Minky Fabric $4.99

I've posted quite a few minky related projects lately.  Pillowcases, receiving blankets, burp rags, and cuddle squares are all fantastic projects you can make with less than a yard of fabric.

Today you can find a great price on hear print minky fabric.  Check out Pick Your Plum, and snag some while you can.

Can you imagine how sweet a soft cuddly pillowcase would be for Valentine's Day?  

Flannel and Minky Remnant Projects

After sewing up flannel receiving blankets, and minky and flannel pillowcases, I was left with several pieces of adorable remnant material.  I love minky and flannel, and had to put them to good use right away.  The softness of the flannel and minky make them ideal materials for any baby related project.  Burp rags and taggie cuddle squares won out this time.

  Because I had coordinating fabrics, I was able to make some cute burp rag sets to give out as gifts. I've sewn several different styles of burp rags, but a simple rounded rectangle is my favorite.  The straight edges make it easy to turn right side out, and then topstitch down. I don't remember the exact dimensions of these, but I'm thinking that they were around 9"x14", that makes it large enough to lay down and use as a changing mat if you're in a crunch.  

Another favorite scrap related baby project is the sensory cuddle square.  This allows you to use up all of those small pieces of ribbon that you couldn't toss, and gives baby something soft to hold onto.

I like to make my taggies squares, but you could even through a few pieces of ribbon onto the ends of your burp rags. You can make these any size.  I made two 12 inch squares and a 10" square as well.  You can always sandwich in a piece of crinkly plastic, but for some reason the thought of laundering the plastic deters me.

You can find my Sensory Cuddle Square tutorial here.

Minky and Flannel Magic Pillowcase

With my children getting older, their Christmas lists are beginning to fill up with things that mom just can't make.  Despite my best efforts, there was no way that I'd be able to work any sewing magic and create and sort of video game with swappable characters.  So, in order to fulfill my emotional need to make handmade gifts for my family, I came up with a couple of projects that would meet their needs rather than wants.

 One thing that I made my boys was minky and flannel pillowcases.  Miles has recently transitioned to a big boy bed, though he still prefers to sneak into our bed,  I thought a soft and cuddly pillowcase would help make him feel more comfortable in his big bed.  I have to tell you, the pillowcases were a hit.  Both Clark and Miles love their new soft pillowcases.

 I'd heard about "Magic" Pillowcases and thought I'd give them a try.  They were as simple as I'd heard they'd be.  Basically you start with 3/4 yard of the minky, or main fabric, 1/4 yard for the wide band, and two inches of fabric for the thin detail band.  With proper positioning, you are able to sew all of the bands to the main fabric at one time, and then all you are left to do is sew the side and bottom pillow case seam.  I know it doesn't seem to make any sense when I explain it that way, but fortunately for all of us, there are a huge amount of online tutorials for making them.  Check out this one, or this one, or even this one.

*None of the tutorials that I referenced used minky as a fabric choice.  Minky has always washed up well for us, and my boys love it.  If you find it difficult to sew, try using a walking foot, and pin generously.  You will also want to trim your minky down to the width of your flannel, as minky tends to be quite wide.

They are super cozy, and a perfect project to use up a remnant piece of minky. It was something that my boys didn't even know that they wanted for Christmas.

Sewing For Baby: Burp Clothes

Every new baby needs a burp cloth at some time or another.  While not all babies seem to have quite the same projection, burp clothes are a nice thing for any new mother to have on hand.

I used some of the scraps of material that I had on hand from the mitered corner receiving blankets, and some minky from the car seat canopy and cuddle square, to make a few quick burp clothes.  I made two different styles of burp clothes.  The two shown above are based on a free pattern from Cloud 9 fabrics, you can find the pattern and tutorial here. 

They are flannel on the front, and cuddle fabric on the back.

I also used up some fleece and flannel to make some serged edged burp clothes.  Both styles of burp clothes come together really quickly, and would make a nice, practical, and inexpensive gift for any new mom and baby. The great thing about the fleece backed burp clothes is that it provides a moisture barrier, that way nothing seeps through the flannel and onto your shirt. You can find the tutorial for the fleece and flannel burp clothes here.

Thanks for reading, and for all of your kind comments on our "nursery".

New Friends: Turtle Softies

Ashley from Make It and Love It, recently posted a free (for personal use) pattern and tutorial for these adorable Turtle Softies.  I couldn't help but make up a couple for my boys.

Baby Numero Dos, will have a softie to match his car seat canopy. I used the aqua minky for the underside of the turtle, and the pieces of the shell.

 Clark told me that he wanted to have a green turtle, after going through my fabric scrap pile, we ended up with a green and brown turtle.  The underside of the turtle is brown fleece, the legs and head are brown flannel, and the shell is made up of quilter's cotton.  This little softie is a great project to use up smaller sized fabric scraps.  I don't know why I find so much satisfaction in using up fabric scraps, but I do.  So not only can you use up scraps with this project, but it comes together very quickly, and is perfect for a boy or girl.

You can find Ashley's original post here.

