After I found out I was pregnant, I immediately began thinking of all the baby things that I could sew/make. Stash-busting at its finest, I would think! It also helped that Spoonflower had an awesome BOGO fat quarter sale a couple months later (sometime in November), and some great ideas on things to make using just one fat quarter, including this Baby Kimono. I made a bunch of mix-matched kimonos – each fat quarter could fit one kimono.
BABY KIMONOS!
The first two kimonos took a little trial and error. Originally, I didn’t want to leave the edges raw. So I used french seams all around before top-stitching them down. This was good practice for me, since I’ve never sewn with french seams before, and also a lesson in how to sew with french seams, especially around corners. But, the first kimono had some weirdness going on around the armpits. I also didn’t know what seam allowance to use, since it’s not specified on the original post, so I used a total of 1/2″ seam allowance, like so: 1/4″ with wrong sides together, trimmed down to 1/8″, right sides together and press, then another 1/4″ seam. Press to the side and topstitch down. This one took MUCH longer to sew up than I was expecting, so I changed my attack on the second one.
Octopus attack!
The second one I just used a 1/4″ seam allowance all around, and 1/2″ allowance on the hems (sleeves and bottom). I didn’t bother finishing the edges, but top-stitched the sleeves and the sides down to prevent unraveling. This one was much faster to sew up, so I used this method for the other two.
Hope this helps baby want to eat her veggies!
Last thing was to attach the velcro so that the kimonos would stay closed. I debated using fabric ties instead of velcro, but that just seemed like a lot more work. Adorable, right? I couldn’t believe how small these were when I finished the first one. Are newborns really that tiny????
Think Tran 