sewing for baby

Is it just me, or are there not quality, modern, cool clothes’ patterns for baby boys? Everything is shortalls or newsie hats or bowties. Seriously. Even after stumbling upon the amazing Heidi & Finn, or Olive + S, I am still searching. Celebrate the Boy is super awesome, especially with the free tutorials, but I don’t want to make my own pattern. I don’t have any cute clothes in which to make a pattern from in the first place.  So out of desperation I bought a Simplicity boy’s pattern for a button up shirt and pants. The variations are nice, collar no collar, long or short sleeves, shorts or pants. And because it is Simplicity, it is super easy to make.

The pieces went together smoothly and fit him great (at least, the 12 month size did, even though he is only 6 months old. Baby is gigantic!) So I am very pleased at a nearly perfect* construction!

I was a very pleased with the bias tape “facing” for the collar: an easy, brilliant solution!

I loved using up some of my favorite gem snaps. I was nervous they wouldn’t fit well through the multiple thick layers of flannel, so I borrowed my husband’s rubber mallet and gave them a good old whack! It was both satisfying and exhilarating! I want to find more uses for mallet whacking!

He is so loving his Green Sprouts teething rattle. His cut his first little tooth just this morning! As you can see, the pants fit nearly perfect, a little long for room to grow. The shirt was an odd fit. The shoulders are just-right, meaning no extra-space-at-all can’t-really-breathe fit. However, the body length seemed a bit long. It does neatly cover the diaper/pants gap you so often get though, so maybe I am just being terribly picky. Also, it will be fun to learn how to make adjustments for big shouldered babies.

As you can see, he love’s it!

Also, last night while he was being entertained by his papa, I whipped up  a teething necklace. The tutorial is so easy! Check out her blog A Bit of Sunshine, she is not only a fellow Seattle-crafter but has a nice little blog too. Baby freaking loved the teether. Instant joy and relief from his annoying gums!

I am learning more and more with every project. I do love sewing, and now I feel like I have the perfect motivation and audience (and practice model!) I had dreams of eventually fitting clothes to my own odd proportions, so learning adjustments for someone who is tiny (almost all his clothes are 1 yard cuts!) is just perfect. More than perfect, as his first nurse would say.

Dilemma:

My one issue with being both a crafter, seamstress, writer, blogger is trying to distinguish what my own goals and ideals are, or should be. I have this dangerously annoying practical streak (I am a Taurus, obviously, and you are?) that makes me both care and not care, seek fulfillment and seek production simultaneously. The problem is: do I blog or do I sew?

What is the single most important part of this hobby/lifestyle/project/craft? My time is very limited and precious. My baby and family need me, and I need me, and it would be amazing to just be able to take a moment for myself once in awhile. (Seriously, when was the last time I took a leisurely shower or even let the conditioner sink in on my dry hair? My personal time is the first things to go off my To Do list as a Early Life Educator (aka “stay at home mom.”) So I prattle on and on, but is the post with the lovely photos and the online sewing/crafting community more important than the actual product I have crafted?

I just don’t know….

yet.

There is the Sewing Summit which I day dream about… follow all the fantastic bloggers on Twitter or Instagram and daydream about learning from them, about a weekend for myself, about finding friends who have passions like my own. But first, I must decide what is important about this whole thing. Is my BA in writing a waste of paint?

I am sure many blogging crafters out there agree, it is very hard to be consistent and be amazing about both blogging/socializing/media and also sewing/crafting/building/making. Good luck to all crafters, everywhere, in grounding our passions with our dreams.

Love,

MaLora

*Especially if you ignore that I ignored pattern direction on the flannel.

PS: Did I show you my first trial pair of Anna Maria Horner’s Quick Change Trousers? I call them his “Hot Pants” … get it? Hot Peppers? I crack myself up.

PPS: All photos are on my Flickr, here.

An outfit for a new baby

My dear friends just had a new baby, Ziva, and she was deserving of a new handmade outfit. She is a happy newborn who already sleeps over 4 hours despite being under 4 weeks old. (I wonder if her parents know how rad that is?)

So I busted out the old “One Yard Wonders” and found the super cute Flyaway Jacket pattern. It seemed easy enough with a simple pattern and bias tape edge, and it came together in under an hour.

However, before I applied the bias tape, I kept thinking about the seams. Don’t you have to wash baby clothes a lot? Don’t little cute infants make little cute messes on themselves? Will exposed fabric ends survive multiple messes with multiple washings? Yes, yes indeed this pattern needed a super finish to the inner seams.

So above you will see the ever strong, ever glamorous fancy finish that I just made up on the spot. I just folded the seam allowance over and under, and stitched up the sides. It’s kinda like a pathetic attempt at Hong Kong seam finish, without the bias tape.  It came together beautifully (after a bit of extreme fussing with the very tiny infant arm sleeves, very tiny space for my gigantic seamstress hands.)

I am so pleased with the results! I did turn my machine down to the slowest stitch it would make, and practiced patience. (I have a touch of the flu, which is the only reason I was able to go slow in the first place. I love the whir whir whir of my machine zipping along!) Overall, the jacket came out fantastic, and durable! See the double rows of stitches on the outside here? Don’t they look nice?

I even remembered to use some “hand made” tags I purchased on Etsy awhile ago, for what I call The Cute Effect. The jacket looks like sherbet swirls to me, and makes me want ice cream. Oh Summer, hurry along!

I even whipped up some matching Newborn Baby Pants from the ever brilliant, Made by Rae. She has a newborn pattern for free, and I just love her fantastic Big Butt Baby pants pattern too! I used some stash fabric that was a woven cotton, extremely soft.

That kid will be a show-stopper, if I do say so myself. Or everyone will see the baby in this outfit and then want gelato or sherbet or ice cream. Either way, win win.

Thanks for reading as always.

Love,

MaLora