Rosebud Lullaby Layette Jacket

I recently finished an Oliver & S Lullaby Layette jacket, another new baby gift.

The pattern

The pattern was lovely, as I expect with Oliver & S — a nice professional finish, but easy sewing. I sewed the smallest size, 0-3M, as this jacket is for a newborn. I didn’t make any size alterations, but I left off the closures. I don’t have a snap setter, and I figured I could get away with this as the baby will likely outgrow the jacket before she starts moving around much.

The fabric

The main pink fabric is a cotton broadcloth that I’ve had for a long time. The lining fabric is an ice blue linen or linen blend, also a scrap from my stash. It’s already pretty soft, and it should soften up even more in the wash. Also, it gives the jacket a little more weight, which balances the broadcloth nicely. The binding is homemade from a gray cotton (leftover from the baby quilt I just finished).

The embellishments

The rosebud panel across the chest of the jacket is also made from a fabric scrap I had. The fabric is striped with the machine-embroidered rosebuds alternating with woven-in textured stripes. I cut out one and a half repeats (two woven-in stripes and one rosebud one) and stitched them onto the jacket front and back pieces before beginning assembly. I used a small running stitch, something less than the default stitch length on my machine, to attach it along both edges, which I had ironed under. Then, I assembled the jacket according to the instructions.

Once that was done, I added the hand stitching: running stitches in white embroidery floss. I did this around the cuffs and next to the top and bottom edges of each rosebud panel. I stitched all the way through the jacket, so the blue side is also embellished with simple stripes of running stitches. (The jacket is reversible.)

My intent in putting the panels on the front and back only, leaving the sleeves plain, had been to give it a somewhat sporty look by accentuating the raglan sleeves. Once I had it put together, I realized this is also a common design element in colorwork sweaters — I think that’s more the look that I got. But, I like it.