Sewing for Baby

As I mentioned before, I have friends who are expecting their first child this month, so I made a boat load of things for their baby shower which I haven’t shown yet. :)

But first here’s something else I haven’t shown here much. My notebook sketches.

Before I do a lot of my sewing, I like to sketch out ideas in notebooks.  This one page is dedicated to all the baby things I wanted to make.  Some of the things I didn’t actually make, this time anyway.  Let’s save something for later.

First up is the diaper bag.  I designed it based on a tote bag I saw someone using at work.  Large and roomy with lots of pockets on the inside and a useful little one on the outside. The twist?

This is the fabric I picked out for it.  I found it at Wal-Mart, have I mentioned before how glad I am that they brought fabric back to their stores?  I just couldn’t resist the little turtles and elephants, plus it works for boy and girl babies.

Here’s the finished bag.  The straps go most of the way down the sides of the bag for security, plus it makes the pocket look good.

Here’s the inside.  There are six pockets all ready to shove stuff in and carry.  That’s exactly what I did.  I crammed it with all the other stuff I made plus some essentials I bought on sale.

Now the blankets.  Here’s the baby blanket…

…and receiving blankets.  The receiving blankets were just a single square cut from a knit fabric and hemmed. The baby blanket involved a layer of sweat shirt fabric sewn with the softer side facing outward.  I used this tutorial as a guide.

Here’s the fabric I used.  I got it at SAS. Dalmatians and fire trucks, perfect for a new little boy. :)

Here are the finished blankets.  In addition to blankets, I made some birth cloths and wash cloths.  The wash cloths are made like the receiving blankets but smaller and using plain white knit fabric.  The burp cloths are made like the blanket only smaller and rectangle shaped.

Now the best part, the teddy bear.  Because every kid needs a stuffed best friend.

Here’s the finished bear.  All ready for hugs

I made the patterns from scratch using newspaper.  It was easier than expected, I must be getting better at making patterns.

Here’s the fabric I used.  It’s fake fur from SAS.  It’s a perfect off-white and super soft.  I have plenty of leftovers so be prepared for more teddies in the future.

Some in progress photos just for fun.

Sewn and turned partially right side out.  The legs were a pain to sew.

And now the jacket.  Sad thing about it, I seem to have lost the finished photo.  I have search all over my computer and it seems to have totally disappeared.  It looked totally adorable and almost exactly like my sketch except I put a turtle applique and an elephant applique on the front.  Obviously I cut the appliques from the bag fabric.

Here’s the patterns I made, they are based on a dress pattern but were perfect for a jacket. 

And of course this the fabric I used, I used it for the blanket as well.  I got it a Goodwill.  It’s always nice to find good fabric at thrift stores.  I have plenty of it leftover so I will probably make another one soon.  Look forward to it.