In the Nick of Time (Or, an Absurdly Long-winded Post Because, at Last, I Actually Made Something)

Let's pretend for a minute that it's April 17th.  Oh, look!  Cadence's birthday gift is right on time!

Last fall, I decided that Cadence's first birthday gift would be a sunsuit with matching bonnet and booties and a soft doll.  Instead, I gave her a cake.  At least I gathered all the fabric before her birthday, though, even if it took me over three months to deliver the goods. (She's still waiting for her doll.)

I made the sunsuit while she was sleeping, which is always the stupidest urge to follow.  I looked at this picture and stared at these inspiring pictures of cuddly Ineke for a while to figure out how to construct it, but it's probably true that nothing beats a pattern, Stingy Scrooge.  I altered this wonderful diaper cover pattern by extending the back piece around to the front to try to get the sizing right on the lower half, and then I winged the front panel and straps.  I fully lined the whole sunsuit, but then I had to rip out the front panel and lop off several inches on the top and sides because when Cadence tried it on, she looked like she was covered with a square sheet.  At least it was a ruffled sheet!

Yeah.  Those ruffles.  I think I went a little overboard with the ruffles.

I was glad to actually make her something, though, and she's vain enough to love shoes and bonnets, I think mostly for the reaction people give her when she looks super-cute.  I know I'll come to regret this, but, for now, it's really funny when she runs over to people and poses for compliments.

I used a bonnet of Cadence's to fudge this one, which thankfully worked.  It ended up coming together pretty quickly, which was a relief after the sunsuit mishap.

Credit where credit is due:  for the booties, I altered parts of this pattern and then added a few pieces in an attempt to copy this design.  ($30 shoes?!  Cute, yes, but no thank you.)  Having a sole, heel piece, and toe piece already measured for me saved me from making another pair of duck booties.   I doubled the sole (cream inner and red outer) because I used cheap vinyl instead of the real thing.  Oh, and I had to cut the straps down after sewing because they were super-long. I ended up tucking them inside each other, too, because they look a little silly crossed over each other like I intended.

As always, I used fabric, buttons, and leftover pieces of trim from other people's hand-me-downs  (Titi and Mom, you probably supplied everything for this outfit, so thank you!)   The bulk of the booties were made from weird, vintage vinyl, and the cream vinyl came from, of all things, this funny Trump bag that someone gave us last year.  When I saw it, I immediately thought, Ivanka Trump = baby booties, and it worked like a charm.  My baby thanks you, Ivanka.  She loves her booties...

...but not as much as she loves sour apples.