Baby stuff

I miss having a little baby to sew for.  Although to be technical, I only started sewing after E was born and I didn't really tackle clothing or anything big until she was well into the toddler stage.  So I get really excited when I have an excuse to sew for little ones.  In the last year or so, there's been a bit of a baby boom amongst my friends, so I've been doing my best to sew little gifties when I've had time.  

First up is a cute owl jumper for a good friend's daughter's first birthday!  This is the same friend that I threw the birdie baby shower for, so when I saw this owl corduroy at Jo-Ann, I knew she would love it.  It's from an Ottobre pattern.

 

Here it is, on the birthday girl.  A little big, but still super cute. 

Next up is a baby shower gift for another friend who is due at the end of October.  I've been meaning to try out the Itty Bitty Baby Dress pattern from Made by Rae, and this was the perfect opportunity.  My friend's older daughter also recently had a birthday, so I also used the enlarged pattern to make a matching dress for a belated birthday gift for her!

 

These were really fun and easy to make.  I can see myself making a bunch more, especially since I have a baby niece arriving soon!  The smallest size of the newborn dress also fits E's doll rather nicely, so I'll probably be making one for her as well. ;)

Last, but not least, is a shopping cart cover that a friend commissioned for her little boy.  I'd never made one before, so this was a bit of a challenge, which I love.  I tried looking at some ready-made patterns, but most were fussier and/or more complicated than what I wanted, so in the end, I came up with my own, which was pretty much just a large rectangle with elastic and holes.

 

I used quilting cotton for the top and a bottomweight cotton twill for the bottom so that it would hold up to wear & tear.  I used two layers of batting, plus a layer of fleece for the padding, then I layered everything and serged the edges all together.  I turned down about 4" on the front and back to create pockets to hold it in place.  I added elastic to the front pocket to make it a bit more snug around the cart handle, but left the back as is.  I used bias tape to cover the raw edges on the sides, as well as the leg hole in the middle, and I made large buttonholes and threaded them with nylon webbing for the safety belt.

I do wish that the elastic I used had cinched the front part up a bit tighter, but other than that I think it turned out rather well.  I also ended up whipping up a quickie storage bag from some of the leftover twill.