Classic Polo from Peek-a-boo Patterns

Is it wrong to love a shirt? Because I totally do.

And the baby wearing it. Obviously.

The Classic Polo, this newly released pattern from Peek-a-boo Patterns, is my new fave. How did I not know how easy it is to sew a polo shirt?! Because it is ridiculously easy. Especially with Amy’s super clear instructions. Click here to view more details [affiliate link]I tested the short-sleeved version [the pattern includes both short and long sleeves] in the three month size on my [98th percentile for height] seven week old. Side note: newborn sewing takes scrap sizes of fabric and barely any time. Love.
I used some knit I had picked up at a rummage sale last year. I had assumed the stripes were horizontal, but when I realized they were vertical, it suddenly screamed vintage baseball. So vintage blue buttons were the clear choice.He’s a fan. I mean really, a polo shirt that’s super cute, and I can sew it up before the baby starts crying? Yep, I’m on board with that too.

And while you’re sewing, it’s Thrifty Thursday at Peek-a-boo Patterns, and these super cute convertible pants are half off today only.

Perfect for spring and summer! Click here to view more details [affiliate link]

Baby + Baby Pants

Well, apparently blogging [or doing anything, actually] with three kids + a newborn is not easy.

Slowly but surely, though, we are getting into some kind of routine. Sewing and blogging are making their way back into the mix… with the help of coffee. Lots of coffee.
Remember the baby pants tutorial? They’re getting good use these days.

Baby toes get me every time.

P.S. He peed through these pants about thirty seconds after I took this picture. Obviously.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

[pop over to Soule Mama to link up your Friday moment too]

The Wait is Over!

You may have noticed that the blog has been a little quiet this week. Well, I’d like to introduce you to the reason.

Meet Reid.

Last Monday night, he made his way into the world.
He has completed our family in a way we didn’t know possible. He is snuggly and smells of baby loveliness and only cries when he has a reason. [so far...]We’re all pretty smitten over here.
The next couple of weeks will be a little slow on here, but I think you’d agree that this little lovey is just too cute to put down.

Getting Ready for Baby: Cloth Wipes and Burp Cloths

If you’ve had a baby or seen a baby before… ever… you know that babies make a lot of messes. And usually at the times that are the most inconvenient [like when you're sitting in church or cleaning the house for guests to come over].

So some of the obvious baby prep for me was making more burp cloths and cloth wipes. We use burp cloths all the time still – even when we don’t have babies spitting up. We use them to wipe boogies and drool and tears and … well, whatever else might need wiping. And since I’ve had the same burp cloths for more than five years, some of them are looking beyond sad.

So using some of the flannel I scored from Jo-Ann Fabric’s Black Friday sale [three bolts! woot!] I made some easy peasy burp cloths.I just sandwiched two pieces of flannel together and used the rolled edge setting on my serger.Then I whipped up a bunch of cloth wipes in the same fashion. We use these with our cloth diapers, but they’re the perfect size for washing up in the bath or after meals too. We spend very little money on baby wipes by using these, and it’s one more way to use less waste.Plus they look cuter than baby wipes! And don’t worry, if you don’t have a serger, these are still easy for you too! Make them in a similar fashion to my quilted coasters [minus the quilting step].

And just in case you don’t follow me on instagram…The baby belly in all it’s glory. And my “I went to the hospital in labor and they sent me home when it stopped so now I’m still waiting for this baby” face.

Happy sewing, friends!

Easy DIY Baby Pants Tutorial

With a house already full of boys, I haven’t had the need to buy much of anything for this new babe. I did want to make a few things for baby, however, and one of my favorite things to make is baby pants. Okay, pants in general are a fave, I’ll admit, but especially baby pants. Everything is much better in miniature version.

There are two things that I really love about sewing knit baby pants: they are a super quick sew and they take very little fabric.

Don’t have a baby to sew for? This tutorial is basically an updated version of my lounge pants, so you could easily make these for any sized kid.

