Wednesday 5 December 2012

Petite Purls, Issue 13: A Review

I only discovered Petite Purls when I began this blog, and I was sorry not to have seen it before. It features very cute and clever patterns for children's clothing and toys, and all their patterns are available for free online. Let's take a look at Petite Purls' Issue 13.





Not a bad little doll, though the shape of the wings looks rough, I wouldn't have made the arms and legs that stringy because they look out of proportion with the rest of the doll, and I would have coordinated the colours a little better. Though I suspect any little girl who was given this wouldn't be as critical as I'm being.





This sweater is pretty, but maybe not all that wearable. It looks like a sweater made to be worn only in summer, but I would feel it needs to be layered over something because it'll show a good bit of the skin on the little girl's chest, and putting something under it makes it not practical for summer's heat. Maybe I'm just being a little too prim about feeling a toddler shouldn't wear this sweater by itself?





This vest is a "Pirates of the Caribbean sweater". Creating a theme sweater is one way to get away from the usual "stripe across the chest" boy's sweater pattern.





Really, really like this one! This dress with its knitted bodice would be a good way to use up small amounts of yarn, be quick and easy to make and very cool and comfortable to wear, and is ever so pretty.





This would have been cute to make for a boy in say, 1942, but I wouldn't make it for a small boy in 2012, any more than I would dress him in knickerbockers. It's just too quaint and odd-looking and out of step with how boys dress now, and would make him stand out from other boys in a way neither he nor they will like. The designer does say she lives in Germany, and maybe this look would be quite appropriate there, but I can't see these shorts working for a North American boy. Though I bet the mother in this Onion article would think it "really smart".





These two patterns are crocheted, but they're so adorable and inventive that I just had to include them. Once you're finished making the whale and its little ocean blanket, the blanket can be folded up and stored away in the whale, along with some toys, making it the perfect take-along item for going to the beach or the park.





Another practical idea: a pocket on the front of a sweater to hold the baby's toys. It reminds me of the sleeper I gave one of my nieces when she was born and that had a squeak toy sewn into the front of it. It made playing with the baby very convenient. Though my niece's two older siblings (then aged 3 and 15 months) did get a little too into squeezing their newborn baby sister to make her clothes squeak.





Quite like this one. It'll look just right with a dress and be the perfect cover up for summer evenings. The XO cable on the sleeves is cute in a age-appropriate way. The sleeves are too long but when you're making clothes for children it's a good idea to aim for a size too large so they can get two years' wear out of it instead of just one.





I wouldn't have included these sweaters as they are just generically nice (although those colour combinations are unusually sharp and crisp) but for one detail: the strap that allows for the rolling up and fastening of the sleeves. It's very practical and will help you keep your child presentable right through sandbox time and finger painting... until lunch gets spilled down the front of the sweater.





Another cute, cool, comfortable, easy-to-make summer dress with a knitted bodice and fabric skirt.

The two knitted bodice dresses in this post reminds me of a similar one I made for my little grandniece, using a pattern from Vogue Knitting's Spring/Summer issue from 1990, though I just used the basic instructions and did not include VK's intarsia pattern or go with anything like its colourway. But I made it entirely from materials I had lying around and even had enough yarn left to whip up a matching purse. I'm not going to be posting much about my own projects on this blog, but just for this once, here's the picture.

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