Sewing: Artist Smock

Ana is home on winter break and has been doing a lot of arts and crafts activities as outdoor play is limited in this cold season. She was busy working on some watercolors one afternoon a few days ago - making a 'girl turtle' by painting a turtle picture purple and pink - which gave me some "free time" to sew this for her.

I was looking online for an easy pattern for an artist's smock, just a quick-sew pattern, just for fun. She is not a messy person in general, and she is extra careful when working with paints, but, it is nice to have a layer of protection just in case she gets carried away... even though most of the colors I let her use are washable.

And that's how I stumbled upon this creative pattern. I roughly measured Ana and made up my template for this cutesy little smock which crosses in the back and ties on the shoulders. This way, it is adjustable and can be used for another couple of years at least, if it lasts that long. Also, the pockets in the front make it easy to hold some napkins or paper towels to wipe up any paint-accidents, or to hold some extra brushes and art supplies if she decides to take her easel out into the backyard in summers.

I thought of using some scrap fleece I had as it resists water and other spills really well, but I decided to use polycotton fabric I had leftover from some project my mom did when she was here. Ideally, some pliable vinyl might be good, or some thick flannel for those extra messy hands... but, any cotton or cotton blend works just fine. As it was scrap fabric, I am not sure how much fabric is needed for a size 3T-5T smock like this one, but, I am guessing not more than one yard of standard 45" wide fabric.

I toyed with the idea of Velcro^™ on the shoulders, but, went with the ties as it gives me an opportunity to put it on for her...

...these days she is totally into picking her own clothes from her wardrobe and dressing herself without any help/interference from me and I miss dressing her up like a little doll and brushing her hair as I like it etc.

Can't believe she is only 3 but terribly independent already...