Baby Gifts

Some friends of ours are expecting their first son later this month.  I wanted to be sure and get something made up for them before the baby arrived. I love bow tie and vest onesies, so of course, I made one for their little guy.  I also happen to think that the "No Hablo" Bodysuits are hilarious, so I threw one in there as well.

A self-bound receiving blanket, and a serged edge swaddling blanket (36" square, with rounded corners), and the gifts were good to go.

I saved a few scraps of the flannel, serged the edges, and tied the blankets up in with a contrasting bow.   Clark and I worked on this project while Miles was down for his afternoon nap.  We had a good conversation about repetition with variation as elements of design.  I explained that the blue and white color scheme united the two fabrics, while the different patterns created visual interest, repetition with variation.  Who knows if his nearly four year old mind will file the information away for future use, but I love that he asks questions, and likes to help me out.

So I've been sewing up a storm lately, and crossing things off of my "To Sew" List, but unfortunately I don't have any tutorials.  It's been a while since I've written up a tutorial for you.  Any requests on particular projects?  I'll try to squeeze in a tutorial sometime next week.

Sweetie Pi Baby Onesie and Piped Skirt

One of my favorite sections of Etsy to browse is the section labeled "Geekery".  It's not that I am necessarily drawn to anything from the section, but I love to see what others add.

I recently attended a baby shower for my cousin's wife and baby.  My cousin just graduated from college with a degree in mathematics.  I thought that it would be a bit fun to make a onesie that was just for dad. Who knows if Mama will actually let the little girl sport the onesie, but I had fun coming up with the onesie, and finding my own little spot in the world of Geekery.

The ones itself is freezer paper stenciled.  If you happen to have a math geek in your family, and want to make a similar onesie, just email me, and I'll send you the file. Obviously the reference to mathematics comes from the Pi symbol.  I had originally planned on stenciling on "Daddy's Sweetie Pi", but I thought I'd make it as simple as possible.

I wanted to make a skirt to go along with the onesie.  I came up with this little number.  It has actual pockets with piping around the edges, and several buttons set inside.  I used the same white pom pom trim that I used on this shirred sundress.

One of the things that I really like about the skirt is the fact that the front is flat, and the elastic gathers the skirt between the pockets.

I can't wait to try out this skirt again.  I still have some gray corduroy left, so I may do a gray and yellow version a bit later.  Anyone interested in a tutorial? 

Thanks for reading.  I'll be sharing a few other simple baby shower gifts a little later.

Happy sewing!

Itty Bitty Baby Girl Gift

A friend of ours just recently had a little baby girl.  I jumped on the opportunity to indulge in a pink project.  I found this adorable apple corduroy at Joann's and thought that it would make a fun autumn dress for the new little lady.

I used Rae's free Itty Bitty Baby Dress pattern.  Because this would be a winter baby, I thought that I'd have to make some coordinating long sleeve onesies to go with the little dress.

I used Rit dyes to color a couple of packs of onesies.  

 I experimented with a couple of dyes to get a range of colors.  I have some green onesies on hand for a couple of little boys that are on their way.

I also whipped up a pair of these baby booties to go with the new dress. I had intended on making a pair of ruffle bum leggings, but my sewing machine is on the fritz.  I might have to send them off later.

I'm linking up here.  Thanks for reading.

A new dress. A new baby. An old pattern.

I recently visited a friend of mine who happens to have a huge collection of patterns.  She offered to let me borrow a few baby patterns to make gifts for all of my many pregnant friends.  I, unlike her, do not have a large collection of patterns.  I love free online patterns, and I have recently attempted making my own patterns, but I just can't see spending the money on a pattern that costs as much as an item in a clothing store.  Isn't one of the ideas to save money by making things?  Now I realize that you can reuse patterns, and I am slowly being won over, but still $15 for a pattern seems a bit excessive.

One of the patterns that she lent me was this 30 year old Simplicity pattern.  She mentioned to me just how cute and simple it was, and convinced me to try it out.  I must admit it was super simple, really quick, and I think pretty cute.  I am not so sure that I want to return the pattern.  I am also saddened because I don't think that the pattern is still in print, although I am sure that it can be found online.  

If you decide that you want to find the pattern, or one like it, here is the information.  It is Simplicity pattern number 9513, printed in 1980. The pattern includes both the dress/tunic, and a bloomer pattern.  

