CLOTHES PATERNS FOR PREEMIE BABY CLOTHES

Fits 4 to 6 lbs.  Interlock knit works best for these sleepers.

Sew shoulder seams. Sew ribbing on sleeves. With facing folded back 1" wrong sides, to wrong sides, overlapping facing at crotch 1". Pin front sleeper, sew crotch. Sew ribbing legs (or ankles). Matching sleeve hems, underarm seams, sew side seam from sleeve to foot, repeat other side. Fold 3 inch ribbing in half lengthwise and then widthwise. Trim center front ribbing widths to 1/4", tapering to full width at center back.  (foldline is center back and raw edges are center fronts). Unfold ribbing widthwise and divide ribbing into four equal sections. Mark sections with three pins. Divide sleeper neck into four equal section and mark with two pins - center back seam need not be marked with a pin. With right sides together, pin raw edges of ribbing to sleeper neckline, matching pins and center back seam.  Center front ribbing ends should be 1" in from front seamline. Fold facing over ribbing covering ribbing ends. Pin. Stitch, stretching ribbing to fit sleeper neckline.  Trim corners and turn right side out. Sew three button and button holes down the front of sleeper opening. You may also use snaps, sew-on snaps or Velcro.

Lorrabelle's Gown

All seams are 1/4 ”. To gather pieces, use 1/8” and 1/4 ” seams .4 or 5 on machine stitch length. Read all directions before starting pattern.
Cut out gown pieces. Sew bodice pieces together. Clip neckline carefully to lay flat. Turn right side out and finger press. Embroider of trim bodice front through top layer only. Turn and press flat.
For the back of gown skirt, turn under 1” The whole length of the gown. Turn under 1/4 ” and press, leaving 3/4 ” seam. Sew down the length of the gown.
Gather all three skirt pieces. Pin front of skirt to bodice. Baste together and sew. Top layer only. Do the same with both back pieces.
Gather, pin, and baste sleeves to bodice. Top layer only. Sew. Add lace to the sleeve cuff and attach to gathered sleeve bottom. Pin and sew. Sew or serge whole length of gown, matching seams.
Turn gown inside out. Pin bottom layer of bodice to top layer. Do this front, backs, and around sleeves, hiding seams. Sew with tiny stitches. Turn cuffs up and sew.
Pin bottom of gown. Fold under 1” with 1/4 ” turned under. Match back seams, making sure they are the same length. Hem.
Cut two pieces 1/8” white ribbon, 9” long. Tack to back of bodice, about 1/4 ” from finished seam.

X-Small Boy's Gown

Note: This pattern can be used for infant girls by substituting a ribbon rose or bow for the neck tie.
Cut out pattern pieces. Embroider sleeves on marked lines. Turn under sleeve ends ¼” and sew. After sleeve is sewn to bodice, turn under cuff and sew with tiny stitches by hand, catching the embroidery lines so that you can't see stitches from the top.
Embroider outside collar line on bodice top only. Sew narrow bias to bodice front at waistline, before attaching the skirt. Gather skirt pieces and pin to bodice top. Turn outside length of skirt back under ¾”. Turn end under ¼” leaving ½” for hem. Press and sew all the way down.
After skirt is together, sew gathering lines on bottom of skirt, (2 rows). Pin sacque bottom to bottom of skirt and gather to fit. Sew together. Sew lining bottom to cover raw seams on the inside. Turn on right side. Tack right side of skirt to left side, 2 ½ “ up from sacque bottom. Cut two pieces of 1/8 ” ribbon, 9” long and tack on back of gown seam at neckline about ¼” in, on each side.
To make tie:
Use bias tape, 5 ½” long. Press flat. Turn short ends under ¼” and press. Bring corners down to form a peak. Turn left side under a scant ½” and press. Turn right side under a tiny bit and then again to form a seam line, and pin. Take tiny stitches all the way down by hand through back only to press again. Do not stretch. With right sides facing you, turn in half. Tack ½” down, right over left. Bring peak down to make what looks like a tie knot, and sew on back to secure. Tack to bodice where marked. Use the same color bias tape for the ties as you use at the waistline.

Preemie Hat Tutorial – Easy Sewing (this will be great with little baby socks i find with monkeys on them!)

First, start with a pair of fun-looking kids’ socks. I got these in the dollar section at Target.

Cut the socks at the ankle, right above the heel.

These are the parts you’ll be using.

Sometimes socks have a visual seam where the pattern is slightly jagged. If yours has that (you can see it in the sock in the background, near the edge), cut there. If not, cut wherever you want… lengthwise from your previous cut to the cuff of the sock.

So now you have two pieces that look like this

Put the two pieces together, right sides facing each other.

And zig-zag stitch up the sides. If you’re hand-sewing, a simple whip stitch will do.

If you want, you can flip the hat right side out and gather the top with a running stitch. You can cover the raw edge by adding a pom pom or some other embellishment.

But I didn’t do that. I zig-zagged over the top edge to make a rectangular hat.

Flip right side out.

Then basically you’re going to gather two little ears, by making a diagonal running stitch “cutting off” each corner.

Like this. Maybe an inch in from the corner, diagonally across to about an inch below the corner.

Pull tight, add a few back stitches to secure, knot and trim. Repeat on the other side to make the second “ear.”

You can leave it like that if you’d like. (this would look so cute if i could find a sock with a face of a monkey on it large enough to make the ear parts into...ears! )

Or add any embellishment you think looks nice.

Voila! Teeny hat for the smallest sweet girl.

Now you don’t want your hat recipient to get sick because of a germ introduced by your gift… so wash it on hot water and machine-dry it, then immediately put it into a ziploc bag so that nothing unintended makes it into the NICU.