Baby B's Sewing Project

You may remember with Little JCrew that I made quite a few onesies for him.

 I will be able to reuse those onesies, except for the ones with a "w" on them.

My sister took some great photos while she visited after Little JCrew's birth, and I wanted to have the same outfits for Baby B to take photos in. So, I created some onesies with the letter "b" on them.

I was resourceful and pulled out white onesies I already had from Little JCrew and used the same fabric too. However, I wanted a different color for Baby B's letter. So, I used some left over fabric from my camera strap project and also from the pillowcase project.

I use iron-on adhesive to get the letters on the onesie, then I stitch it on there.

Stitching gives it that final touch.

Oh, and I also created matching shirts for the boys to wear in the hospital. Little JCrew already has one "Big Brother" shirt that he used to make the announcement, but I thought this was cute too. It's a simple iron-on patch from Hobby Lobby.

Now all I have to do is order boxers for Baby B just like Little JCrew's for more pictures.

Little JCrew #2's Nursery

Before I knew the gender of Little JCrew #2, I already had a vision for the nursery. I envisioned a gray crib with turquoise and orange accents. I thought it was gender neutral and if the baby was a girl, the orange would act as my pink.

I was really weighing the option of refinishing the crib. If I could find the right bedding, I could possibly not have to finish the crib.

My vision then started changing to just a gray and white theme. The green room has a lot of bright colors already in it, and I didn’t want the colors to compete.

I forget what I googled, but I came across this fabulous site. http://www.babybedding.com/. (Carousel Designs.) I at first was only looking at their fabric selection, thinking I would make a crib sheet. I found so many fabric options I liked.

My fabric swatches show that I changed my color pallet yet again! Green somehow snuck itself in there instead of turquoise.

Later, I googled crib sheets and the search pulled up the same site (but I didn’t realize it.) I was recognizing the fabric selection and thought it odd that I found a site that was using the fabrics I was just looking at. Doh! I soon realized I had been lead back to the site I was just on and they have crib sheets, preventing me from having to make my own!

I fell in love with quite a few, but the price tag was steep.

While browsing the website, I found the coolest feature EVER! An interactive designer! I could pick whether I wanted a bumper, what fabric I wanted to use, how long of a crib skirt I wanted, etc. And not only could I change the fabric choices, but I could pick the flooring (Wood/carpet) the wall color and the crib color!! I was able to recreate my room! You can even remove the crib side to see the fabric better, or keep it up so that you can get a good visualization.

I played with different color combinations.

Then I played with the look of a navy crib!

I even kept the natural color crib look.

But I kept going back to the gray look, so I played with the picture and made a new one with a gray crib. (There wasn’t a gray crib option. Which I think they should add!)

Once I turned the crib gray in the picture, my mind was pretty made up. Just needed confirmation from the Hubs.

I created a picture with the room that had a swatch of the quilt on the bed that would be next to the crib. It was my goal to keep the room "as is." The wall color would not change and the bedding and furniture would stay. I made my rendition have the correct wall color and mimicked the color of the pallet wall. I wanted to make sure everything was cohesive.

Once I picked the bedding design, I was close to ordering the fabric to make the bed skirt, when my mom suggested using ribbon detail instead. We already had a queen-size bedskirt Mom would cut to crib size. She found different widths of ribbon to put together in gray and white, with an accent ribbon of pink or turquoise.

We were just waiting to see what the gender was so we would know which detail would be used. (We liked the pink ruffle!!)

I wasn’t sold on the turquoise ribbon we found, so I set out to find more. I found a lot of good options.

Then I found the ruffle ribbon in turquoise!!

We then played around with the different combinations.

Because the ribbon detail would be hidden when the mattress was raised, we made two different ribbon details on the same skirt. One would be seen while the other was hidden for each mattress level.

The complete bedskirt

Bedskirt with mattress in high position

Bedskirt with mattress lowered

When it came to sheets, I kept it simple with the gray and white. One sheet is predominantly gray and the other is more white. That way I have a different look with each.

I am very happy with the end result. It is not the perfect designer room you dream of, but I work with what I've got. That's my whole purpose.

Hopefully, Baby B will love his bed. I find every excuse to walk by!

Sewing Pillowcases

A pillowcase is one of the easiest things to sew. So, why did it take me so long to get it done? I've got a Little JCrew that loves his mommy's attention is why.

I had a baby pillow that needed a pillowcase for Little JCrew. I went and picked out fabric, so the first step was taken care of. But the fabric and pillow both layed there for a while.

I measured out the fabric and pinned it together. Then I was stalled again. I got the sides sewn together in the next free second I had.

The last step was to hem the edge. Finally, done!!! And I love the fabric. It's such a fun pattern. I already visualize him carrying it everywhere and napping in the car with it.

I made two. One fun one, and one more formal. :)

Patchwork Camera Strap

A friend of mine has an awesome strap on her camera. I had never thought about doing it to my camera until another friend commented she was surprised I hadn’t made my own yet. She sent me a link to directions and I got out my fabric pieces.

I was trying to be neutral with my colors, and then I wanted to add a pop of color. JoAnn’s Fabric was having a sale on fabric quarters (18 x 22 inches) so that is what I got.

I took my current camera strap

and measured it. It was 1.5 inches wide.

The next part I did was cut pieces of the fabric that were 4x6 inches. I needed them at least double the width of the camera strap (1.5 inches) plus a half inch on each side. That’s 4 inches. The fabric pieces could be as long as I wanted them.

I got the fabric in the order I wanted them and started sewing them together.

I then turned over the fabric to iron down the seams.

I then took a piece of scrap iron-on adhesive and cut it to length of my patchwork strip and exactly 3 inches wide. I laid it in the middle of the fabric and ironed it on.

I then creased the edges over and then folded the fabric strip in half. I then ironed it together.

Once folded in half, it was time to sew. First seam was to close where I folded in half. Then I placed a seam symmetrically on the opposite seam, one down the middle and two more seams, for a total of five.

I decided to see how my strap turned out before I took apart my perfectly good strap. I was really nervous! I bought a leather needle for my sewing machine and then took a seam ripper to the connecting piece.

Once apart, I could insert the new strap into the leather end and sew it back together.

Ta-da! Finished piece is very unique. I will be able to instantly identify my camera if I see it laying around.