Peekaboo Bonnet for Eva

I saw the Peekaboo Bonnet pattern over at Made By Rae while I was pregnant with Eva and fell in love with it.  I told my husband if we had a girl I was buying that pattern and I would make her a dozen of those cute little bonnets.


Well, we had a girl and I promptly bought the pattern.  I let it sit on my kitchen table for a good week and a half completely intimidated.  I had never worked with piping and my ruffling and binding skills leave a lot to be desired.


I kept reading reviews for the pattern and of course everyone said how easy and quick the pattern was but I still didn't believe them so I let the pattern sit....stupid me.


Finally a couple days before my family reunion, which was to be held outside at the end of June can we say HOT.  I knew Eva needed that bonnet to protect her little head and keep the sun out of her eyes so I kicked my butt in gear and decided to just start sewing and see what I came up with.

Is this not the cutest little bonnet EVER!

I love it and I want to make 23 more.  My husband says it looks Amish and he's not a fan, I told him I don't care I'm making one in every color of the rainbow and a few extras after that.

And let me tell you this pattern was super easy.  After my pieces were cut out, because I did that on a separate day, it took me all of a naptime to finish it.  And if you have ever read my blog before you know naptimes in this house are never very long.  The only thing is I don't consider mine reversible because I machine stitched the center strip instead of hand stitching like Rae recommended, so the seam on the inside was very visible.  It doesn't look so bad that I couldn't reverse it if I wanted I just prefer to not see the seam. 

I've gotten so many compliments on it and Eva is the cutest little girl ever in it.  Sometimes I put it on her just so I can marvel at how adorable it is, and she is in it.

DIY Maternity Hospital Gown

I am super excited about this post, for a few reasons but one of them being I didn't actually think I was going to get this project finished. 


I made my own hospital gown using this pattern.  I've had this on my to-do list since early fall.  Of course I had planned on making it way back then but fall is too busy a time to add projects I can technically put off until after the New Year.  So I procrastinated like I always do, but this past weekend I finally made it in to Hobby Lobby in the hopes of them having the perfect fabric on clearance.


They didn't have the fabric I envisioned but I really like what I found.  I'm normally more of a blue kinda girl and that's what I wanted but I found this chocolate brown with teal polka dots for $3 a yard and thought it would probably work better.  I thought the dark color would be good considering it could possibly get a little messy, the brown will hide some of that if necessary.  I ended up buying 3 yards in case I needed to add length to the gown.  I also bought 2 packages of double fold bias tape and 1 spool (3yds) of 1 inch ribbon.  Of course I used coupons for the bias tape and ribbon and the total for my gown ended up being $13 and some change.  Not bad considering the ones online are $40 or more.

Here it is without the ribbon tie.

The ribbon isn't necessary but it makes me feel less of a huge whale waddling around.  Plus it adds a cuteness factor to it.

I used Velcro on the shoulders instead of snaps like some other bloggers.  My only reason for this is I had Velcro in my stash and I knew I could sew it on quicker than attaching snaps.  Plus I really think Velcro will be easier to attach with one hand after nursing, rather than trying to re-snap a bunch of snaps. 

I also liked the look of the ribbon around the waist or on top of my belly whichever way you wanna put it, so I added 2 small belt loops one on either side of the gown to hold it in place.  I didn't notice anyone else adding this little detail but when I thought of having the ribbon I wanted to make sure if it came untied it wouldn't just fall to the floor.  As I will probably be distracted I don't want to keep track of a ribbon.

The pattern and original directions didn't call for bias tape but I saw this blog and really liked the looks of it.  I however am not great with bias tape and probably didn't do mine right.  Actually I know I didn't but hey, I gave it my best shot and I'm not complaining with the results.  One day I'm gonna learn how to put it on right.

The directions on the pattern confused me a little.  None of the other blogs I read had any problem with them so I'm gonna assume it's a combination of my lack of brain function after a full day with a 3 year old and 2 year old and pregnancy brain on top of that.  I followed the parts I could and was winging the rest but it's seriously so simple that even winging it was easy.

The pattern called for a button on each shoulder next to the neck line.  I thought this was probably pointless so wasn't going to add them.  Then when I finished the gown I realized they actually did serve a purpose.  If you try to leave them out this is what your gown will look like. 

Even after realizing this I still didn't want to do buttons so I added an extra piece of Velcro.  I didn't want any part of the gown to be cumbersome when trying to nurse my little one.

