I've seen some really cool baby-wearing
coats online, and found some very clever ideas for sewing inserts
for your own coat (including this very simple and clever one made
from 2 fleece jackets, and this variation where the fleece zipper
matched her coat zipper!), but none of them were quite what I wanted. It occurred to me that, instead of cannibalizing a fleece jacket, I could just as easily buy a zipper and some fleece at the fabric store, and then I could use whatever material I wanted. Once I realized that, things started to snowball. I anticipated wearing the baby while playing out in the snow with my 3-year-old, so I wanted something that would keep out the wind, so it had to have a stronger outer material, and a method of cinching up at the top and bottom to keep out the drafts.
After a great deal of thinking and reverse-engineering, this is what I came up with. I am NOT a seamstress. My sewing skills are intermediate, at best, and my machine is old and decrepit, so it's not very pretty or polished, but it does exactly what I want it to do, so I am pleased. Here is how I made it.
After a great deal of thinking and reverse-engineering, this is what I came up with. I am NOT a seamstress. My sewing skills are intermediate, at best, and my machine is old and decrepit, so it's not very pretty or polished, but it does exactly what I want it to do, so I am pleased. Here is how I made it.
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| The collar can be folded down |
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| Or gathered at the top to create a hood! |
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| Here's what it looks like by itself |
Okay, this isn't going to be a very
thorough step-by-step tutorial, and I'm sorry about that, but I
completely forgot to take pictures while I was sewing, and I'm not a
seamstress myself, so you get to see pictures of the completed
product, and some mock-ups using paper, with some very rough
descriptions along the way (it's almost midnight, I'm trying to get this typed and posted before the baby wakes up for his next feeding, and I'm tired and not thinking very clearly, sorry).
Materials:
lining: fleece
Outer: I used rip-stop nylon because I
had it already, but outdoor canvas or any other outerwear material
you want is fine.
¼ inch elastic tape
round cord elastic
“Spring Stop Cord Locks”
zipper (most coats use YKK size 5, but
do check your coat! If the zipper is YKK, look on the back of the
zipper pull. There should be a little serial number. If there is a
“5” in the number, you've got a size 5)
Step 1: Measure
Wear your baby and put on your coat.
Measure your zipper from the bottom, to however far up you want the
insert to zip (I didn't want it to zip up as high as my coat does,
since the baby's head sits lower than mine, so I got a shorter
zipper. For my coat, I needed a 22-inch one). Then measure the
distance across your baby, from zipper to zipper at various points
along the way (my coat had velcro every 5 inches, so I measured
across at the bottom, then at every velcro up to the top). I also
measured how high up from the bottom my baby's neck was, because I
wanted to add elastic around the neck to keep out the wind.
*Be generous with the measurements,
don't make them too tight, you want to allow extra room for baby to
grow, extra layers, etc.
*about the zipper length: Because the outer edges are curved, your zipper will need to be slightly longer than the height you measured (which is a straight line). I recommend drawing your pattern first, and measuring the edges before purchasing a zipper.
*about the zipper length: Because the outer edges are curved, your zipper will need to be slightly longer than the height you measured (which is a straight line). I recommend drawing your pattern first, and measuring the edges before purchasing a zipper.
Step 2: Trace
Take your measurements and plot them
out on a large sheet of paper (wrapping paper, tissue paper,
packing/butcher paper, whatever). I first measured the center (blue
line), then marked my landmarks (top, bottom, and velcro's
in-between) along that center line. Then I marked the points for my
measurements, making sure to center them symmetrically across the
line (red dots). Then I just kind of traced a curve, making sure it
went through all the dots. I wanted a hood, so made the top curved,
but you could just as easily make it a straight collar and eliminate
a step. The top of my curve is about 8 inches above the top of my
zipper. I also marked out where the elastic would go (green, wavy
line), but you don't really need to do that on the pattern, I just
did it for the sake of clarity.
Because I wanted to add drawstrings to
the top and bottom, I added an extra inch or so on both ends (dotted
line). I actually could have gotten away with much less than an inch,
probably half-an-inch would be fine.
Step 3: Cut
I pinned the two fabrics together,
right sides facing in, and pinned the paper on top of them and cut
them both out at the same time. I added a seam allowance by simply
cutting about a half-inch outside the lines the whole way around.
Super precise, I know. ;)
Step 4: Sew the zipper!
