Bunny Loveys made by you!

It's bunny season! My sewing machine is a thousand miles away, so I'm sewing vicariously with all of you who are making the Bunny Lovey pattern this spring. There are so many lovely variations, from classic to creative!

I'm just loving these Bunny Loveys made in Sherpa, they just look so snuggly soft! These are from Cedar Bee Made and Martin N. Mae.

A post shared by Cedar Bee (@cedarbeemade) on Feb 17, 2018 at 1:31pm PST

A post shared by martin.n.mae (@martin.n.mae) on Feb 24, 2018 at 12:40pm PST

Is there anything so sweet as a white white bunny? So classic and adorable. These are by Sunday Design Studio and Bethany Wells (Mama Sew Colorful).

A post shared by Sunday Design Studio (@sunday.design.studio) on May 26, 2017 at 6:21am PDT

A post shared by Bethany Wells (@mamasewcolorful) on Sep 24, 2016 at 10:15am PDT

What fun prints! Just loving these bunnies in fun prints by Lil Things by Aimee and Lori Sapp.

And, take a look at these designs that incorporate fun colors, fabrics, and textures by Charity Sue Design and Brandi Henderson (SixThirtyStitch).

A post shared by Charity Sue Design Studio (@charity.sue.design.studio) on Sep 10, 2017 at 6:02pm PDT

A post shared by Brandi Henderson (@stitchthirtysix) on Feb 8, 2018 at 9:55am PST

Here are a few more designs by Melissa Barnett of martin.n.mae. She chooses such wonderful prints.

A post shared by martin.n.mae (@martin.n.mae) on Mar 19, 2017 at 7:29pm PDT

A post shared by martin.n.mae (@martin.n.mae) on Jun 6, 2017 at 11:21am PDT

And here are a couple of designs by Sunday Design Studio. I love how they have such a distinctive modern style.

A post shared by Sunday Design Studio (@sunday.design.studio) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:57am PDT

A post shared by Sunday Design Studio (@sunday.design.studio) on Dec 16, 2017 at 2:42pm PST

Aren't these sets by Rainbow Hill Designs just lovely? What an incredible present for a new tiny person.

A post shared by Rainbow Hill Innovations (@rainbowhillinnovations) on Jan 8, 2017 at 3:12pm PST

A post shared by Rainbow Hill Innovations (@rainbowhillinnovations) on Sep 17, 2017 at 3:23pm PDT

Are you inspired yet? There's still time to make a Bunny Lovey, you can get the pattern here.

Shirt refashion- Baby Vest (Oliver+S Art Museum Vest)

So Leo doesn't need another vest... but looking at the scraps I had left over from the BHL Peplum top made from a men's shirt, I just couldn't resist. I just love a boy who can wear pink and get away with it! The pattern is the Oliver+ S Art Museum vest, you can see the first one I made here.

The scrap situation was pretty dire-- I wasn't really sure I was going to be able to pull it off. Talk about just fitting...

And here, you can see how I had to piece together scraps in two places (there is a vertical join in the red portion).

I decided to do a flap pocket utilizing a bit of the collar. I didn't make the welt underneath, just a faux pocket this time! 

And for the belt on the back, I used the cuffs.  

I wanted a contrasting interior, so I had to break out another shirt... this one had silver and white stripes. 

This is a fantastic pattern... so cleverly designed, and it comes together quickly. Like the first time I made this, I underlined the front with cotton organdy to give it a bit more structure. There isn't much to say about it that I didn't already say when I blogged my first version... so I'll just share the cute pictures! In the pic below, Little lion is wearing the vest with a basic onesie top (gift from grandma) and natural linen Made by Rae big butt pants. 

And here everyone is dressed up, ready to go to a Milonga! In these pics, Lion is wearing his vest with jeans for a dressed down look ;). Nope, I didn't make the dress Little Bug is wearing, that was a used clothing store find.

I'm sort of on a roll with the shirt refashion thing. My usual places to fabric shop don't carry much in the way of men's shirtings, and I just love all of the subtle variations of stripes. Chambray and shirt-weight denim, too. Not to mention how awesome it is to have all of those readily interfaced pieces (collars, cuffs, button bands) to play with, and lots of buttons (I used every one from the red and pink striped shirt, and had to add a few from my stash). And you can't beat the cost, assuming you're willing to spend the time deconstructing and figuring out how to arrange your pattern pieces to take advantage of the material. I do have some other traditional fabric makes in the works, but expect to see more refashioning in the future!

