baby clothes

Fat Quarter February continues! Stay tuned all month long for creative projects that use just a quarter yard of fabric. This week Emma Jeffery, from the blog Hello Beautiful, shares a tutorial for sewing up a sweet and simple baby kimono. 

Kimonos are a great item for newborns because you get to avoid the awkward, over-the-head dressing techniques of tops and tees and this one uses a Velcro fastening which is great when speed is of the essence.

To make this raglan sleeve kimono, you’ll need:

• Raglan sleeve kimono pattern
• one package of Ric Rac (I used medium size)
• a small amount of Velcro

The pattern will squeeze neatly onto one fat quarter of Spoonflower’s Basic Cotton Ultra. I used some small-scale prints by Heather Dutton. You will have three pattern pieces. Begin by pinning the raglan sleeves to the shirt back and sewing.

Press the seam allowance towards the back piece and topstitch down.

Next, pin the two shirt front pieces to the sleeves and sew. Press the seam allowances towards the front and again, topstitch down.

Hem the sleeves, shirt back and shirt fronts by turning the raw edge ¼” to the wrong side, pressing and turning another ¼” hiding all raw edges. Stitch the hems.

To make a neat finish along the shirt fronts and neckline, I like to use ric rac. It easily curves around the neck and adds a sweet little detail to the finished kimono. You could also use a thin bias tape, but I find it unwieldy on small projects like this. Start by pinning the ric rac to the right side of the shirt, starting at one bottom edge of a shirt front, up around the neck and down to the bottom of the second shirt front. Turn the ends of the ric rac under to make a neat finish. Sew the ric rac to the shirt. You are aiming to sew a straight line through the middle of the ric rac.

Next, fold the ric rac towards the wrong side of the shirt and pin down. Sew the ric rac in place from the front.

Fold the shirt together with right sides facing. Sew the back and shirt fronts together at the side seams and underarms. Make sure to match the hems at the sleeves and bottom edge. Trim and finish the seam allowance with a zig zag stitch or serger.

Complete the shirt by sewing two Velcro tabs to the front, making sure to put the scratchy side of the Velcro away from the baby’s skin and you are done!

Note: With two fat quarters, you could mix around the fabrics to make contrasting sleeves on your kimono like I did with the pink and gray versions in the first photo.

About Our Guest Blogger

Hi! I’m Emma, and as well as working on the Fiskars Design Team, I blog over at hellobeautifulblog.blogspot.com/

I’m an obsessive sewer, often leaping into projects with more enthusiasm than talent, more bravado than skill and more good luck than anything else. This technique has worked well for me so far and more often than not, I make things I love, even if they’re not absolutely perfect. And though I’m no expert, I have a passion for fabric, color and design. I know what I like and what I like makes me smile.