I didn't add the pocket to the top for a heart monitor since I thought it was probably unnecessary for labor and delivery. 

I wanted to make sure my backside was completely covered while making trips to the restroom and such, since I know from experience it's difficult to hold the back of your gown, the IV pole, and walk to the restroom all at the same time during labor.  So instead of cutting the fabric following the left and right back pattern pieces.  I instead did 2 left side pieces and positioned the ribbons accordingly.

I only did a 1/2 inch hem around the bottom and didn't end up adding any extra length and this came to just below the knees and I'm about 5ft 7inches.  I'm ok with this length as I didn't want anything really long to have to mess with during delivery and exams.  In a few of the blogs I looked at  they added length because they felt like this length was too short.  If your on the fence go ahead and add a few inches because it's easier to take away extra than to add more at the end.

While brown still isn't my favorite color, I'm thrilled with my gown.  I love the fact that I won't have to wear one of the dingy white gowns the hospital provides.  I love that I can use this when I get home as a nursing nightgown if I want so it's not just a one time use, not that it still wouldn't be worth it.

Here is the backside of the gown.  I still need to trim the ribbon a little  but other than that, it's ready to go in my hospital bag!

I just wish now that I had seen this pattern back when I knew a bunch of people having babies so I could make them one.  They really are easy to put together and would make a really fantastic baby shower gift, especially for a 2nd or 3rd time mom as they usually already have most of the baby stuff covered and could use some mommy pampering.

Hopefully it won't be too long before I will have pictures of my gown in action with my little one in my arms!

DIY Reusable Nursing Pads

With baby's impending arrival I've been trying to get a little prepared with some DIY's that will end up saving me money.  I've had reusable nursing pads on my to-do list since summer.  Why I put it off until the end is beyond me but I guess that's just my way.  I found quite a few different tutorials and everyone had different ways they thought worked the best. 

After reading a bunch of them I decided to make mine my own way using some pointers from other blogs.  I used 3 different kinds of fabric, flannel, fleece, and PUL.  I also used cotton batting as the inside layer in all of them.  Some people used multiple layers of flannel instead of the batting but I was too lazy to dig through my stash for that much flannel and cut that many circles. 


Some blogs used fleece as the waterproof layer on the outside, other's used PUL.  I happened to have both so I made some of each.

 Since I haven't used them yet I can't say if one or the other works better but I like the feel of the fleece over the PUL.  I wasn't going for perfection with these since, let's face it, no one but me is actually going to see them.  So I didn't make sure the edges were finished

 

and I didn't match up the thread color with the fabrics either. They will serve their purpose regardless.

At first I didn't plan on making them contoured, just round.  I used a disposable nursing pad as a pattern so I would know what size I needed.  I cut 3 layers of fabric for each pad, a layer of fleece or PUL, a layer of flannel, and a layer of cotton batting.  Make sure your batting it 100% cotton and not a polyester, the cotton works better for absorbancy and looks better.  Stack these 3 layers with the cotton batting as the center layer.

Pin them together.  Notice mine don't exactly match up all the way around.  This is the beauty of these pads is perfection is unnecessary.  You will be trimming around the seam later, so your edges don't have to match up.

Stitch once around using a 1/4inch seam allowance using a straight stitch.  Then go around again with a zigzag or if you have a serger you can use that to finish the edges.  This will add stability and make your pads last longer.  Remember these are going to get lots of use and washed a lot too, you want them to hold up well through all that.

Once you have finished your edges cut around your zigzag stitch, making sure to cut close to it but not cutting through your stitching.

Now straight stitch a cross pattern

I didn't get a picture of the cross stitch before I added the pleats above so pretend they aren't there and you're just looking at the straight stitches.

After I made the first pad round and tried it in my nursing bra I realized it bunched up a little more than I liked so I needed to add some pleats, or darts, or whatever they are called, to make them contoured.

Once I put those in they fit perfectly.  The first few I made with pleats I didn't sew them down and they looked like this when I was finished.

After trying them on I thought you might be able to see them sticking up through my more form fitting shirts so I did a few like this:

Notice the pleats are stitched down.

They turned out perfect as far as fit, size, and you couldn't see anything through my shirts so I made all the rest with the pleats stitched down.

One thing I love about these is there's no crinkling of fabric like the disposable ones.  I truly hated that sound.  And these are really soft against my skin which I think will be great, especially in the beginning with soreness.

I made about 13 pair and plan on making a few more.  I really want enough to wear 1 through the day and 1 pair at night.  I didn't actually ever have a problem with leaking when I nursed Grant.  I never leaked one time and kind of felt like I was wasting my disposable nursing pads because they never had anything on them.  I've been told by numerous other mom's who've nursed that this isn't normal haha.  I think because Grant never latched on right my milk flow never got to be enough to make me leak.  Either way this time I'm prepared and I love knowing I don't have to stock up on disposable pads.  Those things can become costly really fast.  If I remember they were about $6 a box when Grant was an infant and if you tend to leak I'm sure you can go through them quickly.  When you're buying diapers, wipes, and nursing pads your bank account can take a hit fast, do yourself a favor and make some of these.  I probably made 6 pair within an hour once I got on a roll and figured out exactly what worked for me.  That's not too shabby in my opinion.  Not to mention if you know someone who's having a baby and going to be nursing these would make a great baby shower gift.

DIY Handmade Receiving Blankets

When I found out I was pregnant I immediately had a mental list of things I wanted to make.  Most of those items were things I found store bought versions to be useless when Grant was a baby.  Grant was a big baby, over 9lbs, and I found infant towels and receiving blankets to be too small to wrap my little guy up.  I remember using 2 and 3 towels to completely wrap my squirmy little one up after a bath, and I couldn't swaddle him in most receiving blankets because they didn't fit properly either.

I vowed I would not buy either of these items from the stores because it would probably be a waste of our money.  So when Black Friday rolled around this past year I bought 4 yards of gender neutral flannel that was on sale for $1.74/yd. 

I made these two blankets like I made cloth napkins from this site.  If I had a serger it would have taken a whole lot less time.  Unfortunately I don't own one yet so my way takes a little bit longer but for anyone else who doesn't have a serger this way of hemming the blankets makes it so they don't fray.


I didn't take the time to even up all my edges and square them off, mainly because I'm lazy.  I didn't want these blankets to take any more time than necessary since it took me so long to get the fabric out and get started anyways.  I'm not looking for perfection in a blanket like this but if I were giving it as a baby shower gift I would square it all off making it even .  The only thing I noticed about not squaring the edges was the corners don't square perfectly like you see below:

 and when you fold them up all the edges don't match up perfectly. 

Again this doesn't bother me but if it does you, you may want to take the few extra minutes to even your edges out.

Getting this project underway makes me want to start on my other baby projects and I can't wait to wrap my new little one up in one of these.

Gender Neutral Baby Shower Gift

I was invited to a baby shower over the weekend and the parents had decided not to find out the gender of their baby.  I'm not one to buy outfits as baby shower gifts, instead I like to buy/make the useful items I've heard others say are boring to shop for.  So I raided my fabric stash for anything I had that didn't scream boy or girl to whip up a quick couple of burp cloths and bibs.  I feel like every mom in the world should have burp cloths like these.  I have been making them since before Grant was born and I LOVE them.  They are all I used with Grant and all I plan on using with this next little one.  I didn't have spit up leak through them one time, and my little guy was quite the spit-upper (is that even a word?).

I used Grant's old bibs as a template for these.

I give these burp cloths to almost the mom of almost every baby shower I attend.  I get a little bored making the same things all the time but I just can't get away from them.  Every mom needs them and I hate to see them using the ugly old school flat fold diapers, or the super thin burp cloths you can buy in the stores.  So I break out the flannel and quilt batting and cut a few out knowing how useful they will be.

I added a couple bottles (using a buy one get one free coupon), baby spoons, and 2 boxes of baby cereal (I paid all of $0.08 for a few months back using coupons).  So I kind of went with a feeding item theme.  The total cost of the entire gift was under $6 and I'm pretty satisfied.  I know the new mom and dad will get plenty of use out of everything, and that's always my goal when baby shower gift shopping.

At the last minute I realized I didn't have a card, which happens to me a lot.  I tend to forget to include one and have the guest of honor who the gift is from, to which I have to shout over every one "that ones from me".  So I got out my Cricut and my Boys Will Be Boys Cricut Lite cartridge and made this:

 

I love the simplicity of it which is just what I look for in cards these days.  It took me all of 5 minutes to make this which made me really want to whip up a few extras for future showers, as it seems someone is always pregnant around here.  Maybe another day when I have nothing to do, cuz you know I have soooo much extra time on my hands these days...lol

Tie Applique Bibs & A Hospital Survival Kit

Let me start off by saying I'm so LOVING these bibs.  I have actually contemplated keeping them (which would be ridiculous since Grant doesn't use them anymore and we have no baby around), they are just that adorable.