If you know my crazy love for upcycling, you have to know that I adore using thrifted T-Shirts for baby pants. Not only does it make these even that much faster to make, it also gives you so many great fabric options. [the two pants on the right were both upcycled from thrifted tees!] And obviously, stripes are always a good choice…

1. Lay a pair of baby pants on top of your fabric/thrifted tee. You want to line up the outside seam of your pants with the folded edge of your fabric. Cut around the pants, giving yourself a little extra fabric around the side for a seam allowance. [for baby pants made out of knit, I make the front and back the same, but you can always make the back a little higher if you need some room in the booty]

Be sure also that you add some extra length at the top for the waistband. How much will depend on how wide your elastic is. I prefer to use fold over elastic like this:

for baby pants, since it’s soft and won’t dig into baby’s skin at all.

2. Sew down the inseam of each leg, with the right sides of the fabric together.

4. Turn the pant legs right side out. Pin the legs together at the center seam and sew.

5. Sew the ends of your elastic together. My elastic was about 14in. long, allowing room for overlap as the ends were sewn together. I don’t want my pants to be too tight, and I cloth diaper my babes, so I don’t need the pants to be super skinny. And my babies tend to be well over eight pounds. If yours are smaller, you might want to use less elastic.

6. Fold the top of the waistband over the circle of elastic and pin in place.

7. Sew the waistband down, being careful not to sew the elastic at the same time.And then sew up a bunch for all the babies you know, because it was so ridiculously quick!

C’mon, baby, you’ve got some sweet stripey pants waiting for you!

These Days…

Today I’m 36 weeks. I’m oh-so-large and uncomfortable and ready to bring this little boy into our family.

These days are moving slowly. I’m moving slowly. Our mornings have been sweet, and the boys have stayed in their jammies a little longer than usual.

I’m savoring their snuggles and their smiles, knowing that my hands will be occupied a bit more in the coming months.

The littlest still has no clue how much is world is about to change…

I told my husband the other day that I’m feeling this intense need to sew in every spare moment I have, because who knows what I’ll be able to do once baby is born. But even that takes lot of energy some days.

Of course, time will tell if baby arrives in a week or in four. And my big-baby-bearing-self is hoping for one…

Boys Will Be Boys: Soft Soled Baby Shoes Tutorial and FREE Pattern!

We’re already halfway through our gift series, Boys Will be Boys, so Handmake Their Toys!

Click the image to see all the posts in this series.

So far in the series, I’ve shared a lot of tutorials for toys your little boys are sure to love. [well, mine are sure to love them anyway!] But sometimes you want to be a little more practical with your gifts. And really, how many toys do your littles really need… even if they are handmade?

So today you get a tutorial for a gift that’s perfect for those littlest boys who are content to play with pots and wooden spoons. And who just need to add a little cuteness to their wardrobe, instead of adding to their toy bin.

Supplies:

• felted wool
• 1/8 inch elastic
• soft leather
• sweatshirt scraps *optional
• sewing machine
• coordinating thread
• scissors

1. Download the soft soled baby shoes pattern. This is nothing fancy [but it's free!], and it is sized for a young toddler – between 12-18mos. My son wears a size 5 shoe or 12-18mo. soft-soled shoes (like Robeez), and these fit him well. If your child wears a different size, just scale the pattern up or down.

2. Cut out the half circle pattern piece out of felted wool. You will need two of this piece. You will also need to cut two rectangles of wool that are 2.5in x 7.5in. I used this awesome vintage wool suit coat that I thrifted and felted.

3. Now cut two of the oval pattern piece out of soft leather [I upcycled mine from a vest]. I also cut two ovals of sweatshirt material, to make the shoe a little more cushiony for baby’s foot. This is optional, though.

4. Fold over the edge of the half circle piece and top-stitch. Because you are using felted wool, you don’t have to worry about the edges fraying.

