Doll Diapers – another big sister gift

Poor Josiah… he often gets jipped in the gift department.  Girls are just so much easier to buy for!  Or, in my case, make for.

A while back I pinned these really cute doll cloth diapers – I love all the little details!  Now that Gwen will be a new big sister I thought it would be a great idea to whip up some cloth diapers for her dolls since we’ll be using the real deal with her baby sister.

I decided to find a simpler pattern and use flannel on the inside rather than the more-expensive chenille.  I used a 40% off coupon for a yard of flannel at JoAnn’s – just plain white so it would be versatile – and paired it with some of my cotton prints.  I got some inspiration from both Bee In My Bonnet and Probably Actually, both of whom utilized Skip to My Lou’s doll diaper tutorial.

For the first diaper I cut out the pattern pieces and sewed around with a small seam allowance, but found it was a little snug on one of Gwen’s bigger dolls.  For the rest of the dipes I did what one of the other mamas suggested – trace the pattern, leave it uncut, and sew on top of the pattern line, thus eliminating that extra allowance.  I ended up running out of velcro but tried to make it as adjustable a fit as possible with a long width of velcro across the front or two strategically-placed pieces, rather than two smaller spots on the sides.

They’re so cute!  I packaged them along with Gwen’s doll carrier – and an Angelina Ballerina book, since I got the whole set at a consignment shop and have been gifting them periodically.  She’ll be getting Angelina’s Baby Sister when the time comes!

In other news… I went to the doctor’s today and am 3 cm dilated!  Much better than two weeks ago when nothing was happening.  She decided to “sweep the membranes” to see if anything happens, during which she said she felt the baby’s fingers up near her head!  So weird.  She said I could go into labor today or tomorrow, but so far I feel fine.  We’ll see!

Gwen’s Doll Carrier

I was so excited about how Josiah’s doll carrier turned out and curious about how my changes to the pattern would come together that I sewed up Gwen’s carrier yesterday.

I gave her a choice between two fabrics and she chose this floral bird fabric, a favorite of mine from JoAnn’s that  I get whenever it’s on sale or I have a coupon.  In fact, I used the same fabric for my first zippered pouch.  The other fabric she didn’t choose is another favorite of mine; I used it on her crayon roll and tooth pillow, among other things.

I had debated using a contrasting fabric for both the pocket and the straps, but in the end I used the same brown and white polka dot.  I think it goes nicely with the overall color scheme, especially since it matches the birds.

This time around I traced the pattern onto the back of my main fabric and cut around outside the lines.  Next, sewed the pocket on front of the main fabric  piece.  Then I stacked all three body pieces (interfacing, linen muslin for the reverse lining and patterned fabric), sewing right along the pattern line, leaving an opening in the bottom to attach the straps and an opening in the top for turning.  After making the straps I sewed those into the bottom, closing that hole.  Turned the whole thing right side out, ironed it flat, then topstitched.  I liked this method much better but still had some puckering with which to contend (I’m seriously considering squaring off some of those curves if I make it again!).  Also, since I sewed on top of the pattern line, rather than inside a seam allowance, the carrier itself ended up a bit bigger – which is just fine with me.  Oh… and not only do the pearl snaps look pretty, they work better than the velcro, and after making Gwen close her eyes so I could try Josiah’s carrier on her, decided they should be placed on the same side of the straps as the buttons.

I can’t wait to give these to the kiddos!  I decided to box them up with my old Popples and give them either on Valentine’s Day or Baby Sister’s birthday, whichever comes first.

Countdown to Valentine’s Day and a Doll Carrier

A while back I was trying to think of something I could make for the kids as new sibling gifts for when the baby is born.  They love pretend play things, things that mimic Mommy and Daddy, and when I saw this doll carrier from Little Things to Sew I fell in love.  I can totally picture Gwen putting one of her dolls or stuffed animals in a carrier, just like Mommy with the new baby.  I’m hoping it will help them feel included even when they won’t be able to do everything with their new sister.

I’ve had the sewing book checked out from the library for a while now and have renewed it once already; everything else took priority!  I read the instructions for putting the pattern together, and while it seemed simple enough, there were a bunch of little steps and I kept putting it off (and I had yet to brave the buttonhole).  Well, seeing as I can’t sleep these days, I decided to stay up and see how it came together.  I started with Josiah’s first – he probably won’t be as excited about it as Gwendolyn and I already knew what fabric I wanted to use, so his was the guinea pig version.

