There are actually a few different ideas, but the concept is the same.  Sew old baby clothes together to form a quilt top.

Some like this one uses the entire shape of the shirt or pants, etc.

My personal preference is to do one with squares cut out from each.  You could do thin strips or triangles, depending on the pattern you want.  This tutorial from Martha has a good basic explanation.

I like the way this one exposes the cut edge of the squares.

What’s really nice is how you can include the embroidery, buttons, ruffles, from the original garment to give the quilt some dimension and personality.  Those are the parts that end up being near and dear to my heart anyway.

So I have taken that fourth “not-sure” stack and cut squares out of the baby clothes that I didn’t know what to do with.  Some of the clothes were knits, some were not.  I don’t think I will mix knits and wovens in the same quilt, but at least I have a purpose for these clothes, and I can toss out the leftover scraps knowing that I’m not throwing away memories of my babies or wasting good fabric!

I’m a long ways off from having enough squares for a whole quilt, so don’t expect to see a finished product anytime soon.  But I’ll be working and collecting and not feeling guilty in the process.  Hopefully this idea will help you too!

Technorati Tags: Handmade Baby Clothes, quilt

The post Handmade Baby Clothes Quilt appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

We are gearing up for another party at our house. (Yes, it is quite overwhelming to have Paul’s, then mine, then Christmas, then Clara’s, but then we’re done for awhile.) Clara wanted to have a “snowflake party.” After asking her about six times over the course of a few days, she said, “I already told you; I want a snowflake party!” So a snowflake party it is. In doing some Pinterest searches, this theme might be interchangeable with a “Winter Wonderland” party. Whatever you call it, I decided to make her a simple tutu for the occasion.

Have you seen the tutu in the book Little Things to Sew?  I attempted to create that style tutu from the blogs and pictures that I’ve seen over the internet without actually having the book in front of me.  I think it turned out a little bit fuller than the one described, and I believe it was a little more difficult as a result!

Despite the fullness, I couldn’t be happier with the way the tulle colors blended into the perfect icy snowflake color.

“Perfect Icy Snowflake” is made up of blue, mint green, silver, and a double layer of white. I bought two yards (72″) of each (4 of the white). My tulle was 54″ wide and already folded in half, so I folded it in half again and cut it so I had 4 layers roughly 13.5″ x 72″ for each color. (That makes 20 layers total… whoa.)

The next step was sewing 3 rows of gathering stitches across the top and manually gathering them from 72″ to 20″ (the measurement of my daughter’s waist). I think this is one area that if I had only had half the layers of tulle it would not have been so bad, but let me just say it was challenging!

Then I pinned and sewed it on to the 20″ ribbon.

I sewed on the outer band of ribbon, which was considerably longer (I didn’t measure it, just eye-balled it… probably about a yard and half). Initially I used a grosgrain ribbon from the craft store, but I was not pleased with how it was holding up, so I ended up buying a velvet ribbon to use instead. I hand-stitched it on over the grosgrain ribbon.  I’m hoping it will give this tutu some lasting appeal, since it makes it feel much more upscale.

And yes, that is my daughter shirtless and shoeless spinning  around outside in January.  I must say we’ve had some amazingly wonderful winter weather lately!

Oh, do you want to check out my pinterest inspiration board for the party?

Technorati Tags: Handmade Baby Clothes, handmade infant girl clothes, little things to sew, Party, tutu

The post Snowflake Party Simple Tutu appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

***

For my son’s first birthday we did a lumberjack/Paul Bunyan theme.  Paul’s super huge lumberjack bib was a fun little project to make.  I had really wanted to make part of his party clothes, but I couldn’t justify making jeans or even a button down shirt when I could buy them so easily.  However, I did make his bib, which was super helpful for cake-time.

This project exposed me to a few new sewing products, which keeps things interesting: iron-on vinyl and fold over elastic.

The pattern I found online for free here.  Although it called for a front pocket I didn’t add it, mainly because my children’s bib pockets always wind up nasty.

