Latest Baby Shoes

I just can't get enough of these.  I was actually pondering opening a shop to sell them, but I frankly don't have the time right now.  Something about the whole three children ages 6 and under.....  :)

Anyway.  Here's the latest, all made from free patterns:

These darlings just might be my current favorite.  They were made from a free pattern found here, but adapted quite a bit.  Fabric from JoAnn, buttons from my stash.

Everyone needs a pair of Mary Janes!  Free pattern found here.  Adapted in that I did not make a velcro strap; I just used fold over elastic instead.  More comfy and more likely to stay on!  Fabric from JoAnn, fold over elastic from The Ribbon Retreat.

And an old favorite, the faux Robeez pattern, found here.  Thin grey leather from Brettuns Village, lining and yo-yo fabric from JoAnn.

Baby shoes

This has to be my favorite baby gift ever.  Darling little shoes.  I will admit to a bit of a learning curve, but once I figured them out, the process became pretty easy.

I made each of these pairs of shoes from a free pattern from another generous blogger.

Kimono Shoes (fabric from JoAnn, buttons from my stash)

Faux Robeez (leather from Brettuns Village, leather dye from Angelus, lining bleached muslin, buttons from my stash)

Mila Shoes (lace from Walmart, lining bleached muslin, fold over elastic from my stash)

(though if I had it to do over again, I'd use black for the inner most lining so the stitches wouldn't show.  Live and learn.)

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Duck Slippers

I just made the cutest pair of little slippers ever!

This is a pattern I got off Whoopdwhoop, that crafty swapping site I've mentioned before.  Peek a Boo patterns created this pattern, and the minute I saw it, I knew it would make the PERFECT baby gift for friends we went to law school with at the University of Oregon, home of the Ducks!  (Get it?  Duck slippers?  Ha!)  They were quick and easy to make, and the instructions were clear and easy to understand.

Peek a Boo patterns has lots of adorable patterns, and if you don't have anything to swap on Whoopdwhoop, you can always check out their Etsy shop.

And I didn't get compensation of any kind for this post, just sharing a good find again!

Bow remake

Hey there folks....I haven't got much of interest going on, since I'm still plugging away at those cabinets (and repainting our banister so I can put the gate up and no longer have boxes barricading the stairs).  But yesterday I did whip out my glue gun, so I thought I'd show you what I did.
We were getting ready to leave for church, and I was ransacking my daughter's bow collection.  She got a set of five bows for Christmas.  I believe Faded Glory makes them, sold at Walmart.  The bows themselves are cute, but I never cared for the rosette on the top.

So I started ripping them off as my husband was calling for me to come get in the car!  Later that afternoon, I raided my quite extensive button stash, and hot glued some of those babies on.

So easy it barely qualifies as crafting, but I think they look much better.

Burp cloth tutorial and template

These are some easy peasy burp cloths that make great baby gifts.  They go with the reversible bibs I've also posted.

You will need:

Flannel

Thread

Template

First of all, here is the template.  I would trace it onto a folded piece of tissue paper, then unfold it and pin it to two layers of flannel (right sides together), then cut. 

(hard to see, but there is the tissue paper pattern pinned to the flannel)

Simply remove the pattern piece and repin the two pieces of flannel together, and you're good to go.  Cuts a couple steps out that way.

Starting on one of the straight edges and using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew all the way around, leaving about 1.5 inches open.  Trim your seams down to about 1/4 inch, EXCEPT at the open seam, Then carefully clip the curves (pies out of outer curves, snip inner curves) as needed:

Then turn the whole thing inside out through the 1.5 inch opening.  Use a pen or a ruler or even your shears (provided they have blunt ends) to help push the curves out.  Then press to help it hold its shape, and pin the open seam closed.

Now, if your sewing machine has any decorative stitching, it's time to shine. I chose a green thread with a curving stitch to match my monkey bibs. Again, using the presser foot as a guide, sew all the way around. Make sure you are sewing close enough to the edge to close up that 1.5 inch open seam.

And you are done!  Here's my burp cloth with its matching bib:

I like to roll them up and tie them with raffia and a note.

Easy peasy cute gift!

Little girls' flower headbands

So I had a shower to attend on Friday.  My husband's cousin Kattie is pregnant with long awaited twin girls.  I'm not into the whole twins matching thing...so I opted for similar-but-different in the hair bows I made (because no little girl can have too many bows).

