I bought the fleece and then for weeks it sat there, mocking me. I toyed with making them completely no sew, but really liked the sewed look better. For some reason I felt super intimidated by the hood, but as the weather got colder I decided I either had to do it or find someone who could. A friend of mine from the homeschool co-op was willing to sew them together for a very reasonable price but she was going out of town and I needed them this week. And thus...I jumped in. Knowing I had her as a back up soothed my nerves I think.
I wish I could say "here's the tutorial I used, it was excellent, go to town!" But I can't....Because I couldn't find any one single tutorial that led me through it with ease, and of course I had to do things kind of my own way because that's how I roll (and because I have to do things simply!). I'll link the info that I did use and I can try to answer questions...*try*.
This video was poorly taped and lengthy, however she had the smartest way to fold and cut the body of the poncho. Fast forward to 5 minutes in for those instructions...
I cut the length of Zayden's (size 24 months) to about 20-21" (so a total circle
diameter of 40-42") and Ameliya's (size 4T) to 26" I think. Zayden measured 16"
from shoulder to knee so then I added length to mess around with hems
and attach the hood, etc. His hits just below the knee and when he's
seated it covers him to his ankles. I didn't want it any longer so he
didn't trip when he walked. Mia's fits about the same.
The hoods
are just two rectangles (per layer), rounded at one corner (using a
DVD). I cut them about 12" "tall" and 10" deep. (I bought 1 1/2 yds
fabric per layer for Mia, and about 1 1/3 yds for Zayden's.)
I didn't like the way her ^^ children's ponchos were so loose at the shoulders. I'm not sure my children's turned out much tighter but they aren't so boxy maybe? They don't slip down over their shoulders, which I think keeps a little more wind out.
Making the hood wasn't too hard. Remember, I'm not sure I did anything "right" by a real seamstresses standards but it worked for me! Attaching the hood was way harder than it should have been. I'm sure I did something "wrong" here. It turned out okay but I had to think really hard, remove some seams, do a little crying, and have a small temper tantrum. That was with Ameliya's, which I did first. Her poncho took me several hours and a bit of frustration, however I must have learned something because I tackled Zayden's during his morning nap and had everything done except whipping the top stitch around the bottom before he woke up!
The only other caution I would give for a first timer would be to not make the neck hole too big. This is a fine dance, because as you attach the hood the neck hole tightens up, but a too big neck hold makes a loose in the shoulders poncho and that's annoying! Mia's neck hole was a 4 1/2" diameter and Zayden's was a 3 1/2" diameter. The v slit cut into the neck (and top zig-zap stitched around) makes the ponchos loose enough to get over their big noggins.
Anyways, I'm not going to give any more instruction, because I'm not a professional. I found this tutorial to be very useful, and beyond that - I "winged" it.
Overall, I'm happy with the way the kids' turned out and I think they are adorable, even if they were a labor of love. If I can catch a minute tomorrow I have intentions to hand sew a snap into the neck to keep the hoods around their faces a little tighter.
Mr. Expression. I had to feed him to keep him still and Natalee and Xavier are "spotting" on each side in case he tried to jump ship.
So cute!
Round that hood, otherwise it'll be pointy. Although pointy with a pom-pom might be cute!
Mia said she's "so warm!" They both seem to love their ponchos.
I love the owls - their fleece came from Wal-Mart (it's the only place local we have to purchase fabric). Owls are very in right now, they are sweet, and I kind of dig that they "match.
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