The tutorial (linked above) recommended using oil cloth or some kind of laminated fabric.  I didn’t have that, and it was highly doubtful that I’d find it in buffalo plaid for my little lumberjack!  So that’s where the iron-on vinyl came in.  I found it in the sewing section at Hobby Lobby. This way you can laminate any fabric you want!

Interestingly enough, the bib (all one piece) was larger than my vinyl, so I had to piece it.  I overlapped the pieces a little bit, and I guess the iron melted them together — you can barely tell about the seams.

I used fold over elastic for the first time to bind everything off.  It was fairly easy to sew on, although I wish I sewed the binding on before sewing the arm pieces — it made for some tricky maneuvering under that presser foot!  I bought mine through Etsy.  I got 5 yards of it for under $3.50 (including shipping)!

I used black velcro to attach the piece behind the neck.  Snaps were recommended, but I don’t have a nice snap press, and honestly, I was forgetting which snap piece went where and I bent my metal snap and Paul was screaming at me to finish and then I just thought: VELCRO!  Done in 30 seconds.  Love it.

Having the sleeves on the bib really helped for a very active baby.  I can attest to its success.  This picture shows my son eating chili (read: easily stains) while wearing a white shirt underneath.  I’m sold.

Technorati Tags: bib, Handmade Baby Clothes, iron-on vinyl

The post Super Huge Lumberjack Bib with Sleeves appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

A rolled hem foot is excellent to use on lightweight fabrics where a tiny, almost non-existent, hem is desired.  It was fantastic to hem the ruffles for the shirt sleeves and pant legs.

Did you ever think that YOU could make a perfectly tiny hem like this??  WITHOUT ironing.  At. All?!

I certainly didn’t. But — get excited — with the hem foot, it is possible.

It takes a little practice to get used to feeding the fabric through, although not much. You just kinda curve it in there and go.  Did I mention no ironing?

My foot is a universal foot (meaning it fits many different brands of machines).  I think my mom bought it through Amazon.  It’s similar to this one.

The part I didn’t love about the PJs? The raglan neckline (read: easy and quick) turned out to not really be a raglan neckline at all (read: complicated and frustrating).  Plus I wasn’t thrilled with my ribbon embellishment. I suppose I could seam rip them off still.

On second thought, I’m not going to bother.  She just wears them to bed.

Pattern: NewLook Kids! A6932, sizes 1/2 to 8, for boys and girls.

Technorati Tags: Pajamas, PJs, presser foot, technique

The post Use A Rolled Hem Foot appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

The lace crown.

See how to do it here.

Technorati Tags: accessories, crown, diy, infant girl, photography prop

The post Handmade Newborn Photography Prop DIY appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

Like any shower, there were some games and activities. Like, design your own baby onesie!   Wait, what?!!

There were stacks of onesies in a range of sizes and fabric markers for everyone to draw a personalized design. What a great idea!

Many of them were personalized with things special to Pam and her husband, but everyone did something a little different.

So what did I do?

Classic pocket-T.  Is that boring? (But I love pocket-t’s!)

He was over 10 pounds at birth.  Glad I decorated the 12 month size (wink, wink)!

So excited for you, Pam!!

Technorati Tags: baby shower, embellish, onesies, Personalized Baby Clothes

The post Baby Shower Activity: Personalized Onesies appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

• My son was a preemie, so he is not even on the charts for length or weight (18.5 lb., 29″ 14 mo. old), but he has a super huge head (75th percentile!) that is almost as wide as his shoulders.
• I’ve got some unworn items with crew necklines that just won’t stretch enough to fit over his head.
• The most frustrating shirt is a 100% cotton shirt that my husband bought 2 years ago when I first got pregnant and has his college logo.
• I don’t want to wreck the shirt, so I’m afraid to cut it and experiment. But I also really want my son to be able to wear it because it means a lot to his dad.
• I am barely a novice sewer.

Surely, this mom is not alone. Here’s how I would modify those crew-neck shirts to accommodate this little boy’s head.  The best part is that it is do-able for “barely a novice sewer.”

