Cici Bianca

A huge problem has been determining what kind of closures to incorporate on the baby jackets.  What can I use that is easy and convenient?  We are looking at a rather elegant little jacket and however it is closed needs to be in keeping with the style.

Initially the thought was to close it with the tie at the neck.  Bad decision as the jacket gaped open.  Well what about buttons?  It is difficult to weave a button hole in this jacket so what could be done there?  Actually magnets would be great although there is the worry about that little great grandmother with a pacemaker…  This calls for a little experimenting.

I found these darling little star shaped Lucite buttons that looked wonderful.  They were unobtrusive and classic and appeared they might work.  Problem -  there is no way to make a good little loop/tab to slip over the button that is easy to use and didn’t cause distortion on the front of the jacket when it is buttoned.

The thought of covered snaps crossed my mind, but who wants to cover them – that would cost a fortune – so, what about the magnets?  Would that work?  How are they enclosed in the facing?  Do they need to be covered?  Are they going to be strong enough to keep the jacket closed?  Trial and error – trial and error.  So I am still working on this.  Nothing is quite right but it will get figured out.

Now I need to deal with the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) – our government at it’s best!

 

This is tough – Babies and Toddlers are all different sizes! Short, Tall, Chubby, Skinny, Long Arms, Short Torsos – no different from adults but I need to get some averages.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Newborn Jacket

The first baby that gets to try this on is my Granddaughter Remy.  After all, she was the inspiration! 

Cute eh?  But does it fit?  The bow is tied way too big (my fault – I tied it) and I think I need to shorten the ends but that is only cosmetic and has nothing to do with the real fit.  What about the sleeves?  Is the neck too tight and high under her chin?  What about the body length?  Is it too much fabric around her body?

Obviously I need to try it on some other bodies!

 

 

 

 

I enlisted an employee of a friend who has two little girls 18 months and 3 years old.  I took several sizes to their home for a fitting and came away even more confused.  The 18 month old was chubbier than her 3 year old sister.  Hmm, what to do…

The next fitting was with Kaylee, daughter of the owner of Essenza Boutique in Scottsdale where I sell my women’s jackets.  She is adorable and will be my one of my on going “fit models” when I don’t have access to Remy.

This was interesting because I noticed shoulders were so different too!  How in the world will I ever figure out the correct fit?  What do I know of babies and toddlers?  It has been a million years since I was  there!

I think it is back to the drawing board with the sizes.  Maybe it won’t be a total revamp but I do need to at least make my sizes consistent.  I don’t think it matters that they compare exactly with other manufacturers because it appears one manufacturers 6 month size is an other’s newborn or even an other’s 9 month.  I just need to have my patterns always exactly the same with no variation.

But… Here is the next delimmna and it is a biggie - causing me too many wide awake hours in the middle of the night. 

What about the closures???

One of the first steps in the process of developing the line – Cici Bianca for Baby, was determining the different sizes that would be offered.  I didn’t want it to be too complicated and wanted to start with baby sizes first – New Born, 6 Mo, 12 Mo, 18 Mo, and 24 Mo.  If I liked what we were doing and the response was good, toddler sizes could be added later. 

The technique to produce these jackets is unique. This is not cut and sew, nor is it like hand knitting or even regular machine knitting.  It is actually closer to weaving, using an over and under process combining  yarns and ribbons to create the fabric.

Figuring out the sizing and writing the patterns were, and are, a challenge.  The only way I knew how to do this was to take measurements (length, shoulder, chest, neck and sleeve) from other jackets and make those into patterns my workers could follow to weave the bodies and sleeves. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

A  trip to Kohls to purchase some inexpensive little jackets was on the agenda!  Once again I found out there are no standard sizes - one brand’s 6 Mo may be an other’s 12 Mo. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to find a style by Carter that had the whole range of sizes  needed for my measurements.

I purchased the  5 little jackets and headed back to the studio to my work table and trusty tape measure.  Now to adapt these inches into stitches of yarn and rows of fabric for each of the  sizes and hope they are graded correctly.  Pattern writing is not my strong suit – I am visual and to transfer all of this into numbers is way over my head but I’m slogging through it…

 

Next:  Will these fit?

 

 

This all started months ago when my pregnant daughter-in-law suggested I make baby jackets – specifically, one for my soon to be born Granddaughter.  What??  Baby jackets??? I design and manufacture uniquely constructed jackets for women, hand crafted with woven ribbons of fabric and finished with crochet trims.  www.cicibianca.com They are expensive and labor intensive and what do I know of baby jackets?  I let the thought slip from my mind but awoke several nights later with a vision of the most adorable little item.  It was designed using the same techniques as our women’s jackets but made of pink satin with a big bow at the neck.  I could see it and knew this was something I could produce. 

Christmas was coming and I was excited knowing  it would be a perfect  shower gift for the highly anticipated little girl so I set upon designing the prototype.  I had no clue where to start for sizing but went on line and checked on newborn sizes (which are all over the board) and came up with something that seemed to be somewhat reasonable. 

I picked an employee with the best skills for both weaving and finishing and told her what I wanted to do and she was excited and eager to take on the challenge.  After several starts and stops and arguments over how it was to look – (it was my vision and my Granddaughter and I own the company!) we came to an agreement.  The finished product was not perfect but it was beautiful and I knew we had created something special.  Without exception, everyone who saw it had the same excited comment – “You need to make these!”  Thus, Cici Bianca for Baby was born.

This is the story of what goes into the development of a new product….

 Next:  How in the world do we really do this?

Visit our new site www.cicibiancababy.com to see what has been done!