Hooks and Eyes on kid's Clothing

I decided to put hooks and eyes on Renton's tunic. It has confirmed my hatred for this type of closure. Takes me just as long to sew these on as it would have to sew button holes. But I wanted to try something different. I am also afraid that the way Renton yanks off his clothes, they may not last very long. We'll see . . .


I used the larger hooks and eyes and tried the "continuous" stiching that I've seen on many originals. Again, I am a little concerned that the extra thread is going to end up getting caught and pulled and the fastenings are just going to come off. I'll update this later if that happens (and will stick to button holes in the future).

Hooks with continuous stiching.

Front side of eyes

Back side of "eyes" with continuous stiching

Progress on Renton's Tunic

Hooray! I fitted the tunic to Renton today (who kept pleading with me "Don't stick me with a pin Mommy! Don't stick me! Don't stick me!" I don't know why). I wasn't really thrilled with it at first. I tried pinning up the skirt to make it shorter, but then it felt too short. I tried pinning in the sides or the back to take up some of the fullness, but that didn't look quite right either.

Finally, since this tunic has short sleeves, I thought, let's try it on with his white shirt - Voila! It looked sooooo adorable! I am not posting any pictures yet because we have an event this weekend and Peter will take some good pics there (hopefully). But I am pleased.

The blue velvet trousers came out perfectly. I made them below the knee style, and I have about 4" of turn up in the hem so I can let it out as he grows. Also there is plenty of room in the waist (as suggested by Elizabeth Stewart Clark in her pattern).

Laying on the floor . . .

FINAL COMMENTS: The tunic body probably could have been shorter (the way I attached the waist band, I couldn't take it apart and re-do it), the body could have been narrower (but Renton is a very thin boy) and I think I would make the pagoda style sleeves if I were doing it again. But this is a really easy pattern and fun to try different styles with.

Detail of inside (flat-lining) of tunic.

"NEGATIVE" ON PATTERN: Not sure why, but part of the directions are talking about girl's dresses and skirts. I think this is a little misleading, especially if a novice sewer were taking a stab at it. No suggestions are made for the length of the tunic skirt and the length on the attachment for the trousers has no suggestions either, just added inches. A ball-park figure for both would have been nice.

The Evolution of Renton's Tunic

I decided to make a new blue plaid tunic for Renton because I loved his first one so much. I had just enough of the fabric left over to squeeze out a tunic if I laid things out just right. Well, I made my own pattern, then came across the patterns by Elizabeth Stewart Clark and decided to give it a try. I put her pattern down ontop of the fabric I'd already cut out - and it was close - but mine had quite a bit more length to it. Well, taking it on faith that the commercial pattern might be better than one of my own making, I cut some of the length off (I did keep a couple of extra inches just to be on the safe side).

So last night I flat lined the bodice of the tunic and piped and put in the short capped sleeves. I trimmed the waist band, but didn't put it in yet. I tried it on Renton this morning and as I suspected it is nearly too short! :( How disappointing, but a lesson to rely on myself sometimes rather than just blind faith of a commercial pattern.

So, I think it will be okay once I put it all together, but I will never have enough length to ever increase it if I needed to as Renton grows. Good thing he is a slow grower.

I have decided to make blue cotton velveteen pants to go with the tunic - though I think they will probably be hot for summer. (I am trying to use up fabric I already have before buying new) Would be REALLY cute with white linen and eyelet drawers but, sadly, I think Renton is too old for that.

Renton at New Market, 2008

Renton's old tunic at New Market, 2008 (3-1/2 years old)

Little boy in tunic with white drawers and striped socks! I LOVE IT!

Ageless Patterns

Got my new Ageless Patterns today! Hooray! I furiously cut them all out in one hour and am excited to start making some of them. Will wait til we return from our beach vacation. I will update this blog as I make the patterns with comments, tips and pictures of finished pieces.

pattern scraps

1868 Cape w/Hood for Child 2-4 Yrs

1893 Sun Bonnet for Girl 5-7 Yrs

1875 Slip for Girl 2-4 Yrs

1868 Man's Lounging or Negligé Jacket

1886 Lady's Gray Twill Corset

1868 Frock for Infant under 1 Yr Old

1869 3 Baby Bibs

1868 Suit for Boy 8-10 Yrs

1869 Short Sleeved Shirt for Boy 4-6 Yrs

Dream Dress

This is ONE of the dresses of my dreams! I know it's not very practical and probably would be an idiodic thing to wear to a reenactment (and not appropriate either) but I REALLY REALLY want to make it! I'm thinking of a thick blue silk satin with cotton voile undersleeeves (attached I think). With self fabric adornments. I also really like the hair style the model has. Would be fun to have a dress like this do wear for late war "indoor" impressions.




Also want to try this one for Renton (the blue tunic). I LOVE it! And Renton really misses his "skirts." I'm thinking a blue summer weight wool or even a chintz or linen(though I don't see references to linen much in this period).