Garment 14: Perfect Nightie

The perfect twirling nightie - in theory

Raw materials, before editing

The nightie is finished. Or so I thought. It is perfect - or so I thought. It has all the requirements set out by my daughter when we began the project, three months ago: it is made from fabric she tie-dyed last summer at day camp. It has maximum swirl and length, elasticized wrists, cheetah print fleece and something doggish.

So why won't she wear it? She likes it alright, despite the pink stitching on the dog pockets. (Why did you put pink? Grey would have been better.) That it's itchy is all she will tell me - but she won't keep it on long enough for me to figure out how to fix it!

"Boxter" dog pocket tutorial here
(Freehand embroidery, silk organza and lots of Solvy)

Are the raglan sleeves too high? Do they cut into her pits? I could sew in a gusset. Perhaps the wrist elastic is too tight - an easy fix. Maybe it's the surface design: fine, meandering soutache anchored by loose, invisible stitching. That stuff can poke like fishing line. A cotton lining might take care of it, or the soutache could be removed completely - a big, boring job, just right for bus rides.

If the itchiness could just be pinpointed, this project could be checked off my list and I could get on to the other two biggies: Blossom's corset, and the Humatrope collar. Then start the next thing - a presentation for the BCPWS conference in October: My Holland: Projects Inspired by My Children's Special Needs. (Iffy about the title...)

Sigh. Silly me to think I was finished.

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Two days later - tonight she is wearing the nightie for the first time. Fingers crossed, I wait, wondering if the source of the itchiness will be revealed. She yells down the stairs: Mom! It is absolutely comfy!

Joy! It would seem time heals all itches, too. Corset, here I come!