Tiny Baby Vests

baby undershirt vests

These little shirts and a few more were purchased on my last teaching trip to Australia in 1997.   I had never before seen anything like them for sale in the USA so I snatched up a half dozen in two infant sizes– small and smaller.  I wish I had bought more.

Before that, when my daughter was born 34 years ago, a neighbor and young mother herself, gave me 3 similar vests.  They were exquisite, all white, knitted in three different rib knit patterns of the finest cotton.  A tiny picot edging was the only embellishment.  As a gift, Gisella had purchased these in Germany on her most recent trip to her homeland.

Those vests were very narrow and very long.  Because my baby Rebecca was 9 lbs. 1 oz. at birth, they fit her for only a short while and I was unsuccessful in finding others in our stores.

Many years later, I was thrilled to find these when I taught near Sydney, Australia.  I’m not crazy about the synthetic trim, but it is soft and would be nearly impossible to replace.  They are shaped just like the German vests, very long and very narrow with deep armholes.   But they offer a nice bit of warmth under other garments.

This is the only one I hand embroidered.

My plan was to embroider all of these before Vivian Rose arrived, but I managed to finish just one.  Oh well.

The utilitarian wrap style undershirts with short sleeves are still available, but I especially like these for a little warmth under a daygown.  There was only one hit when I searched for a similar product.

Of course, there is probably a serger pattern for these, but I’d rather smock than make undershirts. If any of you dear readers know of a source for a similar product, please let me know.

The onesie, today’s universal baby uniform, is often used as an undergarment.   I’m glad this old fashioned Nana has an alternative for Vivian Rose.