{"id":10481,"date":"2011-01-02T21:55:56","date_gmt":"2011-01-03T02:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/?p=10481"},"modified":"2022-01-13T02:06:39","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T07:06:39","slug":"fleece-ponchos-for-two-american-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/02\/fleece-ponchos-for-two-american-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"Fleece Ponchos for two American Girls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PonchoLM\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Central Florida has just endured one of the coldest Decembers in history, with more than 5 nights of\u00c2\u00a0 freezing temperatures and more likely to come.<\/p>\n

Because of\u00c2\u00a0this bitter weather, Laurel called me with the most pitiful request.\u00c2\u00a0 It seems she is almost overcome with 6 year old\u00c2\u00a0maternal love for her new doll, Molly.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0So my little granddaughter\u00c2\u00a0began by detailing all the\u00c2\u00a0chores she has been doing at home in order to earn money to buy Molly a coat.\u00c2\u00a0Her mother has wisely seized this opportunity for Laurel to learn the value of money, hard work and goal setting.<\/p>\n

\"PonchoLside\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“But\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0her coat costs $25!\u00c2\u00a0 I have earned $1.25 so far but Molly is cold NOW, Nana.\u00c2\u00a0Can you please make her a poncho?”\u00c2\u00a0 How could I deny this heartfelt plea?<\/p>\n

As excited as Laurel was with their matching Christmas dresses, it seemed only right to make\u00c2\u00a0matching ponchos.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 So I pulled out some red polar fleece from my stash and whipped these up in no time at all.<\/p>\n

Both ponchos are edged with the wave stitch on my Babylock Evolve serger.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a great stitch and the main reason I upgraded to the Evolve from my 13 year old Elna overlocker.\u00c2\u00a0 Heavier thread works best for this stitch, so 20 wt. jeans variegated thread was used in the upper looper with 12 wt. navy in the lower, because that’s what I had on hand.\u00c2\u00a0 Maxilock navy blue serger thread was used in the needle.<\/p>\n

\"zfleeceponchoL\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A poncho is simply a square with a hole for the neck, so how hard could it be?\u00c2\u00a0As it turns out, it is not hard to construct, but getting the right fit is more difficult than I expected.<\/p>\n

Searching on-line for a quick pattern, I found some conflicting dimensions.\u00c2\u00a0 One site recommended cutting a square 27″\u00c2\u00a0 for toddlers and 30″ for “girls.”\u00c2\u00a0 Another suggested that you cut a square the measurement of the child’s arm span from fingertip to fingertip.\u00c2\u00a0 Laurel is on the small side of her age\/size range and measures 41”. The difference between 30″ and 41″ is rather\u00c2\u00a0significant. So I went with 36″ and rounded the corners for ease in serging the edge.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, 41″ probably would have been okay, as at the side this poncho falls between her hand and elbow.\u00c2\u00a0 In a colder climate, the longer length might be preferable.<\/p>\n

Another questionable dimension was the suggested 5″ circle for the neckline.\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, the free basic pattern did not recommend specific fabrics, but I did find that the stretch of polar fleece made that opening way too large.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, I had cut a 4″ slit down the front for a larger opening to help keep Laurel’s hair neat.\u00c2\u00a0 So the poncho almost fell off her shoulders.<\/p>\n

In order to stabilize the neckline, I had worked a decorative stitch around the opening and slit.\u00c2\u00a0 But after seeing how sloppy\u00c2\u00a0the poncho\u00c2\u00a0looked on Laurel, I first added a button and buttonhole.\u00c2\u00a0 Then inverted tucks were added at the center back and over each shoulder to reduce the neckline circumference.<\/p>\n

\"poncho<\/a><\/p>\n

Laurel’s monogram is from\u00c2\u00a0the\u00c2\u00a0playful Great Notions alphabet\u00c2\u00a0 Princess Polka Dot<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The doll’s\u00c2\u00a0name was embroidered with a font in my Brother PE-Design.\u00c2\u00a0 Both were embroidered on my Brother Duetta 4500.\u00c2\u00a0 At 1000 stitches per minute, it took no time at all to do the embroidery.<\/p>\n

Now that Christmas is over, I have to prepare to teach for 5 days in Myrtle Beach, SC, at Sewing at the Beach.\u00c2\u00a0 www.sewingatthebeach.com<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Much as I enjoy teaching, I would love stop everything to make up an entire wardrobe for Molly.<\/p>\n

How long will Laurel want doll clothes?\u00c2\u00a0 How long will she beg to sew with me, making quilts and doll clothes and gifts for her family and friends?\u00c2\u00a0 I’m hoping for a very long time, but expect that it won’t be long enough.<\/p>\n

If you haven’t time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded.\u00c2\u00a0 ~Robert Brault, <\/strong><\/em>www.robertbrault.com<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Central Florida has just endured one of the coldest Decembers in history, with more than 5 nights of\u00c2\u00a0 freezing temperatures and more likely to come. Because of\u00c2\u00a0this bitter weather, Laurel called me with the most pitiful request.\u00c2\u00a0 It seems she … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,30,8,18,31],"tags":[854,855,856],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10481"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10481"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39280,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10481\/revisions\/39280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}