both of my showers, there was really not much that I didn't have for baby Clifford.  Really, it kind of blows my mind....but anyway...

Shortly after I found out I was pregnant Mom bought me 2 baby gowns.  I think they are adorable.  I remember the sisters used gowns often and loved them.  I looked at Target, and they happened to have precisely none.  I had to order a couple things online and the gowns I liked were out of stock.  

I figured this was the universe trying to tell me to figure it out.  So that is just what I did.  

I search online for free patterns for baby gowns and found this tutorial.  

I dug through my craft stuff and found a gift bag that was huge and used it to make the patterns.  

Then I robbed a couple old t-shirts from the closet and set to work.  

The first one I made was a bit wonky.  I sewed the little hand flap wrong.   But the second was awesome!  This is Cliff's gown made from his daddy's t-shirt...

Really cute right?  Right.  

I made the mistake of not hemming the sleeves before I attached them to the bodice of the gown so they will have raw edges....but it still rocks my socks off. 

I was honestly not too hard, just takes a little practice that's for sure.  So, I decided why not whip out a few more gowns on the cheap?  I ran to the thrift store in town and picked up some old t-shirts.  Eight shirts for a whopping $2...and now I can show ya how to make some gowns.  Just print the patterns from the link above and follow along :) 

This is the hilarious shirt I started with. 

And I have no idea who T. Graham Brown is.  

I haven't bothered to google. 

Lay the pattern directly on the t-shirt and you can cut right around it, or do like I did and outline it.  

Then cut it out.  

Forming a front and back. 

Then I used scraps from the sides I just cut off to make the hand flaps.  Again, trace and cut. 

Next, I cut the sleeves for the gowns.  Note, this shirt is so ridiculous, it had the type of sleeves where a second sleeve in a different color forms an inner sleeve,  so when you rollled your short sleeves, you looked ultra cool.  Thanks late 1980's! 

So again, trace it or cut it out. 

Now is the hard part....you take the gown front and back, and sew a hem into the curvy little neck.  

It is a pain!  

See.....I did kind of a poor job.  Good news is, you can't tell!

After the hem is sewn, you overlap the front of the gown with the back, and then run a stitch along the shoulders to attach the two pieces together.  

Next I sewed the little hand flaps onto the sleeves.  Basically you just lay the flap onto the sleeve, fold the sleeve in half so it sandwiches the flap, and sew them together, stopping your seam just above the little flap.  Easy peasy. 

When you fold it open up that little sandwich, you are looking at the outside (right side) of the sleeve.  Keep this in mind....or you will sew the sleeve in upside down.  I did.  Twice.  Obnoxious.  

I would highly recommend you fold up and hem the bottom of your sleeve now.  Once you attach it and close the sleeve, there is no way to use a machine to hem it....unless of course you are more skilled then me, which is possible. 

Here is my hemmed sleeve. 

Next, attach the sleeve you just prepped to the bodice of the gown.  Again, pay attention here or you will sew the sleeve in upside down, or sew the hand flap on the front instead of the back....which I also did at least twice.  

Here is a sleeve attached to the gown. 

After both sleeves were attached, I ran a seam down the each side to close the gown's bodice.  

Then I did the same, close the sleeves down with a seam.  Next I folded up the bottom and sewed in a little pocket and left a gap to pull through some elastic.  

After you run your elastic through the bottom of the gown, ya just flip it right side out and BOOM it's gown time!

Here is my finished, straight out the 80's gown.  Complete with contrasting sleeves and hand flaps.

While I was working on it, I made him a Harley Davidson gown, 

A few stripped little gowns

(as you can see....sewed the sleeves on the wrong side here...so flaps are on the front)

and a little Old Navy gown.  

Not bad right?

Now baby Ford has 8 handmade gowns.  Some are a bit wonky, and that's ok.  He will just be rocking them around the house.  I just love that he has his dad's Johnny Cash shirt as a gown...and it's the manliest gown that ever happened. I also love that when I showed my family the gown and my Aunt Jackie said "how in the world did Zac ever fit in a shirt that small?" hahahaha!  That's what we call  "Stupid... in a good way..."

Get ready Cliff, you are gown'd to the nines!

Just try not to get so fat so fast you can't fit your roly-poly body into them.

Or on second thought....do!