Finery in a flash!

I really wanted to make Louie a dapper outfit to wear on Easter Sunday...something special and neat looking for church, but comfy for egg hunts and lounging around after a big dinner. He is five...definitely a big boy, but still pretty cooperative when it comes to clothes. I've been too busy to go all out, but knowing this might be my last chance to put him in pastels, I whipped up something sweet. The "tie" is made from a simple strip, and the "vest" is sewn right to the shirt.



I was originally going to applique a bunny on a shirt, but the only light colored tee I had on hand was this white one, which was pre-stained with chocolate. I probably could have bleached it, but that would take effort and I'd invariably ruin my own clothes in the process. I opted to cover the stains with the faux tie and vest. Here is how I did it:



The tie started out as a 4.5 x 15" strip of bunny fabric (from Tula Pink's awesome Full Moon Forest Collection).



I folded it in half lengthwise, right sides facing in, and stitched 1/4" from the long raw edges.




I turned it right side out, arranged the seam so that it was in the center of one side, and pressed.




I used the seam ripper to make slits in the neckline (one above the seam and one below the seam). Now the shirt is looking really trashy!



I folded the "tie" to make a point as shown in the picture above.




I slipped the tie through the loop formed by the slits, then brought the ends down through the point.




Voila - a faux Windsor knot!




After arranging the knot to my liking, I whipstitched the slits together, catching the layers of the tie fabric so that the knot would stay put.




The vest is essentially a big, 2 piece applique made from awesome Sis Boom stripes and fusible tricot interfacing. I used my Festive Vest pattern, but you could use any vest pattern, or even draw your own to fit the shirt. I cut 2 mirror image pieces from fabric, and 2 mirror image pieces from the interfacing. With the fusible (rough) side of the interfacing facing the right side of the fabric, I aligned the edges of the facing with those of the fabric. I stitched all the way around the pieces, 1/4" from the edges. I trimmed the allowance around the points, and made a small slit in the center of the interfacing.




I turned the pieces right side out through the slits in the interfacing. This put the fusible side of the interfacing on the outside back of the vest.




I placed the pieces on the shirt (right hand side overlapping the left for boys), and fused them into place on the front of the tee.




There were overhangs at the side, so I slipped the tee over the ironing board to press those into place.




I edgestitched along the exposed edges...




...and added buttons as a finishing touch (so nice to skip the buttonhole step)!



The shirt took me about 30 minutes to make, and it probably would have gone even faster if I hadn't been taking pics along the way. To complete the outfit, I spent another 30 minutes and I made some Easy Fit Pants out of a crisp, light denim. Now my little man is all set for a hoppin' good time!