Woodland Animal Baby Gift Set

I was so excited when I was asked to use this darling fabric to make a baby gift set to welcome a friend's new baby! I adore all the animals and love the retro motif. 

The set included a baby blanket (22" x 36"), 3 coordinating burp cloths, and an owl onesie. All were personalized with baby's name or monogram. 

The main woodland animal fabric was paired with two geometric prints - one golden orange and one green - from Simpatico's Simply Color collection.

Simply Color Ikat Diamonds in Mustard

Simply Color Ikat Diamonds in Green

 I think the modern geometric patterns of the Simply Color fabrics helped balance the retro style of the Woodland Tails fabric for a truly contemporary look that would appeal to any new mom. 

This fabric trio was used specifically for the burp cloth set. Two were embroidered with the baby's name and the third was embroidered with the baby's initials in a traditional monogram style. All were lined with an incredibly soft and plush minky fabric in an ivory quilted pattern.

Because the baby blanket was the largest item the main Woodland Tails was used for the front and the same soft ivory minky fabric that lined the burp cloths was repeated on the back of the blanket. While baby's name is embroidered in a handsome brown thread, I used turquoise thread in the topstitching to bring out some of the blue hues in the woodland fabric. Baby is sure to be cuddly and warm in his new blanket! Particularly because the blanket is so thick, it also makes a great mat providing a large cushioned surface to play and relax on.

Personalized baby blanket folded in half

Baby blanket with plush backing and large silk embroidery pesonalization

The owl onesie incorporated the colors in the blanket and burp cloth fabrics. An adorable golden orange and yellow owl sits atop a brown tree branch with green leaves. I used blue silk thread for the baby's name to again bring out the blue hues in the main Woodland Tails fabric. I think the combination is so cute!

 

All in all, this was such a fun project to work on and I loved combining the fabrics from the different collections for a one-of-a-kind custom gift set :)

Toddler Dress Tutorial -Butterick 3782

Since many of my friends are having babies lately I thought it might be a good excuse to try out making baby clothes. Let's face it, little girls have the cutest attire! I found an adorable and simple dress pattern by Butterick. Having never made baby clothes before I was very excited to find this great "beginner" pattern. 

In addition to the main fabric, the pattern requires an invisible zipper and single-fold bias tape. It's not stated in the pattern but I chose to line the main fabric with a white cotton fabric. I also found some dainty pink buttons to add to the top of the dress.

Iron your fabrics, lay out the pattern pieces and cut your fabrics.

 

If you opt to have lining, baste the lining to all the main fabric pieces.

Mark the meeting points on your fabric. Line up the markings with right sides together. Stitch the back top and back skirt pieces together. Do this for both top and skirt back sets.

To add the invisible zipper, line up the two back pieces with right sides together matching seams. Baste a 1" inseam along the back of the dress.

Fold back the fabric along the seam and line one side of the zipper up along the free edge of the basted seam. Be sure to place the right side of the zipper on the right side of the fabric.

Using a zipper foot, stitch one side of the zipper to the dress. Open the zipper and repeat for the second side. Place a final stitch along the bottom of the zipper.

Back of the dress with invisible zipper completed.

This darling dress is outfitted with two sets of pleats on the front. To make the pleats, first place the pleat markings on your fabric using the pattern.

Next, fold the fabric from one of the markings to the center and pin.

Repeat for the other 3 pleat markings.

Baste the fabric along the pleats so they will stay. With right sides together, match up the front top of the dress with the front skirt of the dress. Stitch the fabrics together.

 Stitch the front of the dress to the back of the dress at the shoulders. Open one folded side of the single-fold bias tape. Place the bias tape along the neck and both arm hole openings. Place the longer portion on the front of the fabric and the shorter portion to the interior of the dress and pin in place. Stitch on the outside of the dress.

Stitch the front of the dress to the back of the dress along the sides.

Create a hem along the bottom of the dress's skirt.

Add embellishments as you see fit. I added 6 buttons at the top and a hand-sewn flower where the top and skirt meet.

This pattern was fantastic for a beginner like myself. The dress style was simple enough that I had room to add my own little finishing touches. I also love this delicate floral fabric! It's darling and Mom will love that it's easy to wash :)

Baby Gift Set

I've been busy working on a little gift set to give my cousins upon their baby's arrival. Since they didn't want to know the gender until Baby arrived, I wanted to make sure the fabric I chose was gender neutral. I found a cute turquoise, green and white fabric set with tiny frogs, turtles and bees on it. Hopefully, they will like it for Baby  :) Baby arrived about 4 weeks early so I hadn't quite finished the burp cloths yet! Fortunately, I had some blue chenille cloth around that was perfect for the burp cloths. It also gave the baby set a solidifying "boy" feel. 

I included little tags with each item. The tags gave a brief description of the item and were wrapped around each gift with a green and white ribbon.

 

The gift set included:

• On The Go Blanket
• Mini Minky Blanket
• 4 Chenille Burp Cloths
• Bib
• 2 Zippered Pouches
• Baby Wipes Case
• Changing Pad
• Onesie

On-The-Go Blanket

Mini Minky Blanket

Chenile Burp Cloths

Bib

Zippered Pouches

Baby Wipes Case

Changing Pad

Onesie

Baby Burp Cloth Tutorial

Burp cloths are an absolute necessity for any baby! Actually, having absorbent burp cloths are an absolute necessity! I love terry cloth for this exact reason. It's incredibly absorbent and protects your clothes against baby's lil messes :) I also find that flannel is the perfect fabric for the backing of the burp cloths as it helps keep the burp cloth stable on your shoulders. 

For this fun and useful project you'll need the following:

• 1/2 yard terry cloth fabric
• 1/2 yard flannel fabric
• scissors
• cutting mat
• measuring tape
• pins
• thread
• sewing machine

I used a darling Winnie the Pooh flannel fabric and an ivory terry cloth. I love the little chicks on the fabric with the rest of the Pooh characters :) As always, it's important to iron the fabrics first.

Then, use a tape measure or ruler and a cutting mat to cut the fabrics to the desired dimensions for the burp cloths. Allow an extra 1/2" of fabric on each side for seams. Meaning, if you're wanting a 13" x 19" burp cloth, you would cut your fabric to measure 14" x 20". 

I find it's easiest to cut the flannel fabric first and then cut the terry cloth.  The  terry cloth is a bit more difficult to cut because it is ribbed unevenly.  The flannel tends to be sturdier so it's a breeze to cut the terry cloth by using the flannel piece as a guide.

Next, it's time to pin the fabric. Some burp cloths are made by sewing the right sides of the two pieces together, turning them ride sight out and placing a stitch on the border. I prefer not to use this method but rather have the flannel piece sit a bit lower on the terry cloth to create a nice terry cloth border. To do this, fold over 1/2" of the terry cloth piece on each side and pin. Be sure to fold the wrong side of the fabric down.

Continue folding all the way around the terry cloth. Fold the two shorter sides first. Then, fold the two longer sides down creating right angles at the corners.

Fold down 5/8" of the flannel fabric piece and pin. 

After you've folded over the ends of each fabric piece, place the wrong side of the flannel onto the wrong side of the terry cloth and center the fabric pieces. Use the pins to keep the fabrics in place once they've been centered.

Once you've pinned all the burb cloths you're making, you're ready to start sewing! I always place my burp cloths on top of one another on the cutting mat to ensure they're all the same size and pinned straight.

Stitch the burp cloths together by placing the seam close to the edge of the flannel piece. 

The final product should look something like these: