Browsing Tag

Baby

Knitting, Make It Perfect, Tea Party Skirt

.Milos.

Some knitting projects to share with you today…
This Milo vest has been sitting waiting for two little ends to be woven in for 8 months! Ha! I did eventually finish it and luckily it was a little big for Lil back then because it fits her well now. Besides, it was too hot for her to wear it over the last 8 months anyway!

Such a great, quick and easy knit (super beginner-friendly if you are wanting to get into knitting) and I love working on circular needles. I used yarn from Bendigo – this one is Luxury 8 ply in Aquarium.

 I don’t believe I’ve ever shared this Tea Party Skirt (pattern avaliable as a Creative Card) on my blog either. I think it’s about 2 years old and still going strong – skirts fit girls forever!

And I’ve got to show you Lil’s full outfit from last Sunday – we’re always a bit mismatched over here, and I love it that way! I’m sure that in a few years she’ll start deciding that colours and patterns have to “go together” so I’m making the most of her pulling together random clothing selections while she can get away with it!

Including heart-printed tights with her Saltwaters!

 And this little Milo was knitted for the bambino (because he really lacks clothing!) 

But I have seen some teeny baby boys wearing Milo vests and they are sooo cute that I had to make him one!

This yarn is also from Bendigo and is Alpaca Rich 8 ply in Rich Ocean. It is so small (I think I made the smallest size) that it was finished really quickly and used hardly any yarn…a great project to work on and add to the present box for other babies I think!

May 21, 2013
Baby Shower, Make It Perfect

.Sewing for baby: bibs and burp cloths.

 

Bibs and burp cloths are a necessity for my babies. Between spew and dribble, there is always something that needs catching or wiping!

I figure that if your baby is going to be wearing a bib, it may aswell be a cute one and always have a stock of pre-made bibs in my present box to give to friends when they have babies.
 

I’m all set with a fresh selection of new bibs and burp cloths that I sewed up a few weeks ago. The kids looked at them and kept asking me “Mum, how come you made bibs out of my shorts/pyjamas/dress/tie”!
 
The bibs were made using my Baby Shower creative card and are backed with super absorbent polar fleece.

For the burp cloths, I just cut a rectangle and curved the corners. These are backed with minky – nice and soft for wiping baby’s face.

 
 
 
May 17, 2013
Home & Family

.naming a baby: 1 week till d-day!.

How do you name a baby?

This naming a baby business is doing my head in! How do you do it? Naming a baby is such a big deal – you are responsible for giving this little person the title that they will be referred to for their whole life. If that isn’t difficult enough, getting both Mum and Dad to agree on one name is even harder! 

Oscar’s name just clicked one day, I don’t think we actually thought about it that much, it just popped into my head and we both liked it and it was done. I heard Lil’s name in a restaurant one day…one of the wait staff called out “Lil” to someone in the kitchen and I was sold! Tommy is a family name (after my Dad) and it’s completely fitting that we named him Tommy because he has SO many characteristics and similarities to Dad.

But this one…it’s so tricky.
 
I could name a zillion girls – girl’s names can be pretty and sweet and cute and quirky and tomboyish…but it seems that a boys name needs more thought and attention.
 
I’ve got a handful of names that I actually really like, but Jaron isn’t coming to the party with any of them!

Thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends I think we have agreed on one. (Really, I was lying in bed one night and picked up the Thomas book sitting on my bedside table and read them all out!)
 
But I’m not spilling the beans because you already know that we’re having a boy so I’ve got to surprise you with something, right?! You’ll find out soon enough…today is week 39, so I’m expecting to have this baby boy in about 2 weeks!

 

I’ve been consistently 6 days overdue with all of my babies, so am planning on it happening that way again this time…I’ll be in for a shock if this one decides to make an early appearance because I’ve got my schedule planned for the next 2 weeks and am still whittling away at my list of things to do before baby!