Oliver + S Art Museum Vest

Oh my, how cute is this! This is the Art Museum Vest by Oliver + S on little Lion, who is 4.5 months old.

My family had a wedding to go to, and of course I was making a dress for myself. But what to dress the kids in? In browsing for a dress pattern for my daughter, I came across the Art Museum Vest and was instantly taken.

It was a surprisingly easy make! I had it mostly done in one late night of sewing after the kids went to bed. Probably about 4-6 hours. I had the perfect fabrics in my stash already... this gorgeous stripe by Michael Miller, along with a scrap of silver silk charmeuse for the back. The inside is a fun insect print on gray. The metal buttons were also in my stash, I can't recall what I originally purchased them for. The vest is very cleverly constructed... the seams are all enclosed with only a tiny bit of hand stitching. Brilliant!

I skipped the belt in the back, but I totally did the welt pockets, how cute! I made a lame attempt at pattern matching... totally didn't work, but I think I know how I need to do it next time. Since I had a whole sewing agenda to finish before the wedding, I didn't redo them.

I had thoughts of making it reversible, but I didn't have time to solve the problem of reversible closures. Magnets might work-- does anyone know where to get those cute sew-on magnets that I see elsewhere in people's makes? I actually love the buttons on this one, but perhaps for a future version.

And aren't those buttonholes beautiful? Another thing to love about my new Janome. I did buttonholes for the first time under time with this machine under time pressure (those precious 10 minute gaps between taking care of baby needs) and it was amazingly easy-- just put a button in the automatic buttonholer and off it went, no measuring necessary. I did have a small panic moment at the beginning when the machine started then stopped with an error, but I pulled out the manual and quickly educated myself on the buttonhole lever that I had to attach to the foot. After that they went smoothly.

The matching bowtie was a total afterthought... I whipped that up on the morning before we left. Tutorials here and here. It adds such a nice touch!

The pants are the Big Butt Pants by Made by Rae, in natural linen. Also a super quick make, since I've made several before and know the pattern fits him. If I had more time I would have made the pants that are part of the Oliver + S pattern, but that would have required fitting a whole new pants pattern and I wasn't up for that right now.

The shirt was a fabulous find at our local used children's store, Mama Goose. How lucky am I to have gone out the day before the wedding, and found the perfect white button down shirt/onesie! Mama Goose is a pretty awesome store, but I don't always have such success. I didn't even know shirt/onesie things existed. It is made by Carter's, but the local Kohls who carries Carter's didn't have anything of the sort.

It is so much fun dressing up a little boy!

Handmade Baby Boy Layette

Here is my collection for the new baby boy! Can't believe I got through my list before he was born...

Two pairs of Big Butt Baby Pants (Made by Rae Pattern). This was the only pattern I ended up buying, just because it is so cute! I made it in Bear Hike Flannel by Birch Organics in Shroom and Little Lambs Flannel by Michael Miller's, from Fabric Worm.

The back panel is plain gray flannel from my stash.

Two zip baby sleepers (blogged here). The pattern is traced from a sleeper I was given, and the fabrics are from Fabric Worm: Blue School and Bugs by Birch Organics. 

Bamboo Fleece Sleeper (blogged here).

First outfit for a newborn! The top knot hat was made from the free pattern on Make it Love it, out of bamboo interlock from Natures Fabrics. The shoes are made from my favorite bamboo fleece and the free pattern at make-your-own-baby stuff. The top is from a pattern I made for my daughter when she was a newborn, also made from bamboo interlock.

Four pants from Made By Rae's free baby pants pattern. The print fabrics are organic cotton from Nature's Fabrics and the solids are cotton knits from Etsy.

Four envelope neck Ts from the free pattern at Smalldreamfactory.

Bamboo Fleece baby blanket edged with merino wool (blogged here).

Baby Surprise Jacket in knit Alpaca wool (blogged here).

