Babies, babies, babies everywhere! 2 of my good friends had babies this spring, 2 of my husband's coworkers had babies this summer, and 3 more of my girlfriends are having babies this fall. Craziness! I love making baby gifts, it's such a sweet process and a thoughtful way to welcome these new little ones. But I can't possibly make a quilt for each one of them or that is all I'd be doing!
For one of the latest baby arrivals, I opted for a practical and also easy-to-make gift: a bib and some burp cloths. With a baby of my own (9 months on Saturday, wah!) I know that these come in SO handy, probably more than any other gadget or baby item.
The gift recipient being a little dude, I decided to use the bunch of fabric I had left over from the quilt I made for Henry. The birdies are so cute and the prints are very boy-friendly.
This was my first bib ever. I used the super-duper easy pattern by Chickpea Studio. I backed the bib with a nice white terry cloth. It was my first time putting in snaps and that was, well, a snap. Bam bam with the hammer and done!
Henry approves! I made an extra one for him. I'll be making these again and again in the future. Seriously, so so so easy!
For the burp cloths, even though I had made a bunch of terry-backed burp cloths for Henry's arrival (so funny to revisit my near-labor cuckoo productivity!), I ended up using cloth diapers nearly as much if not more to wipe up baby spit-up and messes. I decided to turn some standard white cloth diapers into burp cloths for this gift.
I just cut fabric to the size of the middle diaper portion plus 1 inch both directions. I folded and pressed edges 1/2 inch under and top-stitched the fabric on top of the diapers. I subsequently found a tutorial for exactly this process on Petite Lemon Blog.
I really should have washed the diapers first, doh. I am guessing they might look a bit bunched after the first wash, since my fabric was pre-washed. Hopefully they'll get some use though! Lesson learned for my next batch.
All in all, this was a super fast project and makes quite a lovely and practical gift. I would have loved getting this kind of gift for either of my babies' arrival.
Have you made bibs and burp cloths before? Do you have a favorite pattern or tutorial? What's a great handmade baby gift you've received? Tell me all about it in the comments!
I love those hammer in snaps! Just used some for the first time (chin straps on sun hats) and they were great. Very cute baby gifts idea :)
ReplyDeleteLove that fabric - great gifts!
ReplyDeleteRachael, I'll definitely be using those snaps again. I had no idea how easy they were to install!
ReplyDeleteMary, thanks for the kind words. :)
Thank you for this awesome tutorial/post! I'm going a baby shower for a friend and this will be the first baby shower I've been to. This gift idea is totally do-able, and I'm super excited for trying it! I have a weird question though, seeing as how I haven't had kids yet... where would I find the cloth diapers that you mention? Thanks again for all the awesome effort you 2 put in this blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Aila! That's actually a really good question that I should have answered in the blog post. The type of cloth diaper you want for this project is a *prefold*. I was pressed for time, so I got a pack of Gerber cloth diapers at Target, in the baby aisles. There are different kinds of cloth diapers, I chose the premium 6-ply padded diapers over the birdseye diapers. They have a different texture, but I think either one would work. If I had had more time, I would have looked online for organic cotton prefolds and something from a smaller manufacturer.
ReplyDeleteI hope this helps! I'm excited you're making this project and would love to see how it turns out. I hope you'll post on your blog and/or share in our Flickr pool.
We have so many babies arriving in our social and family circles in the near future, I will be making this gift again. I think next time, I'll also add a Swaddle Softie (http://stumblesandstitches.blogspot.com/2011/03/swaddle-softie-tutorial.html). Wouldn't that make a cute package?
Great ideas, i like it.
ReplyDeleteYou have the best talent you can use to create lovely gifts like those pieces for your adorable baby. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
ReplyDelete