Whaddya’ think?  I used linen muslin for the front and a cute blue barnyard fabric for the lining and pocket.  The straps are a piece I’ve had laying around for a while; not sure what it is but it’s similar in feel to the muslin.  I have two big canisters of buttons that used to belong to my grandmothers and I picked through those and found four orangey ones to use on the straps.  The directions say to try it on your child to figure out velcro placement further down the straps, but I want this to be a surprise, so I looked around at what other people did and put a couple pieces at different increments; I can always add more later.  I just happened to have a tan velcro that matches the straps nicely.  I’m very pleased with how it came out but already have some ideas for how to simplify the process when making the next one.

Some tips: The pocket lining pattern piece from the book doesn’t make any sense; when I first used it to make the pocket it didn’t really go along with the directions and made for a tiny pocket.  Instead, I cut out two pieces of the same size using the main fabric pattern piece – much better!  Oh, and I used denim for the lining for a bit of extra boyishness.

I’m not horrible at sewing around corners, but since I’m nowhere near professional there’s some puckering here and there.  Ironing does help, but next time I’m going to trace the pattern onto the fabric and sew along the tracing lines, leaving enough room for sewing on the straps and turning the carrier right-side out.

I didn’t like the suggestion for basting stitches near the top; it makes the end product look messier and next time I’ll just leave the opening without the guideline stitching.  Making it less curved might make for easier edgestitching, too.

I did in fact get to use my buttonhole foot, and while it was easy enough, it seems like the needle skipped some stitches… and then it broke in the middle of it all!  Is there a neat way to cut out the actual buttonhole?  It seems messy and I’m afraid the stitches will eventually come out.  In any case, it’s good enough!  For Gwen’s I may just use pearl snaps in place of the velcro and/or buttons – like in this version of the same carrier - though the buttons definitely add charm.

There seemed to be some debate as to whether the velcro gets placed on the button-side of the straps or the reverse.  Looking at the picture in the book I can’t really tell, and some people said it goes on the same side as the buttons… but it seemed to hang more naturally doing the opposite.  Guess I’ll see when I put it on him!  One down, one to go…

*      *      *

I can’t believe it’s February already!  Since this is my due date month I’m telling myself “any day now.”  Josiah was born at 37 weeks and this weekend I’ll be at the same point.  So I wanted to have Valentine’s Day squared away just in case! I filled the kiddos mini mailboxes with jellybeans, clearance “ornaments” filled with scented bubble bath and name bracelets that I whipped up for them when I had the plastic beads out.  The kiddos will be at their grandmother’s for Valentine’s Day, but I already have the morning planned out with a paper heart trail leading the kiddos to the table where they can open their mailboxes and adopt my two Pretty Bit Popples, which I’ll have sitting on the table.  We’ve started doing the countdown to Valentine’s Day with Bible verses and acts of love for each day.

I’m always on the lookout for meaningful yet not-too-expensive gifts for Phil and went with one of The Dating Diva’s ideas: 14 Days of Love.  I’m not too crazy about how many of their ideas involve candy or dollar store crap, but I went with the idea and made it my own.  I rolled up each of the little sentiments, tied them with embroidery thread and put them in a little jar.  Each morning he has to find the one with the correct number (#1 for February 1st, #2 for February 2nd and so forth) then find the corresponding gift bag.  I just used all the bags I could find that had pink, red, purple or something similar, warning him that none of the Victoria’s Secret bags contain any actual Victoria’s Secret merchandise. *grin*

*For more ideas see my Valentine’s Day Pinterest board.

9 Months and Counting

Pregnancy does not last nine months, people, no matter what They say.  Forty weeks – you do the math.  What a cruel joke!  I feel much bigger this time around, like I have a huge, pointy bullet on the front of my body.  This, despite other women insisting I can’t possibly be due next month, and do I want to see pictures of their pregnancies?  It doesn’t help that one of the ladies trying to make me feel better was thinking of her own pregnant belly while carrying twins – both seven pounds at that.  Okay, you win – I’m not that big!

