Dapper Little Gentleman

After making my Purple Flowered Maternity Dress, I decided I had plenty of the dark purple I used for the belt to make a matching vest for my little gentleman.

I found the perfect piece of purple satin for a lining and bow tie...  a scrap from a Regency dress made for a friend, used to mock-up the top of my 1930's Evening Gown... Being so tiny, I managed to fit the vest and tie pieces on the stored away mock-up. Hurray for being a bit of a sewing project/mock-up pack-rat! 😜

The buttons, as often is the case, were from the pile my Dad found at an estate sale years ago. 

Next up, I made him a pair of tan pants out of a small scrap of twill passed on to me and stored to use later.

The shirt was a thrift store find that looked like it would work with the purple, and finished off the suit nicely. 

 
It was fun to make him something that "matched" Mommy, and such a breeze to put together kiddo clothes! It was refreshing to take a pattern and sew it with very few modifications!

Little Projects: Sweater Re-fashion

 A couple years ago, I bought a really nice, unique, merino wool sweater at the thrift store. Or at least, I THOUGHT it was nice... After bringing it home I realized that a previous owner must have spilled something on the sleeves and used hot water to try to clean it out... Since I'm not a t-rex with super disproportionately short and tiny arms, it was vastly uncomfortable. 😬 I tried everything to un-shrink those sleeves,soaking it in conditioner and stretching it to dry with pins again and again, but to no avail. So it was tossed into the mending bag until such a time as I found some way to redeem it.

This fall I really wanted to make something special for my little boy's first birthday. I found that sweater in the mending pile, and decided that cutting it up into a little sweater for him was the perfect solution to the tiny arm situation.😀

Laying out one of his 18 month hoodies and tracing it off provided a basic pattern to work with. I left the sleeves extra long so they could have a folded cuff to start, and grow with him as he did. 😊

I was able to keep the selvages for the fronts and bottoms of the sweater, so all that was left raw after stitching it together was the neckline and sleeve hems. Yay! 😁 I used a few scraps from the felted sleeves to bind the neckline, since the felted pieces wouldn't ravel, and left the sleeve hems raw since they were felted as well.

After much deliberation and scouring of Pinterest for inspiration, I opted for the two button look so popular on toddler sweaters. It allows free movement and, most importantly, I only had two random leather buttons of the same size in my stash. 😜 The leather for the loops/frogs were scraps from two different projects I made ages ago.

I'm really excited about how it came out, and I'm very happy that the lovely wool sweater got a new beginning. 

He loves his sweater and it has been so useful through the thick of winter and the early spring. :)

A Small Project for a New Little Person

After finding out we were expecting and getting through the first trimester, I finally sat down to start the somewhat overwhelming, but delightful and fun task of planning for all the things baby would be needing.

I finally decided after searching, and searching, and SEARCHING, that a co-sleeping baby nest would be the most practical baby bed for the first few months. He'll be snugly safe in his own little "nest", but close to me so I can tend him easily at all hours.

I really wanted a cotton nest, but since I couldn't find any with cotton batting and stuffing, I decided to go ahead and make my own. I had a bit of cotton batting already, so I ordered 3 lbs of natural cotton stuffing and searched through my stash for the perfect fabric.

I hemmed, and hawed, and hemmed some more... and finally decided to make the nest a little bigger than most of the baby ones I saw. Upon discovering a few toddler nests, I increased the measurements of the sleeping area to reflect those sizes more, that way the nest will be sure to work until baby is sleeping through the night on his own. 😊 Next up was drafting the pattern based off those measurements, and making the nest. The whole process actually went really smoothly! 😊

The main body of the nest is a heavy cotton twill material, perfect for a sturdy and durable base. 

I seriously miscalculated how much batting I would need, and despite piecing a couple narrower strips together, I ran out of the batting I had on hand after doing only the 2 layers for the base. With everything finished but the mattress, the project ground to a halt until I could make a run to the store for more batting. But hey, it probably saved me from staying up super late to finish the mattress and get the whole project done in one day. 😉

I really liked the v-shaped quilting on a couple nests I saw on Pinterest, and decided to go for that look with my own nest. I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

The sailboat mattress pad is made from a quilting-weight cotton fabric, with 3 layers of batting for softness. I'll be putting a thick piece of wool fabric between the mattress and nest for a water-resistant barrier to guard against the inevitable diaper and spit-up accidents. 😏 Since the mattress portion is completely separate, I can take it out and wash it without washing the whole nest... and trying to dry out nearly 3 pounds of cotton filling any time it needs a cleaning. 😨😊

It was such a joy to make a special nest for my own little one. 😊 Feeling my heart fill with love for the little person he is, his personality already showing in how he moves and the little things unique to the way God has knit him together to be. 💗