My wonderful sister in law Sophie recently gave birth to a gorgeous little boy. I knew I wanted to make her something special for him. As you have probably noticed by now, I don’t often sew for anyone other than me and my kids – so if i make you something, you know i really love you ;)
I decided to make her my favourite baby gift – a set of burp cloths, bip and oversized swaddle. All things that I have made over and over for my own kids and have loved and used over the years.
I absolutely fell in love with this Cotton and Steel whale print fabric at Materialise in Perth, and thought it would be a really adorable choice that wasn’t too baby cliche. Do you know what i mean?
The bib is a design I have tweaked over many years – and in our family we call “the catch it all bib” – and it basically grew out of my desire to have a large bib that would catch things before they fell on the floor, and since it’s backed with toweling, can be used to wipe up babies face/table/high chair after eating. And after all that could be thrown in the washing machine.
I have made this bib so many times, and it’s still my favourite. Just another testament to the fact that if you are a fussy person with specific desires then sewing is a great hobby for you hehehe.
Also not sure if you noticed, but i spent way too long matching up those whales on the bib pocket and they are still a teeny bit misaligned. SIGH.
The burp cloths are also large and backed with toweling. For the swaddle I decided to try something a little different than my usual swaddle making method. I still made it really large and oversized like i like them, but this time I mitred the corners and am scratching my head trying to figure out why i never did this for my own kids. It’s resulted in a much smoother softer corner, and makes the blanket look as high quality as the fabric is.
I’m not a weirdo or anything (ok i’m a bit weird) but i must admit that it was really hard to stop myself from stroking this fabric over and over whilst sewing it. Why aren’t i sewing everything with double gauze i am now asking myself. It’s so dreamy and softy and yet light at the same time. Watch out, i may have a new fabric obsession.
This was such a fun gift to make, and was such a lovely feeling to turn my hand to making something special and high quality for someone I love so much.
Now i just can’t want to meet that little guy and have myself some baby cuddles!