5. Fold over one long edge of the rectangle piece and top-stitch.

6. Cut 5in. of elastic and attach it to a small safety pin. Use that pin to thread the elastic through the rectangle piece of wool. [note: if your baby has particularly pudgy ankles, you might want to use 6in. of elastic]

7. When your elastic is just barely sticking out of your wool, zig-zag the end to attach it. Then pull the rest of the elastic to the end [the wool will bunch up slightly as you do this] and zig-zag the other end.

8. Now pin the rectangle onto the half-circle, as seen above. The finished edges should be facing away from you.

9. Use a straight stitch to sew the two pieces together. You’ll want to sew two rows of stitching – one that is close to the edge of the rectangle piece and one that is close to the edge of the half-circle piece. [you can see the two rows of stitching if you look carefully at the picture above]

10. Sandwich the leather and sweatshirt piece together. The sweatshirt piece should be on the bottom. Then pin the wool pieces around the leather. The finished side of the wool should be facing the leather.

11. Zig-zag stitch along the edges, making sure to capture all layers of fabric as you go. Repeat all these steps for the second shoe.

Now turn your shoes right side out and admire your handiwork!

And attempt to capture them in action… but of course, a 16 month-old will not sit when you want him to and does not yet understand bribery…

Stacey at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy has a great stocking stuffer over at her place today. Super hero hand warmers! She also has a giveaway for a T-shirt from I Heart Bricks that your boy would LOVE to wear!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaways from Fabric Fairy and See Kate Sew!

Unexpected miracles.

All my life, I have wanted to be a mom. I loved playing with my dolls and creating a world where I could care for little babies all day long. Preferably lots of them. I think at one point my sister got a set of quintuplet babies that I was pretty much obsessed with. I knew that one day, I wanted a house full of babies.

My journey to motherhood didn’t come without tears. Before becoming pregnant the first time, I saw lots of doctors and took medication and peed on more sticks that I could count. And the day I saw those two pink lines, I could hardly believe it. My day had arrived. I was becoming a mom.

I have been that girl who cries when she hears someone else’s pregnancy announcement. Cries, thinking, “when will it be my turn?” Not just the first time, but also the second time around. More medication, more negatives. But eventually, a joyous moment, realizing that our family would be growing.

I had resigned myself to knowing that getting pregnant would always take effort. It wouldn’t ever be something that just “happened.” There wouldn’t be a surprise, because how could there be?

But when we were ready to welcome a third baby into our lives, we decided to wait before refilling my prescription. Just to “see what would happen.” This, my friends, is where I felt the blessing of the Father. After the countless tears I cried, always wondering, never convinced my body would carry another baby, I felt God wrap His arms around me and wipe my tears. “I heard you crying, my daughter. Don’t try so hard this time. I am making you new, from the inside out. Let me grow this baby my way, not yours.”

And make me new, He did. After three healthy, amazing, and wonderful babies came into our lives, He has continued to heal my body and work miracles in our family.

For the past 14 weeks, little baby new has been growing inside me. An unexpected miracle that we cannot wait to welcome into our home. A baby that we didn’t plan for, but one that has already shown us how big our God is. How He knows us, better than we know ourselves. And sometimes, He likes to surprise us in really big, unexpected ways.

Fleece Pants for Baby

One of the easiest things to sew is a pair of fleece pants. Seriously, if you’re scared of sewing clothing, this is the project to try.

Fleece won’t fray, so you don’t have to worry about finishing the edges. So even if you can only sew a straight stitch, you can sew with fleece.

Fleece is so cozy. Perfect for baby… or anyone, really. When sewing baby pants, I find a lot of fleece in the remnants section. I adore the remnants section.

Fleece also has some stretch to it, so it’s forgiving when you’re sewing. Which means if you screw up your measurements at all, it’s no big deal.

[Yes, those are my baby's feet again. Because who can resist those toes!]

Plus, you can whip up a pair of these in 30 minutes and then say you made three pieces for KCWC instead of two. It sounds that much cooler.