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| EC Trainer for Baby Girl |
1. Line up the patterns on the fabric fold as indicated on the pattern printout and pin throughout.
For the underpants portion, I used a cute frog print (pictured left) The fabric is a 100% cotton interlock found at Joann Fabrics.
The waist and leg bands were made of a rib knit
(pictured below) also found at Joann Fabrics. This fabric is the stuff that sweatshirt cuffs are made of.
2. Cut out the patterns. The photo to the left is what the underwear portion looks like after being cut out.
The photo to the right shows what the cut out waist and leg bands look like. Be sure to cut out 2 leg bands.
3. Cut out four inserts. I used flannel as it is super absorbent and cheap but you can use anything you want. I found it easiest to fold the fabric to make four layers. Then cut out using a rotary cutter. Go slow and hold it steady to avoid problems shifting or over-cutting.
4. The pattern recommends gluing and basting the inserts rather than serging them together. I always have issues with shifting so I decided to sew them together. I don't have a serger so I decided to use a overcasting stitch around the edge, which worked very well.
5. As per the pattern instructions, use a small zigzag stitch along the top and bottom of the insert to attach it to the non-printed side of the underwear piece. In the photos to the left and right, I am pointing to where I sewed the pieces together.
The above photo shows what the right side of the underwear portion should look like after the insert is sewn in.
6. Fold the underwear portion, and the bands, right sides together. Line up the sides of the underwear and pin together. Pin the ends of the bands together. Sew along the pinned edges using a overcasting stitch. Be super careful when starting at the edges, my machine ate the edges. I ended up starting half way down the side to the end then flipping it over and starting again from the middle down the unfinished end. The photo above is what you should end up with.
7. Turn the underwear right side out. Take the waist band and pin it, raw edge to raw edge with the underwear portion. Pin at the back, front, sides and an additional one between each of these points. You will have to pull the waist band taunt to get it to match up with the underwear. I found that doing this as I sewed (rather than loading the whole thing with pins) worked best. Sew the raw edges together using a overcasting stitch. Be sure to catch all three edges. The above photos show how I pinned the waist band.
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| The waist band and underwear portion connected using a overcasting stitch. |
8. Once you've completed overstitching the waist bandd, do the same with the leg bands.
8. Stand back and marvel at the great job you did.
The above picture is the pair of trainers featured in this tutorial. They are a large and too loose on my 22 lbs, 16 month old. I ended up making a second pair in the medium size. Photos to come of the medium size trainers for comparison. Keep this sizing in mind when choosing which size to make for your little one.
Special thanks to Green Mommy for sharing her FREE EC Trainer pattern.