Besides the handmade items, there are the few hand-me-downs from my daughter that aren't too girlie, a few irresistable used items from the great second-hand childrens stores we have in town, and 2 packs of carters onesies, one in newborn and one in 0-3 months.

I'm officially ready! His due date is 2 days away. He can come anytime he wants!

My First Knitting Project Ever: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket

This is my first ever completed knitting project!

I'm a good crocheter, but I seem to have inherited a block against knitting from my mom. My mom is a master crocheter-- she made the most amazing, complex crocheted blankets, we each had one on our beds when we were growing up, and she always makes a gorgeous crocheted baby blanket for her grandchildren and often the babies of our cousins. As a kid I started out with granny squares and later made fancy doilies for fun. 

My mom also taught me to knit when I was a teen. I never saw her knit anything, and I never finished my first project... a purple scarf. A totally endless project, made with local craft store acrylic yarn, that I've carried around with me for years. It is soooooo ugly!

Somehow when I was browsing for baby things, Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket jumped out at me as such a cute little sweater for a newborn. I walked into our local yarn shop and asked the owner if I was crazy to want to knit that as a first ever knitting project. To her credit, she said no, it was a fine project for a beginner! She had a copy of Elizabeth Zimmerman's book with the pattern in it, and set me up with bamboo circular needles and Berroco Alpaca yarn. She even encouraged me to try striping, which turned out to be not too difficult on this pattern.

I relied heavily on the help of Youtube videos to get my knitting skills up to date, and also to help me through the project. The series of videos by City Knitting on making the Baby Surprise Jacket were fantastic, I doubt I would have completed the project so well without their help!

The only small disappointment is that the sweater is actually sort of large for a newborn! It probably won't fit him until next fall. My gauge is sort of off-- it was about 5 stitches per inch, when it should have been 6.

Therefore... I've started another one, in a sport weight yarn with a smaller gauge. People did mention that this pattern was addictive!

Zippered Baby Sleepers

Please allow me a little rant. I hate snaps. I despise installing them, and find them slow and clumsy to use on a squirmy baby. Admittedly they are sometimes the best answer to a closure, but I fail to see how it is necessary to have snaps all down the front of a baby sleeper. They are also ridiculously expensive at the local chain sewing store-- I just paid $3.00 for 7 silly snaps (the kind you install with a pressure tool). Assuming you destroy at least one, which always happens to me, that is $0.50 per snap. Ridiculous. (I really must get my act together and order some online!).

Zippers, on the other hand, are fast to use, and not too difficult to install once you get the hang of it. They also are ridiculously overpriced at local chain sewing stores, but usually obtainable for about $3.00 each also. (Another case where I really should stock up online!)

I couldn't find a pattern for a zip sleeper like this anywhere! So I traced a favorite and made my own pattern. The cuffs on the bottom were sort of an afterthought-- the legs seemed a bit short and I thought I'd get a bit more use out of them if there was a cuff there. If they had been part of the original plan I would have made the zippers go all the way down. I've since put a sew-on snap there to hold them in place (sometimes a snap is the thing for the job...!).

The main fabrics are from Fabric Worm: Blue School and Bugs by Birch Organics. The trim on the Bugs sleeper is a bit of aqua bamboo knit from Nature's Fabrics and the trim on the Blue School is rust cotton/spandex from Fabrics Universe on Etsy. The zippers are lightweight separating zippers from Joannes.

I just adore these fabrics! Boy prints can be rather unimaginative... and these are very fun. They are rather expensive though-- baby clothes are the perfect excuse to enjoy them, since these were made up with 1/2 a yard with room to spare.

They look cute... we'll have to see how they work on a real live baby boy!

Bamboo Baby Blanket with Crochet Edge

Another project inspired by Purl Soho, this time it is their Flannel Receiving Blanket. I love the look of the flannel they used, but they are out of it and I couldn't find it anywhere. Which is a shame, because I have such a hard time finding a good flannel... they stuff they sell at Joanne's gets rough and almost pill-like after a few washings, and the times I've ventured to buy flannel online have not gone much better. The one exception is bamboo flannel, and I already have a bamboo flannel receiving blanket. 

