Pattern Love: Naava Coverall Romper

Our little guy is growing so fast.  In what feels like moments he's changing from tiny and slim to solid & on the way to chubby.  He gained 3.5lbs in 6 weeks!  I'm hesitant to sew up too much baby clothing, because 1. There isn't a lot of time to do it and 2. It gets outgrown in no time.  So in the tiny window of time I've had recently I whipped out an old favorite pattern that doesn't disappoint: Ottobre Design's Paava Coverall.  

This romper pattern is from the Winter 6/2009 issue.  I first used it back when my now 8 year old daughter was a baby to make all these:

The design is ideal: lap shoulders and snap up legs that make it to easy to dress & diaper a wiggly baby.  I also like the wider shape which makes it ideal with cloth diapers and adds some extra grow room.  There are sizes from 0-3 to 12-18 included.

I made this one in just a day with some adorable nun print knit fabric I bought from Spoonflower and some black rib knit scraps:

It's almost impossible to photograph black on black, but I used heart shaped snaps to echo the fabric's design:

This pattern is a quick sew, which is key for those with a baby in the house. It doesn't use a lot of fabric either, which means it's also economical.  Some of the prices for similar store bought rompers are downright criminal for something so small!!  The lap shoulders on this pattern are easy to finish with rib knit binding and lay nice & flat when worn (it's a pet peeve of mine when they don't).

It's a great way to show off some fun knit fabric too.  I'd had a fat half of this popcorn print knit in my stash, saved hoarded for something special, and this was the perfect project for it.  

Having rib knit at the sleeve and leg cuffs also makes it a comfy outfit for the baby:

There was even enough fabric left to make a beanie hat & pair of pants with the scraps.    

I'm definitely going to make more of these.  I might do a few with an alteration to the sleeves to make them short or do sleeveless versions, so we've got some summer options with it.  Little by little sewing is coming back to Sew Can Do!