The key is utilizing the existing seams. This gives you a little bit of fabric to work with (hello seam allowances!), and it makes the process pretty quick and easy.

For this modification, all you need is a seam ripper, velcro, and matching/coordinating thread.

Begin by ripping the seam where the neck ribbing comes together. Many times, conveniently, this aligns with a shoulder seam.

Pull out all your scraggly threads. See how both sides still have a little bit of “fold” to them? You will use this to your advantage.

Cut some velcro the length of the shoulder seam (you could use snaps if you prefer — that would be an advanced option).

Pin one piece on the right side of the “lower” fabric. This is my “scratchy” velcro piece.

Pin the other piece (the “soft” velcro piece) on to the right side of the “upper” fabric near the “fold” so it will close neatly on to the lower piece while remaining hidden.  (This is harder to describe than it is to do.)

Zig-zag both pieces of velcro in place. Zig-zag all the way from the neck ribbing to the arm seam.

Try not to stretch the fabric while you are sewing. Since most crew-necks are knits, this is the one area of caution.

If I had another color velcro, I probably would use it.  Blend it as best you can with the color of the shirt you’re adapting.   Also, if I were doing it again, I would probably cut my velcro a little wider to give it more surface area to “stick together.”

I hope this tutorial helped you!   Modify away!

Subscribe to Handmade Baby Clothes by RSS Feed or Email so you never miss a tip or tutorial!  You can also keep in touch via Facebook or Twitter!

Technorati Tags: adapt, Handmade Baby Clothes, modify, neckline, tutorial

The post Tutorial: Adapting Shirts to Fit Large Headed Children appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

Pardon my model, at first she wasn’t in the mood for a photo shoot.

I used a mid-weight peach linen.  Although linen wrinkles like crazy, I’ve been told linen is “fashionably wrinkly.”

The smocking is done with regular DMC embroidery floss, the ecru color.

The pattern is from the book Handmade Baby Clothes by Lisabeth Perrone.

My thoughts? I held my breath as I removed the threads binding the smocking together, but I was so pleased with the results! I know it has more of a “handmade” look to it then it probably should, but it gives me great enthusiasm to make another!

I love the back of this dress with its pearly white buttons.  This is where I deviated from the pattern – slightly.  I used a button loop technique called a “thread bar.”

Thread bars are really strong and great if you’ve run out of fabric, but still need to add buttons!  They’re also a fun detail to make something a little more special.  I learned how from this Youtube video here.  A zoom-in of a button bar is below.

This dress was pretty time consuming because I did most of the sewing by hand.  The smocking part was by hand, obviously, but I hand-stitched the blind hem and even the bias binding around the neck.  The whole process was 100% enjoyable though.  I will do the next one the same way. The slower, more tactile experience just felt right.

Ahh, there’s a smile!

Technorati Tags: button bar, dress, handmade, heirloom, smocking

The post My First Hand-Smocked Dress appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

If I hadn’t run out of embroidery floss, this would be finished by now. Now I’m trying to figure out a good reason to drive the hour away for more than just $0.29 floss!

To make myself feel better, I’m posting some progress photos below.  As you can see, I don’t own a pleater, and I didn’t have any iron-on dots, so it’s all by hand!

Stay tuned for the final product!

Technorati Tags: Handmade Baby Clothes, infant girl clothes, smocking

The post Smocking: A Handmade Work In Progress appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.

First, the “Bapron.” From “Craftiness is Not Optional.”

Second, Abby’s “Mega Bib” from “Things for Boys.”

Looking for other bib ideas?  You can also check here and here for additional tutorials.

These two bib ideas above are great ideas from other blogs that I wanted to share with my readers.  Have you stumbled across something that would be a perfect feature on the Handmade Baby Clothes website?  Maybe you have a blog with a great baby clothes-related tutorial?  Submit your idea!

Technorati Tags: bib, handmade baby gear

The post Handmade Baby Gear: Big Bibs appeared first on Handmade Baby Clothes.