However, I am in love with the bamboo fleece I used to make the Purl baby sleeper. My local store was out, so I ordered online from Vancouver Bamboo on Etsy. It was a good price and just like the stuff I used for the sleeper. For the edging yarn, I used Cascade Superwash Merino Sock yarn from their Heritage Paints series. Such an expensive yarn... $17 a skein! But I thought machine-washable would be an advantage in a baby blanket, and I totally fell in love with the colors.

The fabric was plenty thick and I love both the knit and the fleecy sides, so I didn't double it like the pattern suggests, but rather just folded over an edge and sewed it down.

I used a 2.35mm steel crochet hook to do the crochet, and a 1.5mm steel hook to punch the holes. At the corners I punched an extra hole near the edge, and crocheted a loop. Not sure why, I just thought it would be cute!

The Best Nursing Tank Ever: DIY Lululemon Nursing Tank

I am terribly picky about bras and tanks. I'm sort of like a tank princess who can find the pea in any bra or tank. They all feel fine in the dressing room, but then I try to wear them and find myself fidgeting through the day, just waiting to go home and tear it off of my body. I was terribly optimistic when I was pregnant... I figured I'd just waltz into the baby store and just find a great nursing tank. My hopes were quickly dashed- just a glance through the racks showed that none of the available nursing tanks had any consideration for someone with hopelessly sloped shoulders. Without something like a cross, T or racer back, even the best laid straps slip right off of my shoulders like a newbie on a double black diamond ski run. There are a whole host of other issues I have with tanks that I didn't even get to test out-- for example, I bet half of them would ride up and end up around my midriff after an hour or two of wear, and I'd spend the whole day tugging them down. Not to mention sucky materials, itchy binding built-in shelf bras, etc-- you get the picture.

But wait: I already have found the world's best basic tank top: Lululemon's Power Y tank. It is expensive, and worth every penny. It solves all of the problems listed above, and more. I can wear them all day long, every day, and they stay put and stay comfortable. And no, I'm not paid by Lululemon to say all of this.

It looks much better on the Lululemon model, trust me. But my size 10 tanks stretched with me for nearly my entire pregnancy-- until the last month, when I just got too gigantic (I gained 40 pounds... and was 2 weeks late... but that's another blog post). To account for my larger bust once my milk came in, I bought 3 tanks in size 12 and added nursing clips. It was so easy to do that I did it two weeks after a very hard birth, while nursing my tiny baby in her K'tan wrap.

There are a bunch of tutorials out there on how to convert a normal bra to a nursing bra-- this is basically what I did. I found the tutorial by Christina and Janda at Mamas Worldwide very useful. I used clear plastic clips from The Nappy Shoppe, Style A. I used black 1/4 inch elastic rather than ribbon or cloth as my strap-keeper.



They are fantastic. Soooo comfortable, they stretch to accommodate very full breasts, and the "luon" fabric smooths over some of my postpartum bulges. Plenty of length. Great selection of colors and patterns. And an added plus-- the removable cups are awesome at preventing the inevitable leaks from showing through (and I don't wear nursing pads, even though I probably should).

My only pet peeve is that putting the strap back on isn't one-handed... the straps are a bit thick for the clip, so it is a snug fit. I don't find this to be much of a problem. Overall, I love my nursing tanks!

Baby Stuff: K'tan Wrap Review

I have several wraps and carriers, but so far, the K'tan has been the best. The K'tan has made the first months of motherhood so much more enjoyable for me, I can't imagine having a newborn without it!

The fact is, Lillian spends a huge amount of time nursing, or sleeping-- and she usually gets to sleep by nursing. At 3 months she nurses at least 4 times during the day and naps in the morning and afternoon. When she naps, she'll only stay asleep for 5-10 minutes if she's by herself, but if I'm carrying her around, she'll sleep for an hour or even two. She used to nurse even more, up to 6 times during the day. She is not a speedy eater... she takes her time and likes to linger. If I didn't have a way to nurse hands free and moving, I'd be spending a ridiculous amount of time sitting around. I guess I would get a lot more reading done.

The beauty of the K'tan is that it allows totally hands-free and mobile nursing. If you've never heard of the K'tan (I hadn't, before I started researching wraps in earnest), it is a double sling design. It is super simple, just two large loops of moderately stretchy jersey fabric joined by a little loop. There are several ways to wear it, but I almost always use it in the Cradle wrap, which is absolutely perfect for nursing. And as I mentioned above... my baby spends a lot of time nursing, or nursing to sleep, or just plain cuddled up and sleeping.