Infant Car Seat Canopy

Shortly after Clark graduated from his infant carrier to a big boy car seat (at about 4 months), I started seeing car seat canopies pop up everywhere.  It is such a simple idea, a receiving blanket that attaches to the handle of the carrier.  It keeps the baby nice and cozy during winter months, and keeps strangers from touching those precious little cheeks when you're at the super market.

I knew that I really wanted to make one for baby #2.  I used the fantastic tutorial from Erin of Sutton Grace.  You can find her tutorial here.

I spent lots of time trying to find the right fabric for the cover.  I went back and forth between a few favorite fabrics, but ultimately ended up using this cotton from Riley Blake's Sweet Nothings line.  For the inside of the canopy I used an aqua minky fabric that I absolutely love. I'm quite pleased with how the canopy turned out.  I do wish that I would have added a couple of extra inches in the length, just to cover any gaps that might occur when transporting the carrier.  I'm still debating whether or not I want to add a small window to the front of the canopy.  It wouldn't be hard to do, but I'm not quite sure that it's necessary.

If you have a baby on the way, one on your hip, or are trying to think up a nice baby gift for a friend-I highly recommend an infant carrier canopy.  You could of course purchase one online, but they really don't take much time at all to make.

Thanks for reading.  I know that the majority of my recent posts have been baby related.  I promise that I have in mind to come up with a few different projects.

Baby Lovey Cuddle Square: With Tutorial

It seems like when Clark was a few months old he developed a fascination with tags.  He love the tags on clothing, tags on toys, tags on his blankets, etc. Before having him, I never quite understood the need for a cuddle square or lovey, but after dealing with his tag fetish, I realized that it was a wise parent that thought of making a tagged cuddle square. It satisfies the need that some little tactile learners have to pull on tags, and hold their blankets close.

I decided to use some of the scrap fabric and material that I have sitting in my stash to make a cuddle square for Baby #2.  It is a really quick and easy project that even the beginning sewist can tackle.

You'll find the full tutorial below.

Mitered Corner Cuddle Receiving Blanket

Here's another receiving blanket that I made for our little boy on the way.  It is another mitered corner blanket, you can find my first mitered corner blanket here, and the tutorial here.  This blanket is made with flannel and soft cuddle fabric that I picked up in the remnant bin at Joann's.  I picked up the white cuddle fabric first, and was then left with the task of finding a coordinating flannel that I liked.  

I'm not one that typically selects baby blue for baby boys, but I loved the sweetness of this print from the Nate & Kate Child's Play line. I picked up the flannel at a local quilt shop.  It reminds me of childhood story books, and matches the crib bedding that we have quite nicely.  I think that it will be the perfect little blanket to rock the baby to sleep in.

It was a bit more difficult to sew the cuddle fabric than standard flannel, but it came together pretty well. If you make a similar blanket of your own, just remember not to iron embossed minky, as it will remove those precious little dots that probably convinced you to purchase the fabric in the first place. 

Thanks for reading.

Minky and Chenille Cloth Diaper Burp Clothes

Yesterday I mentioned that I'd share some other little shower gift ideas.  Now I didn't get super creative with my gift giving, but I do always like to throw in something practical.  I know that I was a new mom I was amazed at how many burp clothes I went through.  Even though Clark didn't have any major spit up problems, I found them extremely useful, especially when nursing.  At the beginning of the nursing adventure I would have to slide one burp cloth down the side of my shirt that I wasn't nursing on, because a nursing pad didn't suffice.  

Hopefully I haven't made any of you feel too uncomfortable. The point is that burp clothes are a necessity for every new mama, reflux or not.

You can find cloth diapers in most any baby section.  I picked up a six pack for six dollars at our local wal-mart. I then gathered some scrap minky and chenille that my mom had left over from a baby quilt she made years ago.  The only scraps that she had left over were long thin strips.  It is difficult to use a scrap of fabric to is too thin, but this is really the perfect project for those remaining fabric scraps.

Most cloth diapers have a center section that is somewhat padded for extra absorbency.  I simply measured the width of the section, and cut my strips of fabric to the same dimensions.  I believe that these particular diapers were 4 1/2" wide by 19 1/2", but make sure to measure for yourself if you try this project out. I then used my overcast serger to finish off the raw edges.  If you don't have a serger you can cut your strips of fabric 1/2" larger in each dimension, and then press the raw edges under 1/4" on each side.  Once the raw edges were taken care of I pinned the material to the center of the diaper, and stitched them in place.

 The soft cuddle fabric is especially nice for little babies.  My sister in law has some similar burp clothes that she uses, and she says that they wash up great, and her babies have all loved using them. Another variation is to cut the fabric to the size of the whole cloth diaper.  I didn't have enough fabric to do that, and I like this just as well.  You don't have to use a cuddle fabric, you can stitch colorful ribbons, or a quilting cotton down the center for the same effect.

I bundled three burp clothes together with a piece of lace, and clipped a little pinwheel hair clip to the top for a little extra decoration.  Simple, quick, practical, yet pretty. I love that they coordinated with the Sweetie Pi onesie and skirt.