The color purple for children's clothes

For years I have heard rumors about the color purple and children's clothing, and more specifically girls dresses. Specifically the rumors suggested that purple was associated with death. That children who pass away are buried in purple in certain countries. Sales of purple dresses seemed to lag behind other colors, and some retailers refused to carry the color. If you shop the market you will probably not see much purple in the infant/toddler range.

Purple is an odd fashion color. It seems to run through the fashion cycle rather quickly. Either you love it or hate it. Of course a designer must consider the shade and intensity and other such things. And yet one hot color combo for girls is orange and purple. I haven't figured it out.

Read more about the color purple at Wikipedia and Sensational Color.

Careful - This Bib is Patented

I have seen a few children's accessory designers make this bib. I can't say for sure if they have made it exactly, but there is enough similarities that caution should be advised. There are a few children's apparel/accessory products that have been patented. I don't generally like the idea of patenting these kinds of products because they are usually so simple. With a quick search I found over 200 patents on bibs and related items and some of them are extremely simple products. If you do register a patent, you also must be willing to defend it legally. This bib is patented by Nancy Sell with the bib being sold at Wal-Mart.

Other things to consider with patents. They take time and money to prepare. This bib was "invented" in 1993 and the patent filing wasn't completed until 1996. There are some interesting related inventions of a coat and an apron that had similar pockets.

This style of bib is called a "crumb catcher". It has a folded pocket on the bottom that is secured with strategically placed snaps. The bib is made of a vinyl type material on the face and a fuzzy fabric on the back.





Here is a close-up of the folding used to create the pocket.

I haven't decided if this was really worth going through the process of obtaining a patent. It is interesting enough that I traced it off for further study and that is when I noticed the label with patent info. If you do patent a design you must include the patent info on a label. Anyway, if you do make a "crumb catcher" bib, just make sure it doesn't violate this patent.

Are you a draper or a drafter?

In design school the teachers always told us that some students are natural drapers and some are natural drafters. Some students work better with a pencil and paper and others work better with a piece of fabric on a form. I leaned toward the pencil and paper because I prefer to work with numbers. Draping was was more difficult because it seemed less precise. My brain couldn't wrap itself around the concept of turning a drape into a pattern.

Over time draping has become less difficult, but still a challenge. I am getting a good draping exercise by making a slip cover for my old couch. Newer couches have the over-stuffed arms that curve. My couch doesn't have this and I couldn't find a slip cover to fit. A custom cover is $$$. Why not do it myself (with help from a library book on slipcovers)?

I am draping the cover with a "muslin" of green broadcloth and an old sheet.


I just draped the arm and will be moving onto the deck next. This couch has the added difficulty of being a sleeper sofa. We would never have bought a sleeper sofa in a million years but it was given to us and so we use it.

This is the fabric for the couch, a great buy from Wal-Mart. Wal-mart carries upholstery fabric and the price is usually great. BTW, that is our gold rocker. Isn't it lovely?! Unfortunately, the style is too difficult to slipcover and will have to be re-upholstered by a pro.