Pin the zipper between the two pieces
(still right-sides together) with the teeth pointing IN. Make sure
that the right portions of the zipper are on the right sides so they
will sip into your coat properly (it will seem backwards. Turn the
whole thing right-side out after pinning if you have to to check). If
you haven't sewn a zipper before, this tutorial gives a nice visual
:
http://www.purlbee.com/2014/04/18/mollys-sketchbook-simple-lined-zipper-pouches/
http://www.purlbee.com/2014/04/18/mollys-sketchbook-simple-lined-zipper-pouches/
Also, a zipper foot on your sewing
machine helps!
Sew the zippers in up both sides, but
leave that inch or so at the top and bottom open for the drawstring (unless you don't want a drawstring, in which case, just sew all the way up and down each side).
Don't sew the top and bottom yet, you should basically have a tube
right now.
Turn it right-side-out and top stitch
the zippers to make a clean finish.
Step 5: Elastic!
Keeping the panel right-side-out, slide
the end of your elastic tape between the pieces and pin it inside, by
the zipper at the height you measured. Sew a tight zig-zag through
all the layers to tack down that end (just the end). Leave the
elastic long, you want it to hang out so you can grab it to pull. I
just held the whole roll and didn't cut it until I had finished
sewing it in.
To make a channel for the elastic, move
the tape out of the way as much as possible and sew a straight line
across the whole panel under the elastic.
Then, push the elastic as close as
possible to the sewn edge, and very carefully
sew another straight line above the elastic, making sure NOT to sew
the elastic! This is the fun part.
When
you get close to the other side, you will have to stop short to avoid
sewing over the long end of the elastic that is poking out. When you
have sewn as far as you dare, pull the elastic until the panel
gathers as tightly as you want it, then pin it in place and zig-zag
over that end to secure it.
I wish
I had pictures of this process (sorry!), but here's the finished
product, hopefully it gives you an idea of how that should go:
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| Gathered elastic |
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| Elastic pulled straight so you can see the channel and the zig-zags on the ends |
Step
6: finishing the top and bottom:
Turn
the panel inside-out and sew across the top.If you're
adding a drawstring, fold in and pin the edges on the sides above the
zipper as if you're going to hem them, but don't sew. When you sew
the top seam, it will catch the top of that fold and tack it down so
the opening for your drawstring doesn't have rough edges poking out.
I would add fray-check or some kind of liquid seam on those edges.
I'm sure there's a better way to do this, but I don't know it. Will
someone enlighten me?
Turn it right-side
out again and top stitch the seam. Then sew another line underneath
the top stitch to create a channel for your elastic cord.
*I made a nice,
wide channel, which creates kind of a ruffled effect when the hood is
gathered. If you want tighter gathers, make the channel more narrow
and closer to the edge.
Once you've sewn
your channel, if there is a gap on the side seams between the bottom
of the channel and the top of the zipper, top-stitch that closed.
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| See how ruffled the edges look with the wide channel? |
The bottom will be
finished almost the same way, but WATCH OUT: When I turned it inside
out to finish the bottom seam, I forgot to leave a gap to turn it
right-side out again and had to re-do the whole thing. Don't do that.
Learn from my mistake.
Turn the panel
inside-out, and sew across the bottom leaving a few inches to turn
it right-side out! (don't forget to fold in the unfinished edges
on the sides where the drawstring opening is)
Turn it right side
out, fold in the edges of the opening and top stitch across the whole
bottom edge. Then sew another line above it to create the channel for
your elastic cord.
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| Here's a closer shot of the "channel." |
You are almost done!
Step 7:
tie one end of the
elastic cord onto a safety pin and use that to work it through the
channel.
If you have a single slot cord
lock, just thread the elastic through the lock, tie a good knot and
do the same on the other side.
I got dual slot
cord locks, so I've got an extra step to finish mine:
Slide the cord
through one of the holes, then back through the other to create a
loop.
Then slip the end inside the channel and sew it down (I tied a knot and doubled it up to have more to sew over.
If you think ahead, you can tack
this down as you're sewing your channel. Just tack one end down at
the start, sew most of the channel, thread the cord through, and tack
down the other end as you're finishing the channel to create a
cleaner look. Just remember to thread the cord locks on BEFORE you
tack down the ends...
Step 8: Zip it onto
your coat and get going! :)
