Another sewing day with a friend brings a new pal for Amelia. We sewed these cute owls:

We didn't really have a pattern and just kind of made it up as we went along. My friend had a new sewing machine with an embroidery function - so we got to play with adding a letter to our owls: I'm definitely having a bit of sewing machine envy there! The bright colors make me happy and I'm so glad Amelia seems to like it too!

Baby dresses!

I am forever seeing so many cute baby dresses to sew on sites like Pinterest. I decided I better take the plunge and try sewing a baby dress for my own little girl.

My first try was the easy Pillowcase Dress from Prudent Baby.



It was really was as easy as they said and I think it came out great! I will definitely making more of these. I added a contrasting binding instead of ric rac to the Freshcuts fabric I used and I love how it sets off the flower print.

My next attempt the Infant Peasant Dress from Sew Much Ado.




Amelia is wearing a 6-9 month size and the pattern was for a 0-3 month size - so I attempted to also make the pattern larger to fit her. I managed to succeed in making it larger but I will definitely make it a bit longer next time. It's more like a shirt than a dress - but still cute!



This was much harder than the pillowcase dress for this novice dressmaker. I definitely see a serger in my future one of these days if I continue to sew clothes! Having to run a zig zag seam over all the edges definitely got old :) I also had to install elastic and ric rac for the first time. Definitely a learning experience and I will try again now that I know where I went wrong. I only had to rip out the sleeves three times :)

Amelia seems to like it thought - which makes it all worth it!

Tag Blanket Tutorial

I don't about your baby - but my baby loves tags. The best part of all of her toys right now is the tag! She likes to pull on them, suck on them and just generally keep them close at hand.

One of her other favorite things to play with is an empty wipes bag. She loves the crinkly sound it makes and it keeps her busy and entertained while I'm trying to change her diaper.


So with this in mind - I decided to create a blanket that had all of her favorite things!

A tag blanket with a crinkly inside!



It was fairly easy after all the pinning! Here is what I did:

Tag Blanket Tutorial:

Supplies:

- Fat quarters of 2 different fabrics
- Decorations (Ribbons, tags, fabric, hair ties etc.)
- Notions: Pins, Sewing thread
- One empty bag of wipes


1. Cut out your fabrics to your desired size. Mine were about 14 inches square.



2. Grab your empty wipes container,



and remove the plastic bits and open it up



3. Grab your ribbons stash... you can also use fabric, hair ties or anything at all that may be fun to chew for your baby.



4. Cut your ribbon to the desired size, and start pinning them to the right side of one of your fabrics. Make sure the ribbon loops are laying toward the inside with the ends on the end of your fabric.



5. Put your second fabric on top of your ribbons right side down, and add the wipes package on top of that. So - the layers of your "sandwich" will be: fabric one, right side up with ribbons pinned on, second fabric right side down, and finally the wipes package on top.



6. Bring everything to your sewing machine and sew around leaving a hole about 3 inches wide. Make sure to remove the pins as you go. To make neat corners, stop sewing at the corner and lift your pressure foot, turn your fabric 90 degrees and then replace your pressure foot and keep on sewing. BE SURE TO LEAVE A GAP SO YOU CAN TURN YOUR PIECE RIGHT SIDE OUT.

7. Trim your corners and any excess fabric and then turn your piece right side out through the hole you left in step 6.



8. Fold the raw edges to the inside and re-pin any ribbons that were in the hole you left.



9. Top stitch all the way around to close the hole and you're done!




Hopefully it will keep your baby happy and entertained.

Good luck!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day! I was lucky enough to have a babysitter (my mom) and my sweetie and I went out for a lovely dinner.

I hope you had a great day too!

Amelia wanted to wish you a Happy Valentines' day!

Here she is with the beautiful flowers from my hubby...