My husband loves to tell my daughter that she is stinky – it’s their favorite joke with each other. They tell each other that they are stinky and then they both just fall into a fit of giggles. It’s great. Once, he told her that she was so stinky that she smelled like skunk meat… Which she thoroughly loved, and started to call herself “Scumpy” in response. Every now and then, she proudly tells me “Mama, I’m Scumpy!” Thanks, Dad.
Since my child is a self-proclaimed stinky skunk, I thought this fabric would be so much fun as soon as I saw it! It is a sweet orangey pink color, with fun critters all over – raccoons, skunks, birds, and squirrels. I knew she would love looking at the animals on the fabric, and thought it would be a fun option for her to wear around Valentine’s Day – cute and pink, but a little out of the box!
I’ve had a pattern crush on the Alley Cat Romper for quite a while (you can read more about that on my last post here!) and this was my first time to finally use this pattern! Although there is a lot of opportunity for color blocking and pattern mixing with this pattern, I wanted to keep it simple and go all in with this scumpy critter fabric this time around. I love the end result – it is so much fun, and my little one loves it! To break up the print a tiny bit, I decided to add a little grosgrain ribbon bow to the front bodice for a little extra sugar and sweetness!
As I sewed up this romper, I was worried that I had accidentally printed this pattern out way too large.When I cut out the bottom pieces and sewed the front and back together, I lifted it up and before gathering, it looked like it would fit around my waist!! Once I gathered the fabric to match the bodice pieces, though, it all worked out perfectly. It’s such a nice fit on her, and I love the low back!
This fabric was excellent to work with. I worry about printed cotton jerseys, as from time to time you find one that when stretched visibly shows the white fabric beneath the print. This jersey is high quality and the colors and print maintain their vibrance even when stretched and pulled in many directions. The fabric is soft and comfy, and I’m confident that my girl just feels like she’s wearing comfy cozy pajamas when running around in this fun outfit!
We were so excited to take these photos on this day – I’d just finished up a new top for myself as well as this cute romper, and we took the opportunity to capture some photos of our family of 4! Little did we know that we would grow into a family of 5 mere hours later… We unexpectedly added a new pup to our bunch later this same night! We’ve loved getting to know our new big guy over the past couple of weeks – and we are planning updated photos of our family of 5 just as soon as this insane winter storm passes us by!
Romper: handmade by me
Pattern: Lil Luxe Collection – Alley Cat Romper
Fabrics: Minerva – Robert Kaufman – Cotton Jersey Knit Fabric Strawberry
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Schmetz Jersey Ballpoint Needles
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Heat & Bond Soft Stretch (Lite)
Thanks for reading my thoughts on this pattern! The fabrics used throughout this post were provided to me by Minerva as a member of their Minerva Makers Team, in exchange for photos of my finished garments posted on their website. The pattern was purchased by me. All words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
