Style 3942 ⌗vintagepledge

I have sewn the first of my 3 ⌗vintagepledge for 2015 already!   (I have pledged to knit two and sew three)  If I carry on in this vein I will be finished by March (not really, I can't knit that fast!).   I can't even remember where I got this pattern from, I just found it in my sewing room one day and thought it would be nice for the Child.  I love the idea of culottes, I keep seeing them everywhere at the moment, and what better than dungaree culottes!  Practical and pretty!  

The pattern is Style 3942 from 1983 (I really hope this counts as vintage, although since it was after I was born part of me hopes it isn't!).  I can't find anything on the Internet about it so it obviously wasn't that popular!  

The pattern envelope is in a bit of a sorry state and the pattern on the inside isn't too good either.  I went for the size 4 which matches the Child's measurements almost exactly, which is lucky because it has been cut out rather haphazardly and this size is the most intact, although there were bits where I had to guess where the original line had been. Making something in the right size is a bit of a departure for me, I usually make things to last and then they do last, for years and years!  She is still wearing clothes I made for her over 2 years ago!

The pattern is for trousers, culottes or pinafore with a bib front and crossed straps at the back.  In the picture below it looks like the straps are pulling but I've just checked and they are not doing that now, must have been the way she was standing!  The culottes have a two pleats either side of the front seam which don't show up very well in this fabric but give some movement without too much body.  There are also pockets which aren't showing up in these photos but can be seen on the pattern envelope.

I put buttonhole elastic in the back instead of normal so I can adjust these as she grows.  She is quite slight so I have it pulled in at the moment.  In spite of making these in her actual size I am still hoping they will fit for a while.  I think they will be lovely with a t-shirt under in the summer and I have actually bought some plain cream jersey to make her a long sleeved top, I have plenty so will make her a short sleeved one at the same time.

I bought the fabric from The Village Haberdashery during the Boxing Day sale.  It is Sevenberry corduroy and was a delight to sew with and is so, so pretty.  I used just slightly under 1.5 metres on this and have a tiny bit left which will get made into a bag, hopefully this evening!  I haven't sewn with Sevenberry fabrics before but definitely will again, although I will wait for a sale again!  I have some of the Navy Plaid tucked away for me, but I'm not entirely sure what to do with it yet.

Photobomber!  She is actually sitting on the Child's foot, strange dog!

The buttons came from my magic box of buttons handed to me by my friend from her late grandmother and great aunt.  There are so many lovely buttons in there, and I love going through them.  I let the Child choose and she insisted on different buttons on each side, so as a compromise I said she could have two of the same design but different colours.  The green one is on the right and the pink on the left, representing port and starboard as per her request!

Katy from Designs by BellaBug recently made a school dress for her daughter out of grey corduroy (she hasn't blogged about it - yet!) which I thought was a really good idea.  I am going to check with the school that grey corduroy would be acceptable and if so, I think this pattern would be a good contender.  Initially I thought I would make the pinafore version, but culottes would be so much more practical!  I am now on the look out for school uniform friendly fabrics!