World Book Day - Satya Romper for Thumbelina

There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.
-Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

I have very fond memories of my mum reading to my brother and I when we were little. Her gentle voice and my vivid imagination took me on exciting adventures. There were brave knights and beautiful princesses, fire breathing dragons, wicked witches and clever children, hilarious animals, scary forest creatures, vast oceans and high mountains. Each new book provided an opportunity to explore a new exciting world.

A few weeks ago Becki of Dobbin's Bobbins invited me to participate in the World Book Day blog tour. Becki suggested that participants could create something  - anything - inspired by their favourite childhood book.

Mum has read many books to us and choosing one was not an easy task! For quite some time I was absolutely fascinated by fairy tales written by Hans Christian Andersen. Thumbelina has always been one of my favourite stories, so I decided to make an outfit for baby L inspired by this wonderful fairy tale.

I loved the look of Satya Romper by Jennuine Design the minute I saw it. In fact, I bought the pattern the day it was released. I can't think of a more comfortable garment for a baby than a romper. So, While she was sleeping, I made a Satya romper for my little chubster.

Jenn suggests to pick a size based on the bigger measurement between bub's chest and a tummy. Guys, do that! You see, R is a skinny little thing. Her chest has always been bigger than her tummy. I kind of assumed I could get away with going only by a chest measurement for my baby as well and made size 3-6 months for her. Wrong! This little girl has been busy working on her yummy baby rolls since the day she was born. While her upper body easily fitted into the romper, her chubby tummy had next to none room. Which I did not realise until I sat baby L up during the photo-shoot! Oops! I will need to make adjustments for a chubby bubba next time!

Still, I absolutely love this romper. It has the cutest little pockets which were difficult to photograph on the baby, but you can see them on this Instagram photo. The romper is shaped by elastic cleverly inserted at the back, waist and at the bottom of the shorts (as one of the options). There is a snap placket on the shorts that makes changing nappies a breeze.

The pattern suggests using fold over elastic for the straps. As an alternative, one can use ordinary elastic enclosed into a fabric tube or elastic used for lingerie. I could not believe my luck when I saw pale blue lingerie elastic that matched the base colour of the fabric perfectly! I had to adjust the front bodice piece and the facing slightly as the elastic was a little narrower than the pattern recommended. And yes, I took my time to make sure the little loops on both straps faced inwards... Oopsies! Let's call this a design feature, OK?

Isn't this fabric gorgeous? I was originally going to make a romper from vintage seersucker but I changed my mind when Suz sent me some fabric she had left after making a dress for her daughter. There was just enough fabric for a little romper! This fabric matched my image of Thumbelina perfectly. Thank you Suz :)

I think the blogging etiquette suggests I should apologise for the photo overload in this posts... #sorrybutnotsorry :P

Today is the first day of the World Book Day blog tour. Make sure you come back to see what books inspired the rest of the participants! I am posting on the same day as Becki, our lovely hostess. You can see her creation here.

Becki organised a giveaway that runs during the tour. Visit this post to enter a giveaway for your chance to win one of four amazing prizes!