I saw a picture on the web (of course I saved the pic in my favorites file but no web address of where I found it) and knew if someone had a boy I would need to make them.  Go figure not a few weeks later I found out my cousin was having a baby boy, JACKPOT!

I used brown corduroy and navy blue linen fabric and they turned out fantastic.  I used old shirt scraps for the tie applique and it added just the right touch.  If I ever have another baby boy I'm making a dozen of these.

I also put together a hospital survival kit.  I know as a first time Mom I wasn't really sure of what to take and everyone told me something different.  I, of course, packed a small suitcase for myself and a large bag for my new little guy, only to find out I didn't need 80% of the stuff I packed.  So I ended up just making more work for myself when it was time to leave and repack all my crap and haul it to the car.

Here is what I included with a tag explaining why the item is necessary:

Flip Flops- hospital showers are not clean.  I don't care how many times the cleaning people have been in to scour them out.  I would not be bare foot in one, and that's coming from someone who has worked in a hospital.

Travel shampoo/conditioner-self explanatory & no need to pack them up and take them home, just pitch them before leaving.

Body wash & mini loafa-every new mom should have more than a cheap bar of soap and a thin wash cloth when taking a shower.  We have been through enough, we deserve better.

Almay makeup remover- I use these as makeup removers but also as a facewash when on the go.  After labor and delivery a quick freshening up before visitors arrive makes us new mom's feel a thousand times better.

Vaseline- if your little guy is going to be circumsized this is a must.  When I had my son they told me to put vaseline on the area to prevent the diaper from sticking and to keep urine out of the area.  The only problem with this is they only give you these teeny tiny packets of vaseline which I, of course, used 1 whole one every time I changed his diaper, and it seemed to take forever to get more when I ran out.  It's something you don't want to have to wait for when changing a diaper.

Lotion: between the hand washing and Purell your hands will be dry as all get out and lotion is a must.

Stretchy headbands-I don't know one single new mom who wants to worry about her hair while in the hospital.  These come in handy.

Lip Balm- labor and delivery makes your lips dry

Small Notebook- The thing I wish I had done more than anything else was write down my birth story.  The funny things said and done leading up to my son's birth.  What time I went into labor, what I was thinking and feeling.  Who came to visit and their reactions.  What it was like being new parents those first few days.  You think you will remember all those little details but you forget sooner than you think.  This is one item I will have in my next hospital bag.

**Not included in this kit but another must if you are going to be a breastfeeding mom (definately one I will include the next time I need a hospital kit) is nipple cream.  I had a very difficult time getting Grant to latch on correctly and therefore became sore very quickly.  The nurses gave me cream in these tiny packets (just like the vaseline), but once again I ran out quickly considering they wanted me to attempt nursing my new little one every 30 minutes to an hour, and getting more seemed to take more time than it was worth.  I ended up doing without many times because I got tired of waiting.  Nurses are very busy and I respect that which is why I will just bring my own the next time to make it easier on myself.

 

My intent was to put all these items in a cute little drawstring bag but of course I procrastinated and before I knew it, it was mid June (and she's due June 24th!) and I realized she could go into labor at any time and here half my gift is hospital stuff, which she can't use if she's already given birth and returned home before she received my gift.  So I put all the items in a box and mailed it out as is.  Hopefully she won't mind.

Baby Adelyn Gift

I've gotten a little bored with my normal baby gifts. 

Ok I admit I've been having a huge brain fart and been in a baby gift making rut.

I usually make changing pads, wipes cases, burp cloths, and binky clips.  I have made these items for at least 4 people in the last year and I was racking my brain for something different.  The only problem is I always get really great responses with these gifts and it's nothing they will receive an over abundance of which is always nice but I'm not getting the same excitement at making them as I used to.  Now it's more of a chore, so it's time to change things up.

Before my son was born a friend of mine offered to help me make anything else I needed before Grant came (she is a fellow crafter who knew how long my to-make list was and how little time I had left before the big day).  I directed her to this tutorial for a car seat carrier cover.  She made it for me and I absolutely loved it.  It was so great when we were going in and out of stores.  If there is one thing that drives me nuts it's people touching my brand new baby with their germy hands.  After all it was flu season when Grant started going out on the town and I was a regular 'ol germ-o-phob. 

