Horsing Around

Lily is in a horse phase. I guess this is common in little girls her age, though I never experienced it myself. We were at JoAnns a few weeks ago and spied a one and a half yard remnant of lightweight, brown corduroy with off white horse designs. As soon as I picked it up she said "Is that for me?"
I knew right away that I wanted to make a jumper with a bib front that had a horse right in the middle for her to look at. I haven't seen any patterns around for this style, though it is hardly original. I decided to give it a try without a pattern. This was a first for me and I am really pleased with the results. I was a little worried that I would have ruined the fabric and ended up with nothing to show for it and one very disappointed little girl!
The front bib is lined in a dark brown cotton with off white polka dots. When she moves, you catch glimpses of it and its really cute. The bib is attached to the skirt with buttons, just decoratively. I skipped the buttonholes since there was really no reason to have them functional. The front waistband is flat and the back is elastic. The straps button in the front, cross in the back and are stitched into the waistband in the back. I added a ruffle on the bottom. I spent many nursing sessions planning this outfit in my head over the past week or so. When I began to sew, it went together quite quickly.

It passed Lily's twirlability test with high marks!

And I made a matching covered button for her ponytail.
All in all, it was a success so I might be brave enough to try some more pattern free clothing provided they are equally simple designs!