![\"Alastair,](\"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/cominghomegownAgrassbrite1.jpg\")
<\/a>Alastair, 2 1\/2 months, on antique carriage cover. He had nearly outgrown this daygown, but this was the first time that the harried new parents got around to taking a picture for me. It DID fit when he came home, but at 9 lb.s 6 oz. it didn’t fit very long!<\/p><\/div>\n
One of the first things I made for Alastair\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s layette was his coming home outfit. The daygown was\u00c2\u00a0made from Maggie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Classics Daygown #113<\/em> pattern. The matching blanket<\/a> was featured in a previous post and the sweet little cap<\/a> will be shown soon.<\/p>\n Obviously, this picture was taken lonnnnnng after he came home from the hospital. He was 2 \u00c2\u00bd months old and the gown is ridiculously short. When he was newborn, the length was adequate if not generous.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0But were I to make another, I would make it much longer. You can see that it still fits him except for the length. But if it had been cut longer, he could have worn it much longer.<\/p>\n Like his cousins (Laurel, 10 lbs. 0 oz. and Robert, 10 lbs. 0 oz.) Alastair\u00c2\u00a0was a very large baby at 9 lbs. 6 oz., 22″.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, he was 3 weeks overdue and had lost weight in the womb.\u00c2\u00a0 So the fact that at 2 \u00c2\u00bd months it still fit across the chest and shoulders is an indicator that the gown itself does not run small.<\/p>\n This was the first picture we have of him in it, taken for my benefit. I find the asymmetry of the front opening and the bias binding to be a very pleasing combination. Made from white Swiss flannel, the daygown front is bound with lightweight blue Swiss batiste, from the hem, around the neckline and down to the hem on the other side. The sleeves are also bound.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The little pocket is a charming break in the plain expanse of the simple front. It sports a shadow embroidered bluebird which looks lovely up close, but is lost (at least the bird\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chest) in the photo. The pocket is further embellished along the top with three tiny pearl buttons, attached with blue thread. Matching 80 wt. Madeira Cotona blue thread is used for the pinstitch that attaches the pocket to the gown.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the center back, an inverted pleat adds fullness. That, too, is pinstitched in place. A row of hand worked feather stitching is worked down the center between the two rows of pinstitch.<\/p>\n I decided that while it was\u00c2\u00a0rather late in my sewing career to be learning to\u00c2\u00a0work \u00c2\u00a0a decent featherstitch, late was better than never.\u00c2\u00a0 So these pitiful little stitches add color but little graceful symmetry. Of course, with my appreciation for asymmetry, perhaps I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try hard enough. But since making this daygown and the matching cap, I have continued to improve this skill and now can execute an acceptable but not lovely feather stitch.<\/p>\n Martha Pullen once said that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly until you get good at it. I think that is good advice.\u00c2\u00a0As I strive\u00c2\u00a0to elevate the quality of my featherstitching from acceptable to good, I think it is going to be a long term effort.<\/p>\n This is my post for White Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the first things I made for Alastair\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s layette was his coming home outfit. The daygown was\u00c2\u00a0made from Maggie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Classics Daygown #113 pattern. The matching blanket was featured in a previous post and the sweet little cap will … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n