Sewing for baby

Bunting

I love buntings – those cloth banners made from triangles (or half-circles or rectangles). I’ve also seen them called “pennant banners” or just “banners.” They make great nursery or party decorations and are very sweet looking. I’ve been wanting to make one for Wesley for a long time, and finally one weekend I just DID IT.

I made a “pattern” for the triangles out of a grocery bag and cut them out of a simple green cotton fabric with tiny white polka-dots. I didn’t bother trying to make sure the fabric was straight and I didn’t pin my pattern down. I wanted his name on the banner, so I decided to do one letter per triangle. The letters are cut from polar fleece, since I didn’t want them to fray but didn’t want to do any extra work to finish the edges. Lazy sewing FTW!

I laid each letter on one of the two triangles, pinned it where it looked best, and then just sewed around the edge. I didn’t even bother changing my thread so if you look closely, the dark green fleece is sewn on with light sage green thread. Again, lazy sewing.

I put the two right-sides of the triangles together (one with a letter, one without) and sewed the two diagonal seams, ironed, turned it inside out, ironed again, and topstitched the edges.

Once I had all my triangles done, I laid them out on the floor with a package of extra-wide bias tape. I used a mid-range gray since that’s what I had that matched best. Once I liked the placement (about an inch and a half apart), I pinned the triangles to the bias tape and then sewed the tape edges together, trapping the unfinished edge of the triangles inside. It was super easy.

Wesley looks pleased. I am thrilled with it and love that it makes Wesley’s corner of our bedroom look more like a nursery.

Mooshy Belly Bunny

I downloaded this pattern from Beeper Bebe and then was a total ass and more or less ignored the instructions. I didn’t pin the pattern to the fabric and did a bad job of cutting it out, so the bunny’s head was oddly shaped. (Once again, I am all about the lazy sewing.) Even so, I decided to soldier on.

The fabric I used was a dress that I bought for super cheap at Ross and then never ended up wearing since it wasn’t totally my style. I was initially going to donate it to Goodwill, and at the time, I had actually been looking for nice, striped knits for cheap online – I finally put two and two together and just cut up the dress.

When sewing the bunny, I also ignored the instructions to sew “dividers” for the arms and legs and to cinch the head – they look positively adorable that way but it was extra work and… well… I wanted Wesley to be able to play with his bunny right away.

For the tail: I cut a circle, handsewed a running stitch around the edge, cinched it, and filled it with polyfill stuffing, and then I handstitched it to the bunny’s bum. I embroidered a really simple nose/mouth and two french knots for eyes. Nothing fancy. Even so, I love how it came out and Wesley really seems to like his bunny friend:

It’s easy for him to hang on to, wave around, bite, and hug.

File Under: Crafty, General, Wesley

Tagged: No tags