i made this little jacket so long ago!  before christmas!  but now that the Lullaby Layette Pattern has been released, it’s bloggin’ time.

i was so excited to hear that Oliver + S was working on a layette pattern.  most of their patterns start for slightly older babies, so it’s fun to have options for the little ones now.  the pattern contains FOUR different cute little baby things to sew – a bodysuit, a shirt, pants, and this jacket.  the sizing starts at 0-3 months and goes up to 24 months, so it’ll last quite a while and would make for great baby shower gift sewing, too.

i actually pattern tested the jacket and bodysuit, the first time i’ve pattern tested for Oliver + S, and it was a great experience.  the reason i love pattern testing is i get to see the behind the scenes process of patternmaking, and with Oliver + S it was especially fun to get previews of the upcoming patterns, since they tend to be pretty hush hush until release.  i was totally flattered to be asked and took the responsibility seriously – i know a lot of work goes into making patterns as good as theirs.  the pattern was already pretty darn solid though – i didn’t have to do too much.  😉

i sewed the 3-6 month size for my (at the time) 4 month old nephew, shown here.  my own baby boy was still in my belly!  i wanted it to be a “manly” baby jacket, so i upcycled my husband’s khaki shorts for the body.  i lined it with a pair of flannel pajama pants that were also my husband’s and added a little twill tape loop at the back neck.  the jacket can be totally reversible if you want it to be, and the lining of the sleeves is very cleverly done.

please disregard the plaid mismatch – i didn’t try to match it but apparently on one side i matched it perfectly!  not so on the other.  drat.  but i do love how the plaid peeks out when you fold up the sleeves.

i used store-bought double fold bias tape and size 16 snaps to finish the jacket (both larger than recommended by the pattern).  now that i look at these photos, i want to make another for my own little guy (or see if my nephew has grown out of this one yet…).

a couple of my bloggy friends have sewn adorable versions of the Lullaby Layette jacket – you have to check out Tara’s tiny sherpa boy (that hat!  Tara’s styling is always so good!) and Cherie’s awesome girl version that had me beelining it to the store for neon bias tape.  both of those gals also happen to have ridiculously adorable babies, which helps matters.

i’ll show you the bodysuit in a bit!  gotta do everything in small chunks of time these days.