I did, however get myself a little bit organised today and finally made a start on the hospital bag. With Tommy, I didn’t start packing until I was actually in labour (I know, 6 days overdue…what was I thinking?!) and his labour was so fast that it was very rushed and a little bit stressful leaving it until the last minute!

We keep chatting about what this little one is going to look like…our other three have been totally different as babies. From completely different moulds so I wonder whether this one is going to have a different look altogether or take after one of the others?

 Oscar…Lil…Tommy
 

Time will only tell!

May 16, 2013
Ottobre

.Sewing for baby: little suits.

Two new patterns experimented with. Two more little suits.

This suit comes from Ottobre 1/2012 “Waldo Coverall”. If you are wanting some great baby patterns, I’d highly recommend this issue as I’ve used it to death. The pattern actually used a lot of the same pieces from the viking suit I’ve already made. Because the viking suit looked a bit wide around the body, I slimmed the pieces down a bit for this one and it looks much better.

I used some towelling knit as the main fabric and thought it might look too much like a towel, but the Farbenmix Primera towelling is beautiful and soft and the loop is really small. I sewed some little elbow patches as an afterthought to match the knee patches on the front – love knee and elbow patches on kids clothes!

I’d been eyeing off this pattern in Ottobre 6/2012 “Nukkumatti Baby Sleeeper” since I first started sewing the baby clothes, but was scared of sewing the invisible zipper into a knit fabric. I thought it would stretch and move all over the place, but when I actually bit the bullet and had a go, it was waaaay easier than I had imagined and came together first go!

This one feels nice and snuggly and the zipper will make for super quick and easy changes. The pattern only starts at a size 56cm (looks like a 00 to me) so I’ll definitley be using it again as the baby gets older.

 

May 14, 2013
Ottobre

.Sewing for Baby: boy + girl.

 
 A baby born at the beginning of winter has got to have a whole slew of beanies, right? Baby beanies are the quickest and easiest project, lots of fun and super cute.
These two were made using Ottobre patterns: Autumn 4/2011: “Lucovica Beanie” and Autumn 4/2008: “Jetro Beanie Hat”. The top one was the smallest size given and is huge. I think it will fit a one year old more than a little baby so will have to go into hibernation until next winter. I love the little ears on the bottom beanie, I think I positioned them a bit too high, but it will look cute anyway! 
 
These two beanies ended up being a dodgy pattern (from Ottobre Spring 1/2012: “Ernie Striped Beanie”) I couldn’t for the life of me work out how they went together (so maybe it is the dodgy pattern reader’s fault?!) and instead of contrast fabric being on the inside of the beanie, it ended up being different fabric front and back, which I wasn’t keen on. I had already cut the pattern pieces out though and didn’t want to waste them so transformed what I had already cut out into simple little reversible beanies with fold-up edges. The grey/green one is teeny so will fit him right away…especially if he is a Tommy-sized baby and ends up being miniature! (Does anyone want a quick tutorial to learn how to make these for yourself or are they simple enough you can work it out on your own?)
 
I had been itching to sew some of my little baby outfits for a girl – especially since I have so many lovely girl-friendly knit fabrics. When Ashley tested my Waterfall Blouse pattern, I couldn’t resist making her a little girl outfit for her next little baby.  I used the bodysuit pattern from Ottobre Winter 6/2012. “Kisuliini Raglan-Sleeve Bodysuit.” 

And the pants are from Ottobre Spring 1/2012 called “Little Houses Knit Pants.”(I feel like a broken record blogging the pattern specs every time but I know if I don’t I’ll have people emailing me for more info!)

And lastly (for today) a couple of basic bodysuits from Ottobre Summer 3/2010: “Hau Hau Bodysuit”. I wanted to keep these plain as they are just going to be used as undersuits instead of a singlet. Nothing fancy going on here, but they are practical and will be easy to wear, especially with the envelope neckline. 
I think I better take myself off to baby clothes sewing anonymous…this is getting out of control!

May 8, 2013