It’s been fun trying to figure out what to wear in the mornings.  As Nikki says, it’s like trying to keep clothes on a basketball!  The shirts ride up, the pants roll down – *sigh*  And I’m so clumsy!  My stomach bumps into things, I keep dropping things on the floor, looking like an idiot while expending all my energy leaning over to pick them up.  And cooking… my belly is a safety hazard!  Leaning over the griddle one night while making quesadillas, I thought – gosh, my belly feels warm.  Yup, it was bumping into the burner.  And I’m not getting any sleep, which is great practice for having a newborn in the house.

Every other pregnant woman I know will be un-pregnant before me!  Sarah, my friend from high school, just welcomed her baby boy last week (I need to see pictures!).  It’s nice being pregnant along with someone you know, and I really wanted to make her something.  I had some leftover flannel and chenille and sewed up a few baby wipes, since she also cloth diapers.  Then I decided to try something different – a baby bow tie!  I looked at a few different tutorials*, combining my favorite aspects of each of them.  I love how it turned out and hope she does, too.  Since the bow tie is probably supposed to fit an older baby-toddler, I made it more adjustable with some pearl snaps.

I also tried my hand at making some new plushies recently, including the mermaid for Sarah’s daughter so she would have a Big Sis gift.

I’m not crazy about the little birdies and how they came together, but I love the mermaiden and am hoping to make some more after I play around with the pattern a bit.

Since I was one week early with Gwen’s birth and three weeks early with Josiah’s,  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll go early again.  Is it bad that I’m only counting on being pregnant for another week?  Gotta pack my hospital bag!

*Bow Tie tutorials:
One Dog Woof’s Little Boy’s Bow Tie Tutorial
Salty Pineapple’s Bow Ties
Life is {Sew} Daily’s Bow Ties for Baby & Toddler
See Kate Sew’s Double Bow Tie Tutorial for Boys

GwendyLicious Goodies

I’ve had to whip up some inventory for Small Circle since a bunch of my handmade items sold over the holiday season.  I’m psyched that I’m able to make a little profit from my hobby!  The orange spice wheat therapy bags and crayon rolls seem to be the heavy hitters, but some other things are selling here and there and every now and then I like to whip up something new to try and add to their shelves.

First, a batch of therapy bags – these guys are heavy with over two pounds of wheat berries, and they smell heavenly with their spicy orange smell.  I love putting together interesting fabric combinations, though I have to admit I gravitate towards the florals and geometrics.  Making recycled cardboard tags with fabric scraps is a fun little touch.

Another product I thought I’d try are these wishing wands.  I already had the dowels, paint and some felt sheets on hand, but I picked up a few more felt colors, sequins and glitter.  I found it easiest to hand-stitch the sequins on one of the stars, sew them up by machine, hand-stitch sequins on the opposite star, stuff it with fiberfill then hand-stitch the whole thing closed.  I love how they turned out and plan on making more in different colors – especially since the kiddos immediately wanted one for themselves.  The only thing I omitted was the pocket on the back.

After making the Princess and the Pea set for Gwen’s birthday, I made another fabric doll to sell.  Well, someone bought it and I’m delighted to think of a little girl somewhere treasuring that dolly!  I decided to make a couple more fabric dolls.  The picture is a bit dark, but I used the leftover yarn from the baby hats I made recently, so one of the dolls has purple hair – I love it!  I tried some different embellishments, like buttons on the dress and fabric circles in the hair.  After sewing everything up, I’d say the hardest part is figuring out what to do with the face.  I painted Gwen’s but chose to sew on fabric embellishments on the last one.  Embroidery is not my strong suit, so I stuck to painted faces again and love how they turned out – especially the sleeping doll!

And I finally got around to another project on my to-do list: fabric rosettes.  I had already cut up one of my bridesmaid’s skirts to make a scarf and used some more scraps – along with other re-purposed materials – to make some rosettes.  So far I’ve been turing them into pins, but for the smallest rose I made a baby headband for my little girl arriving next month (not soon enough!).  I ordered some elastic from SkinnyElastic by Bitsy Bands on Etsy and plan on cranking out some more in different colors and sizes.

Part of the reason for my mad dash in creating more goodies is that Whimsies, another local shop, contacted me hoping to stock some of my things.  Woo-hoo!  I’m trying not to drive myself too crazy keeping up with crafting, kiddos, homeschooling, all the while lugging around this huge belly and waddling like a penguin. Good times!

*I recently decided to re-vamp my lil’ craft website to showcase some of the more recent items I’ve been working on.  Check ‘er out!