Brindille & Twig in Sweetkniits

Normally I don’t buy knit fabric for kids clothes, but instead, use leftover scrap fabric from my stash. Waste not, want not. However, I just couldn’t resist these prints. I was dubious about ordering fabric through a small studio selling through Facebook, but I thought what the heck.

I ordered fabric in both the cotton lycra and french terry. Once I received my order, I realized that the fabric had similar weight. I was shocked at how heavyweight the cotton lycra felt. Both fabrics are about 240 gsm. For comparison, a jersey knit fabric from Nosh Organics is about 165 – 170 gsm. I don’t like the cotton lyric, because of how heavy it is.

However, 240 gsm for french terry is gorgeous! If you plan on ordering from Sweetkniits, I recommend sticking with the french terry fabric and forgetting about the cotton lycra. The french terry has a softer feel and a much better drape as well.

Other great qualities about the fabric. It is 95% cotton and 5% spandex, so even the french terry can be used for neckbands and cuffs. I also was surprised at how well the fabric took to printing. Often printing will make the fabric stiff and icky, but this wasn’t. I will be buying more cute fabric in the future!

As for the patterns, I used Brindille & Twig. For the top, I used the raglan t-shirt 034 pattern in a size 2-3T. I made the shirt exactly as the pattern suggests, including the neckband. A lot of times I have to tinker with the neckband to accommodate different stretch in my knits, but this time everything worked out. I made the shirt using cotton lycra.

For the shorts, I used the harem shorts 055 pattern in size 2-3T. Again, I made absolutely no alternations to the pattern. I made the shorts with the french terry fabric.

I’m not in love with my topstitching around the neckband and waistband. I was trying to use a different stitch, and it just went all sixes and sevens. I’ll be going back to my standard and reliable zigzag stitch in the future.

Sewing clothes for my friends’ kids is super awesome. Making cute clothes for others just gives me a ton of warm fuzzy feels. It is especially fulfilling when you find out the kids prefer your clothes over anything else. Bwahahahahaha!!!!