The first set:

Made of felt and foldover elastic.  I took this tutorial and adapted it.  Mostly made it smaller!  I used 3.5 inch squares instead of 7 inch squares.  I found it was too hard to fold the felt into fourths and cut it...so I just folded it in half and cut it (here's my template, if you want it).  Once each petal piece was sewn, I attached it all together on the headband with hot glue.

Second set:

I based these flowers on a tutorial for making paper flowers.  I used a salad plate to make the circle from which I cut the spiral...but that was a little big...I ended up cutting off quite a bit!  And just glued sparkly silver beads in the center (how I love my hot glue gun).

Third set:

I just kinda twisted and folded in my own way, but here is a good rolled rose tutorial (the actual tutorial is a PDF and I can't get the link to work...so just scroll down the page until you come across Free Projects on the right side bar).  Oh, and I was extra zealous on the felt backing for the burlap rose to make sure none of that itchy (but totally cool looking) burlap would touch the baby's head. Trimmed out a little bit of the center of each rose so I could sink the 8 mm brown pearl into it.  More hot glue.

Fourth set:

My favorite!  Braided roses made with two patterned calicos and one solid broadcloth each.  Cut (or tear) three strips of fabric (mine were 12 inches long and half an inch wide, which made about a rose about an inch and a quarter in diameter).  Either hot glue or sew together at one end.  Braid (how tightly you braid changes the look of the rose).  Sew or hot glue the ends together to hold braid.  Roll up, gluing as you go.  Finish by tucking the end of the braid on the bottom of the rose and gluing into place.  The end!

The leaves are also pretty easy.  Cut a 3 inch square of fabric.  Fold in half to make a rectangle, then take the top two corners of the rectangle and fold down into the center, forming a triangle (this puts all the unfinished edges together along the bottom).  Baste along the long bottom (unfinished) edge of the triangle.  Gather.  And there you go.

And now, back to sewing my daughter's new dress...we're getting our family pictures taken tomorrow, and I figured out what I wanted my son and husband to wear, but my little girl just didn't have anything that would suit me!  So I headed off to the fabric store...I'm almost done with the dress, then I'll just have to make the little bolero jacket (but I'm also going to attempt making my own bias tape...wish me luck!)

Reversible baby bib tutorial and template

Okay, so I finally finally finished the great American bib making project.  It took me forever because I tend to make baby gifts in mass...I'm a young mother, and lots of my friends are young mothers, so someone is ALWAYS having a baby.  So 16 bibs later, I have the tutorial ready!

First off, here is the link to the bib template.  It's just a tiny bit too tall for the original size to print on an 8.5X11 sheet of paper and maintain its dimensions..I really did try though.  The original size of the bib is 5 inches wide and 11.75 inches tall, FYI.  Adjust as you will.

I used terry cloth on one side and flannel on the other side.  The terry is a neutral color (because every mom needs a bib that will go with almost everything!), and the flannel is a cute print for some pizzaz.  So, pin your pattern (I like to trace mine onto leftover crumpled up tissue paper, then pin it on) onto your terry cloth, and cut it out.

Then, save yourself a step and use the terry cloth piece as the pattern.  Pin the terry cloth bib shape to the RIGHT (patterned) side of the flannel, and cut out.

Now you have the two pieces already pinned together and ready to sew. 

I used the edge of my presser foot, which is just under 1/2 inch, for the seam allowances.  Start on one of the straight sides, and sew ALMOST all the way around, leaving about 1.5 to 2 inches open.  (I used black thread here for the purposes of the tutorial.  Definitely recommend using thread that blends in (i.e., white)!

Trim your seams down to about 1/4 inch, EXCEPT at the open seam (see photo).  Then carefully clip the curves (pies out of outer curves, snip inner curves) as needed.

Now, the tricky part: turn the entire bib inside out through the 1.5 to 2 inch open seam.  Use a pen or a ruler or even your shears (provided they have blunt ends) to help push the corners out.

Iron the flannel side lightly to help the edges stay pushed out and in place.  If you'd like, pin the open seam closed.

Now, if your sewing machine has any decorative stitching, whip it out.  I chose a green thread with a curving stitch for my monkey bibs.  Again, using the presser foot as a guide, sew all the way around.  Make sure you are sewing close enough to the edge to close up that 1.5 to 2 inch open seam. 

I use snaps because I hate the way my kids' velcro bibs get stuck to my clothes in the washer.  They're simple to use, and look nice.  Follow the instructions on the package to apply.  I find that hammering them doesn't always work (especially with one of the two layers being terry cloth), so I employ my flat nose jewelry pliers to squeeze them into place.

And you're done!  Now all you need is a cute baby to put it on!