I saw this post on Small Fry and Co and it reminded me of the cover I had and I knew immediately I wanted to make one for my cousin's wife, whose baby shower is the end of March.  I'm hoping she will find it as useful as I did.

 

I love this fabric.  Normally I always end up buying flannel and I saw this too cute elephant fabric and had to snatch it up.

 

 

Hopefully baby Adelyn will love it too!

 

This project

 

Baby Renee Gifts

My cousin and his wife are having their first baby and I whipped them up a few goodies for the baby shower unfortunately because of the snow I didn't get to attend but I still finished everything and can't wait to give it to them.

These are becoming my go to baby shower gifts because they are easy, quick (2 of my favorite qualities in a project) and they don't take much in supplies.  I always try to stock up on fabric during Joann's black friday sale.  Every  year they have flannel for around $1.70/yd.  I bought like 7 yards of various fabrics.  Now it's February and most of them are used, I'm wishing I would have bought more.

Anyways.....

I have tutorials for most of these so I won't bother you with more step by steps.  I'll just link them.  I also added a bottle of baby shampoo, a Playtex Ventaire bottle ( my personal favorite for Grant, can't say I miss those days of washing bottles), and a package of 2 Playtex binkys. 



 Changing pads have become my go to gift for babies since my son was born.  I made myself 2 of these 2 keep in the car and at home.  The tutorial is here, I love these because they are made with bathroom hand towels so I don't have to measure and cut that fabric, they are large enough to use on public changing tables covering the majority of the table, keeping your little one germ free, and you just throw them in the washer to clean them.

 

This is the first time I have attempted wash cloths and I think it may be my last, haha.  You would think cutting 2 squares and stitching them together would be about a 10 minute project but that minky fabric is a nightmare for me.  I had never used it before and thought it would be like any other cotton, FYI it's not. 

 

Minky is stretchy, am I the only one out there that didn't realize that....probably. 

 

Anyway, I cut 9 inch squares of the flannel and minky fabric, stitched them right sides together, turned them right side out and stitched around the outside using 1/4inch seam allowance.  My advice if you are planning on making these and haven't used minky before, use lots and lots of pins.  I also baste stitched a cross pattern 2 keep the fabric in place (along with using lots and lots of pins).  I think they turned out cute and I'm glad I made them but I'm a sucker for the easy peasy projects that don't take much thought (after all my little one interupts me about a dozen times during a 10 minute project making it a 40 minute project).

 

I was attempting to do something different with this binky clip.  In my vision I wanted a little ruffle action going on since this is for a little baby girl, however after attempt #2 failing I gave up that idea and got what you see above.  In the past I've used ribbon for binky clips but I wanted one that could be easily thrown in the washer if it gets covered in spit up or formula.  To make the one above I cut a piece of fabric 2 inches wide and at whatever length you want (make it longer than you think you will need because you will be scrunching it up).  Pinned right sides together making a very long rectangle, and stitched.  I turned it right side out and with a 1/4inch seam allowance used a basting stitch on either side.  I pulled one strand of the thread to make it ruffle or scrunch up.  Since I didn't take any pictures during the process of the clip above it would probably be easier to follow the rest of the tutorial here.

 

 

I absolutely love these burp cloths.  I originally saw a version of them at Homemade by Jill.  I use quilt batting in between the layers which I don't think she did and let me just say that it is the way to go.  A package of quilt batting makes a lot of burp cloths and they are the perfect thickness.  When I had Grant my mom and I joined together and made enough to last me a week or more inbetween washes and let me tell you it was a Godsend.  I never had to worry about spit up leaking through onto my clothes and in a pinch they can double as a changing pad (just don't use it as a burp cloth after you change a diaper on it, Yuck).

 

And last but not least I had to make a wipes case to match the changing pad.  I have a tutorial here. I'm still a bit iffy on whether I like the trim I used on it.

 

 

It's the first time I've used a ribbon type trim but there's no way in heck I'm ripping it apart.  I was so excited to cross these gifts off my to-do list.  Seems like everyone is having a baby right now.  I have another baby shower at the end of March and I'm throwing a baby shower at the end of April so I'm in full swing with baby projects around here.

 

Which means you will get to see quite a few more baby projects!