Triangle Swing Tank

So, we just got an iMac. It is quite possibly the most expensive thing we've ever bought together to date, which is pretty crazy when you think about nearly 6 years of marriage. We have old cars and haven't bought our own house yet (but plan to buy both in the next year, so help me), but I digress.  I tend to have crazy bad buyers remorse for even silly little things, so I thought surely I'd have some buyers remorse over this beautiful beast of slick machinery, but so far I'm totally smitten. I'm totally lost, seeing as how I've only ever owned PC's, but I'm googling it all and figuring things out. Unfortunately, what I didn't figure out until it was too late, was that Adobe Bridge and iPhoto don't work so well together. Yes, we got a new computer, and some fancy new programs (upgraded to CS6 from CS3- woo!) and then I mindlessly tried to navigate, assuming surely it would work similarly to a PC, and somehow I ended up messing things up real good. I lost all the pictures from this photoshoot, but luckily everything else we have is hanging out on an external hard drive. I'm still not sure what I did, but I did manage to recover these pictures, so all is well for now.

Long story long, I'm happy I didn't have to retake these, because although my model is adorable, she's not always super cooperative:)

I did try letting her set the tone and do some fun stuff, and these are the result. Charly's killer dance moves:

So, the details. I used the free pattern Toddler Swing Tank (size 2 only, unfortunately, but hey, its free) from True Bias. Sidenote- I'm also eyeing her Hudson pants. They just look so comfy! The tank instructions recommend a woven fabric, but I figured if I used a knit I could make this work for my (small) three year old. If nothing else, baby sis will grow into it eventually! I was right, using a knit worked splendidly for Charly, who is a solid 3t in ready to wear and a 2/3t in most patterns. My fabric was leftover from a shirt I made for myself recently (yet to be blogged- be on the lookout) so I was trying to use up what I had. Oh, and those shorts? Yep, same exact pair I made for Caroline. They both fit in them- but hopefully the sisterly fighting over clothes doesn't start for at least a few more years!

Things I loved:

• simple! only 3 pattern pieces, and only 2 with my modification for knit
• nice swingy shape
• FREE!! 

Things I changed:

• used knit instead of woven
• cut the back piece on the fold, subtracting seam allowance
• omitted the keyhole back
• bound the neck and armholes with fold over elastic rather than fabric strips (using this video tutorial as a guide )

Things I'll change next time: 

• I'd love to try a woven version in some double gauze!

Notions & Fabric:

• Teal Triangle knit from JoAnn Stores (the same that Lauren used here and Jill used here)
• pink fold over elastic from Hobby Lobby

She loves how easy it is to take on and off, due to the super stretchy elastic neck, and I love the little bit of belly that peeks out every so often. Toddler belly is the best.

I was able to sew this up during one nap time, so it made for a super successful day of Kids Clothes Week. I love packing in some quick easy projects to boost morale, and a couple more detailed ones to keep things interesting. 

Looking for more kids clothes inspiration? The project pool is swimming with fabulous makes!!


PS- now that I think about it, our iMac isn't the most expensive thing we've purchased, but certainly the most fun!