Finished Products!: Ottobre Design - Autumn 2010 - Vahvero linen Romper

And to think I thought I would be posting this in a few more stages...

This is a pattern I have been wanting to make since I first saw the "sneak peek" images in August of 2010, but it is one I have put off because--well, it's a little initmidating!  Sometimes, I look at the Ottobre designs and I undestand the phrase "the devil is in the details"--but the details are so nice.  And this pattern, though it did have elastic shirring, and it did have fancy pockets, just called to me.  So here it is, finished...

 Front and back.

Two of them, in fact!



So I learned a few things along the way, one of which I already mentioned in an earlier post.

Another thing was that not all elastic thread is created the same.  I have made garments with shirring before, and it came out... okay.  The main problem was that the shirring was not durable.  It broke.  And then, the garment was basically ruined--three knit shirts for my older daughter when she was in Pre-K had shirring on the sleeve, one woven shirt for me and three more (woven) that I made for the same daughter a little earlier than Pre-K also had shirring, this time on the bodice.  And, well, I wasn't very happy with the result.  THIS time, it occurred to me to look up brands of elasticized thread.  And Lo!  I discovered that most people were recommending Güterman.  Had I known that Güterman made elasticisized thread, I would have bought it from the beginning, but I was focusing on the elastic part, and not the thread part, so I bought the cheap stuff that JoAnn's had by the elastic.  This time, I bought the Güterman, and the difference is already noticeable!

So here is an intermediate stage, with the side-seams sewn.

And here are some of the details that make these jumpers so lovely.  The pockets:

The shirring at the ankle (or slightly above) that give them that "bloomer" look:

And here, the shirring again, with the straps attached:

The button fastenings (I had no idea how these things were fastened, and they fasten surprisingly easily!):

I learned another lesson while making these, and that is to make sure the straps are long enough, even if it means making them too long.  I remember, now, a cute purple jumpsuit that my mom made for me--it had puffed sleeves, if memory serves, and a long zipper up the front.  Besides the whole using the bathroom issue, I remember when I began to outgrow it, how uncomfortable it was to have the all-in-one garment--and I remembered it, unfortunately, as I was fitting my younger daughter with her gorgeous purple jumpsuit.  It was very nearly too short in the rise.  I moved up the straps in the back, attaching them much closer to the top of the jumper than the directions specified.  Even so, I was only just able to place the buttons where they were marked on the pattern, which will allow me to move them once for adjustment when she grows.  My other daughter, who I think has a long torso, fits hers very well, with ample room to grown in the straps, which is good.  It may simply be that I should have cut a size larger in the smaller jumper.  But... c'est la vie! She should still be able to wear it a good many times--and boy, is it cute.  No clown pants here!!  Now to find (or make) cute shirts to go under...