Saturday 24 May 2014

Baby gifts - Because they're just plain fun!

I love a good baby-shower ... well, any excuse for putting together a little gift of teeny-tiny cuteness, huh!  I know I'm biased, but I especially love teeny-tiny goodness for little GIRL babies.

So, when my sister-in-law's sister .... (what do I call her, there's got to be a better name than "sister-in-law's sister" ... does anyone know?)  Anyway, she's a lovely, and when she invited me to join her for her special baby shower earlier this year, I was stoked.  As my mind often does these days, it went straight to ... ohhhh, what can I make?

Now, I have been coveting this absolutely adorable babushka fabric for the longest time, just waiting for the perfect project.  Nothing had seemed cute enough to warrant cutting in to this beauty.  Anyone who has known me for more than 5 minutes knows that I love babushkas, and although my heart breaks to admit it, I think Bethany is getting a little old for babushkas, now that she's 6 and all *sobs uncontrollably*.  Anyway, when pondering something cute for this new little person I couldn't resist the teeniest tiniest little pair of bubble shorts ever made, and the look was completed with a matching teeny tiny appliqued singlet.  Given this bub was born in the height of the summer heat, I thought these would be practical as well as cute for her.

I used the MADE Kid Shorts pattern, which I purchased a while ago, and I love.  The only problem is that the pattern starts at a size 12-months, and obviously this gift was for a newborn.  So, I fiddled a little with the measurements (basically just removed the seam allowance all the way around), and cut the waist elastic a little smaller to fit a newborn.  To pretty them up a little I also added an extra row of stitching at the waistband to make a small ruffle at the top, then used 1/2" elastic instead of 1" elastic in the waist.  This is the same way I did the waist band for Bethany's Princess PJ's last year. 
Then, and because there's really nothing cuter than newborn chubby thighs, I inserted a little piece of 1/8" elastic into the hems of the short to make them bubble-style.  I then grabbed a little Bonds baby singlet, cut out one of the tiny babushkas and appliquéd it to the front.  I was super happy with how these turned out, and I think the Mummy-to-be liked them too!

Then, with how super-quick the first project was, I decided to knock together a girl-toned version of my Baby Change-mat Clutch.  Not bad in the brighter girly colours, hey! Oh, and a little tip .... if you're making one of these change mats, make 2.  You can get 2 out of a yard of each fabric.  And boy I'm glad I did, because before I knew it another friend had a tiny baby girl, and sitting right there was the perfect gift!  

Anyway, I had so much fun putting this gift together, and I thought someone else might be interested in a similar gift, so I've added a babushka outfit and a girly-coloured change mat clutch to my Etsy shop.  Take a look ... 

Oh and if you were shocked at the postage rates last time you looked at the shop ... Australia Post really is ridiculously expensive ... I did a little more research and found a cheaper way to send things, so you should be pleasantly surprised at the MUCH more reasonable postage rates ... still Australia Post, but just packaged a little more economically.

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