I can hardly believe that my sweet little guy is going to be 8 months old this weekend! Before he came along, I didn’t know how in the world I could possibly love anyone as much as I love my daughter, and then he got here and I guess my heart just grew twice as large because there’s PLENTY of space for all the love I have for both of them!
This outfit has been some time in the making! I originally picked out this pattern thinking that I would sew him a cute pair of shortalls before the weather got cool last summer / autumn. However, as usual, I grossly overestimated the amount of time and motivation I’d have in the sewing room, and I just never quite got around to making them for him. I kept the pattern at the back of my mind, though, and when this lovely Art Gallery cotton poplin made its way into my fabric collection courtesy of Minerva, I knew EXACTLY what my boy needed!
With my daughter, I often gravitated towards sewing outfits from knit fabrics. I loved bubble rompers on her, but I developed a hatred of snaps strong enough to deter me from many of my favorite baby styles for her! At the time, I was using a pair of Dritz snap pliers, and the snap insertion process was kind of a pain. The prongs of my snaps only made it through every layer of my fabric about half of the time, no matter how much muscle I used. Of the snaps that DID get inserted fully, I found that we would at best get one wear out of an outfit before one of the snaps inevitably popped off. I would take the outfit back to the sewing room to fit new snaps in place, but I’d be so frustrated by the whole process that the outfits would usually sit there so long that she would grow out of them before I’d ever fixed them, and the whole endeavor would’ve gone to waste. It became so infuriating that I just gave up on snaps altogether, and opted instead for dresses with bloomer, or matching knit sets.
As my girl grew bigger and started walking around, I was VERY bummed that I couldn’t make her all the bubble rompers and I finally reached out to the Instagram sewing community. SOS – I know that someone out there is making snaps work for them! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS. (or something along that line!). I got lots of great suggestions, but the overwhelming majority of people that actually liked and found success with snaps told me the SnapSetter tool from SnapSource was the way to go. I reached out to them via email to explain my plight, and I was THRILLED when the company offered to send me the tool to try out. By the time all the details were worked out, my girl had outgrown her need for snaps and I thought maybe my efforts had all been in vain…
But today has made it all worth it!! As I mentioned before, I’d had my sights set on the Wellesley Shortalls for my baby man for quite some time. However, I didn’t even consider using snaps for the garment – I just assumed I would unbutton the straps and shimmy the overalls off everytime we had a diaper situation. As I finally began to cut out my pattern and prepare to sew the shortalls, I saw it – the snap option – and it was off to the races. Snap insertion was a straightforward BREEZE and I didn’t feel like I was hoping and guessing at placement. The tool requires use of my tiny hammer that I keep on my fabric shelves, which means there is no need for me to burst veins in my hands trying to squeeze the life out of a set of pliers. Just a few little tap tap taps, and I was golden. Thanks to the assorted snap set that Snap Source sent me, I also had my pick of colors and could match the snaps to the fabric!
I will be honest that little guy has only worn this outfit for one day so far, but it was an eventful day with lots of wiggling, activity, and diaper changes. We’ve challenged the snaps, and the snaps have not let us down. You can bet your butt I also put those snaps to the test before they were ever allowed out of the sewing room. Any of my previous snap garments would have failed me about 20 unsnaps ago, but this guy is still going strong. So SnapSource, you have my gold star!!
I loved sewing this pattern – it is the perfect way to use fun, novelty woven prints for baby. I immediately thought of a couple of small cuts of Winnie the Pooh fabric in my sewing collection that I’m going to use for his next pairs of Wellesleys! This Art Gallery cotton poplin features cute little bears with balloons in outer space, and I loved getting to fussy cut the button tabs and pockets to feature the designs!
My husband recently told me that our Baby Man was the “only baby in pajamas” when he dropped him off at school, and suggested that maybe it is time that he start wearing “real clothes” more often! To clarify, he was wearing a one piece zip-up outfit when he dropped him off… And really, aren’t almost all baby clothes interchangeable as pajamas? In any case, he was excited to see him in these overalls, so maybe I’ll concede a little bit 🙂
Overalls: handmade by me
Pattern: Little Lizard King – Wellesley Overalls
Fabric: Minerva – Art Gallery Stargazer Cotton Poplin – To Bearfinity & Beyond
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Prym Sewing Machine Needles
Gutermann Sew All Polyester Sewing Thread
Thanks for reading my thoughts on this pattern! The fabric used for this post was provided to me by Minerva in exchange for photos of my finished garments and a review of my experience with the fabric, to be posted on their website. The pattern was purchased by me. All words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