I also recently read that whimsey couture has a similar pattern for sale if you are interested.  

I love the criss crossing straps

Jumbo RicRac trim

Here is a little bit more information about the dress.  The fabric I used was Monaco Circle Panes Yellow, with Del Hi Stones Blossom for the lining.  I love the pink and yellow together.  The pattern calls for embroidered eyelet edging, but I used a jumbo ric-rac trim that is attached at the seam rather than to the top of the dress.  

I might just have to cut out 5 more dress pieces before I return the pattern.  I really love the simple dress.  This would be the perfect project for a beginning sewer who is afraid to sew clothing.

Headbands, That Last Little Something Special

I mentioned in my post on Tuesday that I was hoping to make a headband to go with the Itty Bitty Baby Dress that I had made, well yesterday I finally got around to it.  Now I'd never made an infant headband from stretchy lace before so this was a bit of an experiment.  I found some stretch lace at Joann's along with some crystal-like beads, I added some felt petals, and ended up with this.  I think that it is pretty darling.  I only wish that the lace was cream instead of white, but it was the only thing that I could find.  If anyone has any suggestions on the best material to use when making infant headbands I would appreciate it.  Now most of the felt headbands that you'll find are made from wool felt, but I didn't have any on hand, and I didn't think that this eco-fi felt looked half bad.  With the acrylic felt I think that color choice is essential.

Earlier this week I also made a couple of headbands to add that last little something to some of my favorite outfits.  Now I love all of the felt headbands out there for big girls, but I don't know if I can pull them off.  These are a bit larger than I am used to wearing, but I think that I like them.  I simply cut out my shapes and used my hot glue gun to adhere them.  I attached them by making small loops for the headband to slide into.  This way I can easily remove the headband if I want to switch it out with another piece.  This is the same technique that I used on my rosette headband.  I'd have taken pictures of me modeling the headbands, but I need to improve my self portrait skills.

This is all sort of an experiment, and I am by no means an expert, but let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Itty Bitty Baby Dress

I don't know if it is something in the water around here, but I don't know a single pregnant woman that is having a boy.  It seems that there are lots of girls waiting to make their entrance to the world.  It is actually quite a treat for me because it gives me the opportunity to try out some new projects.  I recently purchased some Joel Dewberry fabric, it is actually decor fabric, but the moment I got it I knew that I wanted to make a baby dress out of it.  Made by Rae offers this free online pattern for an Itty Bitty Baby Dress.  The pattern is for personal use so don't go out and try selling anything that you make from the pattern.  I was surprised at how simple the pattern was.  It really didn't take much time at all to make.  Rae's pattern is for a premie to newborn baby, but you can add to the pattern to accommodate a slightly larger baby.  Small babies don't really run in our family so I am always afraid to make anything that would be too small.  

I decided that this cute little dress needed some cute little booties to accompany it.  Normally I make a 3-seam baby bootie, just because they seem like they actually stay on the baby's feet, but this time I decided to try something a bit different.  I found this pattern for kimono booties at Home Spun Threads.  I used the same Joel Dewberry fabric and some dark green cotton for the sole.   The booties turned out cute, I hope that they fit the baby's feet.  Clark seemed to have huge feet when he was born; they were puffy and wide so I don't think that they'd have been able to squeeze into these dainty little things.  When I'm sewing for others I always strive for the cute factor more so than the practical factor. Hopefully the recipient of these booties has babies with narrower feet than mine.

Like I mentioned earlier I know multiple people having baby girls.  I had to give this Itty Bitty Baby Dress another try.  I decided that the second time around I would make a few modifications.  I chose to put pleats in the dress rather than gathering the skirt (I dislike gathering...I always break a thread).  I also squared the neckline off a bit.  I like the way that the dress turned out, but I did have a more difficult time lining up the seams with the pleated skirt.  I haven't made any baby booties for this little number yet, if anyone has some suggestions of where to look let me know. My camera's battery died mid-photo shoot, so I don't have as many photos of the little aqua dress. The fabric for the aqua dress is Michael Miller.  Now I think that these little dresses need some cute little headbands to add that last little something.  That will be a project for a later post (hopefully not a failed project).

I also no several babies coming this winter...anyone know of some great projects for winter babies?