Children’s Corner Eleanor/April Hack Draper James…yes please!

Who doesn’t love Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James clothing line? No-one.

Everything in it is timeless, tasteful, and fun. Sometimes I like to browse adult clothing lines to try to find inspiration for children’s clothes. Or just to see how others have obviously been inspired by classic children’s clothing. Draper James is one of the sites that I frequent for inspiration (particularly for Mama-Baby matches)

I am not alone in this (slightly nerdy) hobby. My sewing mentor and friend, Margy recently texted me this picture from Draper Jame’s and asked if Maria needed a child equivalent of this outfit.

My response: I need the adult equivalent and yes please.

We brainstormed a way to make this happen. Here’s what we came up with.

Using a combination of these three patterns we created Maria’s version of Draper James.

The shirt is made mainly with the Eleanor pattern. To alter the pattern to shirt length simply measure your model and fold up the pattern pieces to the appropriate length as seen in the images below. I have also included the April ruffle in the images below as it will be used to create the ruffle in the shirt.

Make sure to fold in the excess side of each pattern piece as well.

When cutting out the ruffle length can be added or subtracted by moving the ruffle piece away from the fold or over the fold.

Children’s Corner has done a blog post similar to this on how to create a ruffle for the Eleanor. It can be found here. If you do not have the April pattern you can use this post to help you create a ruffle.

Next, to complete the outfit with a pair of shorts simply use the Robert pattern as written. The shorts for Maria’s outfit were made with Fabric Finders Chambray (purchased at The Smocking Shoppe in Louisville, KY-call for inquiries) and Yellow gingham lining. They are the version without pockets.