The Pleated Playsuit in Blue Herringbone

I'm still adding pieces to Lily Mae's summer wardrobe. I want items that will be specifically good for when we are at the farm. I imagine she'll be wanting to run around and play in the dirt and explore- so clothing that will wash well and be comfortable. 

For this I chose the Pleated Playsuit - a free pattern offered by Elegance and Elephants. 

Front

This is the first pattern from her I've created and I'm really impressed. 

Here are some highlights of the process:

- Printing went perfectly, it was very easy to tape together too. 

- I found the directions to be written very well, especially for a free pattern. Sometimes you get the bare minimum in this department, but I didn't notice that at all with this pattern. 

- The sewing went very quickly, my only hang up was needing to purchase some elastic that I didn't have on hand. It drove me crazy that I could simply finish. 

Back

I switched things up a bit and added a welt pocket to the back. It seemed like they were plain and I feel like this did the trick. 

For the welt pocket I grabbed my basic blazer pattern and snagged the pocket pieces. I could have easily drafted them up, but there wasn't a need. I also followed the tutorial that went with it since it had been a little while since my last one. I did find that although the pattern didn't call for me to gather/pleat the legs in order to put the cuffs on, I had to do that to make them fit. I double checked that I had cut the cuffs for the shorts, but I couldn't find any user errors to account for it. 

Here you can really see and appreciate the herringbone pattern in the fabric. Speaking of fabric, I chose the softest cotton flannel I had for this garment since it wasn't a dress and that makes it a tough sell for Lily Mae. She can be won over by a few things:

1. color

2. dresses

3. how a garment feels

Since I wasn't using her favorite colors or a dress- I felt that my best chance was left with #3 and I have been playing up the soft factor like crazy. It goes something like this -

Lily: "What are you making?"

Me: "An outfit for you, looooook it's so soft! Do you want to put it on your face and feel it?"

Lily: "Oh yeah, it's REEEALLY soft mom. Do you want to feel it?"

Me: "Oh yes, I'd love to. I've been feeling it the whole time. You're lucky too, I bought this fabric for myself but I'm making something special for you instead."

...and this goes on until hopefully she is convinced that a garment is still awesome even if it isn't your favorite color or a dress. 

Pattern: The Pleated Playsuit by Elegance and Elephants

Fabric: Blue Herringbone Cotton Flannel from Joann's Fabric