Embroidery for babies

Perhaps the title is a little misleading. I don't actually mean embroidery for babies but embroidery for babies. Get it?

One of my best friends at home (UK) had twins before Christmas; a boy & girl.  I've been rather slow getting round to making them a gift what with Christmas, sickness (yup we had the lurgy for Christmas too) and a family ski trip all happening straight after their arrival into the world. Anyhow that's my excuse....

Nicola (of a Pip and a Peach fame) introduced me to embroidery. She gave me this pattern last year when she came to visit; the fruits of which now hang in my youngest daughter's bedroom. I thought I could utilise the same pattern for the twins as it had a boy & girl version.

Embroidery is a great sewing skill to add to your repertoire.  Its gratifyingly easy and you get results fast.  There are many super cute designs out there, Etsy is a great source in case you are looking.  There are many ways to get the image onto the fabric, this YouTube video explains them well.  I just traced mine through the fabric.

Did I forget to do her legs???!

I added a back to these two as they are a gift. Gather in the edges of the fabric by pulling together with a running stitch then secure with a knot. I then hot glued the backing fabric to the other fabric.  You could also sew the two pieces of fabric together.

Welcome little babies :-) xx

New baby gift - Owls in a tree

I love making gifts for new babies, fortunately I have friends who are still having babies!  This time around I went for a new idea, owls in a tree. I decided to personalize the gift (like this one) and luckily her name has only 3 letters.

The owls were made from fabric scraps and felt. I made a pattern then cut all the pieces out put them together, either sewing or gluing (felt pieces).  I put a few small bells inside so they can rattle in her little hands.

The 'tree' is an oatmeal container wrapped inside & out with felt. In my haste I forgot to do the inside first (hence not done in the pictures), I would suggest doing it first before sealing up the lid of the container. I used the lid as a template to cut out the hole and a permanent marker to draw the faux bois on the outside.

What new baby gifts do you make? Do you have a 'go to' one, or do you like to try new things?

New baby gift

Finally I have finished the gift for my friends new baby who is now over a month old. I am not sure what took me so long; I am normally very prompt with my new baby gifts! The delay was partly due to my indecision on what to make for her.   I have done blankets in past, this one & this crochet one and bunnies but as my friend is a good sewer and her Mum even better (she's made the baby a quilt) I thought those options were out.  I spent a week or so toying with the idea of a mobile like these I saw on Pinterest but then this pin sparked an idea....

And here it is! Not quite sure what to call it? I finished it last night so no pictures I'm afraid, but I will take you through step by step, recipe style.

You will need:

• fabric scraps
• photo frame of choice
• freezer paper
• printer
• scissors
• sewing machine or needle & thread
• fabric glue
• Fray Check

First draw and cut out your letters. I ended up doing them free hand (as you can probably see!) but you could print out a template & trace them. Coat the edges with fray check.

Work out the text you want to use in Word, I decided on birth details.  Next cut a piece of fabric & freezer paper to fit the size of your printer (mine was A4). Iron the shiny side of the freezer paper to the back of the fabric. This will bond the freezer paper to the fabric and give the printer something to hold onto. Feed fabric into printer, make sure you work out which way round it has to go before you print (mine was fabric faced down). Then print text onto fabric.

I spent a little while fiddling about with the positioning of the letters then when I had it right I secured them with a dab of fabric glue before sewing them on. I also glued the fabric to the back of the frame to hold it all in place.

Welcome to the world baby Summer xx