Sunday, January 07, 2007

Dapper little dressers

A few years ago I dropped off a bag of things I'd made for the NICU at one of our local hospitals. The nurse admired one of the little blue flannel coverlets that was part of the batch, and said, "I'm going to take this in to one of the mothers right now. Her baby's doing a little better, but she's tired and feeling low today. This will really perk her up."



I was thinking of that mother this weekend as I worked on sewing this little batch of preemie-sized sleeveless shirts. Often referred to as "isolette shirts" or "diaper shirts," they probably don't serve as a great a purpose for the baby as a blanket or a hat. But the bright prints and stripes are so cheery, and I can just picture a little three-pounder snuggled in his little bassinet, wearing an unexpected bit of humor like one of these snappy little vests. And I can imagine that would be a rather welcome sight in an otherwise sterile environment.


I found the pattern here. It was incredibly easy - the only meticulous part was hand-sewing the bits of baby-soft Velcro on the shoulders and shirt front.




Thanks to Candy, I also found a similar pattern from Ginger Snaps designs, so I plan to order that one and try it out, too.


If these simple little shirts can cheer a tired mother for a moment...or make a weary NICU nurse pause and smile, seeing the wee one as real little kid and not just a patient...then they're a project well worth doing. Plus, they were really fun to make!

8 comments:

Tracy Batchelder said...

Those shirts are adorable and are sure to cheer the day of some worried parents.

Joe said...

what a gift they will be, Anne. Very neat!

Candy said...

These are so bright and cheery. The NICU is often a drab, scary place for the parents. I'm certain that seeing their miracles in these colorful shirts will bring a smile to their faces. Great Job!!

Sprite said...

Oh, those are SO precious! And You are SO precious for taking the time to make those cute little vests. One of my nephews was one of those three pounder babies and I KNOW something like that would have totally cheered my sister up back in the day. (the nephew has his own healthy baby now and is an exceptional young man)

Tess said...

What a great project! I would love to make some, but the link is, sadly, dead! Any ideas where else I can find this?

Great blog, btw, I found it through fashion incubator and I'm going to keep in reading!

muebles madrid said...

I completely agree with the post.

Anonymous said...

Those shirts are so cute, I'm sure they'll be appreciated. I would love to try making some but the link seems to be dead. Could you please redirect me to the pattern, or perhaps e-mail me the pattern? Thanks,

Anonymous said...

My mother had several of these for me when I was a baby, back in 1971. In 1990, they still sold them at Wal-Mart. I can't find them anywhere now. I want to make them for my on the way niece and somewhere in the future grandchildren. I'm just having a difficult time finding a free pattern. The material is expensive enough as it is.

Can someone help me with finding a free pattern? Just not for preemies. Birth to one year size would be perfect.

I would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Karen