A custom skant - 2 choices!

I had a request for a wool skant that would fit a 12-18 month old. I came up with two options.

Number one: gray rib-knit 100% wool skirt & pants, with pinky-melon cable knit 100% cashmere for the full lining (oh so soft!) I had a problem with this one; after I cut it out I noticed a tiny hole in the wool right in the front of the skirt. I stitched it closed, but the stitching was too obvious for me. So I hid it with a little flower made from felted pink wool and a button. Just one flower looked weird, so I added seven more! The flowers are only on the front side.





Then I made another one. This was was a light blue cable-knit sweater (80% wool, 20% nylon). It is fully lined inside the pants with a soft cream colored 70% wool, 20% angora, 10% nylon sweater. Very cozy and warm.

Totally 80's Wool and Cashmere Sleep Sack

This is my latest custom sleep sack. The instructions I got were "bright & bold colors, we're tired of pastel pink." I grabbed a wool/angora black & white houndstooth sweater that was calling me and paired it with a purple cashmere cardigan to use as the lining. This combination inspired me to root out some bits of bright colored cashmere scraps that I had set aside for a special occasion (orange, hot pink, and lime green). I added some basic black to the mix (merino wool) and the color combination seemed perfect. The only problem was that the cashmere & merino pieces were so thin that they didn't work well with the houndstooth which was nice and thick. I decided to use another thin merino sweater to back all the thin pieces, and it worked! This is what I came up with:
(The camera didn't pick up the purple so well. What looks like blue is actually purple. Also: if the straps look too long, it's because they are! I don't how that happened, but I fixed them after I took the photos. They are the right length now.)





I tried a new design this time with the snaps up the front instead of horizontally accross the bottom (I might try a zipper next time instead of snaps). It still has the adjustable overall straps with three snap settings. The fabric for the binding and the straps was donated by a pair of black wool dress pants. After the sleep sack was finished, I decided I didn't like the look of the plastic snap caps that might irritate a baby's skin, so I hand-stitched a strip of black angora in place to cover the snaps on the inside.



I had several setbacks while making this one (which led to lots of ripping apart and replacing pieces), but I still love it and wish I could keep it! It's so soft and cuddly on the inside and out. Mmm, I love cashmere.

Custom Sleep Sack for SwiftCurrentPsych

This is the wool sleep sack I have just finished:



It was constructed from two (very large) reclaimed sweaters. The outer layer is charcoal gray with cream, gray, beige, and rust stripes. It is a very soft blend of 85% wool, 10% nylon, and 5% silk. The back is solid charcoal (no stripes). The lining is soft 100% lambswool in beige color. The black overall straps are also 100% wool, cut from some fabric that I reclaimed from a suit jacket. Oh, and the snaps glow in the dark!

The whole sleep sack measures 24 inches (about 60 cm) long from the top edge (not including the straps) and about 9 inches (23 cm) across the top edge. The straps have three snap settings, making them adjustable as your baby grows.