If my K'tan is in the wash, I sometimes use my (fake) Moby wrap in a nursing wrap I learned on youtube. But it is not nearly as secure. It is entirely possible a real Moby would be better (my attempts at making a second K'tan have resulted in a not-so-good replica... it is hard to get the perfect jersey-- and I'm sure my fake Moby suffers from the same flaw). But the fact is that all that cloth on the Moby is pretty bulky and daunting, and I'm always tugging and adjusting. With the K'tan, I just throw it over my shoulders and it's good to go.

For our recent trip to Houston by plane, I just wore the K'tan all day like an accessory, and slipped her in it whenever she wanted to nurse. With a nursing top and nursing scarf, it is totally discreet.

I've recently discovered that I can slip the K'tan off without disturbing my sleeping baby. I just lean over the bed, cradle, carseat (or wherever I want her to sleep) so she is resting on the surface of it, and reach behind me and pull the back loop over my head. I then just wiggle the cloth out from under her.

Here is Lillian snuggled up in the K'tan (looking down, from Mom's perspective). This is the first part of the Cradle wrap... I have only one of the loops on-- it is over my right shoulder. She is almost parallel to the ground, with a slight incline up towards the breast. Her legs are wrapped around my body.

In the picture below, I've pulled the other loop of the K'tan up over my left shoulder. I can look down and watch her nurse, but she is totally secure against my body.
Here is another pic of me wearing the K'tan (taken in the mirror at the hotel in Houston!).
I've tried all the different K'tan carries, but the Cradle is the only one I use regularly because it is just so perfect for nursing. I sometimes use the front-facing out carry for very short periods of time when I need to get something done and Lillian is awake and needs entertaining.

So after all that gushing, I have to say that the K'tan is not a one-sling fits all situation. I'm pretty sure there is no such magic sling that is perfect in all respects-- if you are determined to wear your baby, you will probably end up with several slings and carriers. I have the K'tan, a fake Moby, a sling (home made), a mei-tai (home made), and the Beco Gemini (very recent purchase). I have used them all, but the K'tan is the only one I use daily.

The one big drawback of the K'tan is that it puts most of the weight on your back and shoulders, so if I'm going to go on a walk or I'm running errands or doing chores and she isn't nursing, then I prefer to use something that puts weight on my hips. This is more and more of an issue as she becomes larger (she is 13 lbs right now). The Moby is moderately better for hiking around (still puts weight on the shoulders and back, but it is easier to distribute the weight). I just purchased a Beco Gemini, so I'll talk about that in a later post- but soft structured carriers with waistbelts are definitely the way to go when your baby starts to get heavier.

The other thing about the K'tan is that you have to get the right size. You really, really don't want it to be too big... I suspect lots of people who give the K'tan bad reviews don't have the right size. If in doubt, get the smaller size. I was a size 10-12 T-shirt before I got pregnant and I'm 5'4" and I got the Small. I'm much larger now... at least a 12 and maybe a 14... but I definitely don't want it any bigger. When I first got it I thought there was no way the baby would fit in, but it stretches out to the perfect size.

FYI, I wash and dry it with no special treatment (other than getting it done fast, since I'm so reliant on it). Our drier has only one setting: HOT. When it comes out I pull and tug at it until it is the right size again.

The K'tan isn't cheap, but I literally use it EVERY DAY for hours and hours (Thank you Elinora, who bought it for us!). I've used it daily since Lillian was about 2 weeks old (I spend the first week in bed, and was hardly mobile the second week). I'm wearing it right now!

Baby Stuff Posts!

Hello, long time no blog! I got sort of sidetracked from blogging by Lillian's birth. It has been a wonderful journey! As a thank you to all of those blogs I read while I was pregnant and learning about being a new mom, I'm going to make a series of posts about some of my own experiences, my own solutions to everyday living with a new baby, and my favorite baby things. Hopefully some other new mom out there will enjoy them. Or, if you are family or friends or admirers of our family and you want all the details, here they are!