Geranium Dresses for Baby Gifts

Recently, I was in need of a couple of girl baby gifts for friends expecting this Spring.  I decided to sew together a couple of sweet little Geranium dresses using Made by Rae's free 0-3 month version of the pattern.

Aren't they just adorable?  I wish I had a little baby girl to try them on.  They are the tiniest little dresses I've ever made!  Maybe the moms will send me a photo of their little ones wearing them once the babies are born.

Embroidered Terry/Cuddle Burp Cloth Tutorial

Hi, everyone!  Today I'm guest posting at My Cuddle Corner, the new blog for Shannon Fabrics, and sharing my tutorial on how to make these soft embroidered terry cloth/Cuddle burp cloths.

You may remember my tutorial post from a few days ago for the matching Simple Baby Wash Cloth.  If you missed it, look it up HERE or just click the picture below.

The embroidered font I used on the burp cloth is the Arizona Monogram Set from Embroitque. I've used it a few times on other projects, and I'm so pleased with how well it stitches out.

Make both projects along with a matching bib for a quick, personalized baby shower gift that the recipient will love!  I'll have a blog post on how I put together the bib in the coming days, but in the mean time, please head over to My Cuddle Corner for my Burp Cloth Tutorial and for other great Cuddle projects!

Disclaimer:  Shannon Fabrics provided me with the terry cloth and Cuddle fabrics, but all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Hope you enjoy these tutorials!  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Have fun sewing!

Baby Gift Set

A few months back, I made this quick little baby gift set for a family friend.  I've been meaning to share it with you all forever!

These bibs and the burp cloth were actually my first attempts at making baby gear.  They are relatively simple to construct and just take a little time with cutting out and piecing together the different fabrics. I highly recommend making several of these at a time so you'll have a baby gift on hand when you need a shower gift for a friend, family member, or co-worker!

For the baby bibs, I used the free bib pattern from Gingercake.  I highly recommend it and have used it a number of times since I made these.

The burp cloth is approximately 10" x 18".  I was inspired by one I saw on Clover & Violet where you can also find another free bib pattern that I have used.

On all three pieces, I used quilting cotton for the front and minky fabric for the back with a layer of cotton batting in between.  When working with this combination of fabrics and batting, you will definitely want to use a walking foot on your sewing machine.

When I made this set, I used the pattern piece and cut out the shape of the bib in the cotton, batting, and minky.  Big mistake!  You see, the minky I used here was the kind you buy at Joann's, and while the quality is good, the fabric has a lot of stretch to it.  Since making this original set, I've learned a couple of easier ways to assemble these.

First off, use higher quality cuddle like the kind made by Shannon Fabrics.  Secondly, cut your cotton, batting (which is optional), and minky into rectangles and then trace the bib pattern outline onto the wrong side of your cotton fabric with a water soluble pen.  Layer the fabrics with the batting on bottom, then the minky right side up, and finally the cotton wrong side up.  Pin together like crazy all the layers and then sew them together following the bib pattern outline making sure to leave a 3 - 4" opening for turning.  Cut away the excess fabric, clip corners, turn right side out, tuck in the edges of the opening, and topstitch around the entire bib.

To finish the bib, sew on 1" square pieces of velcro for the closure.

When sewing the burp cloths, I recommend putting together the layers similarly to the method I described above for the bibs.  Don't cut out the curved edges before sewing it all together.  Instead, trace the curved corners onto the wrong side of the cotton fabric and use that as a guide when sewing. Trim away the excess when finished.

You can see other baby gifts I've made, which include more bibs, burp clothes, baby shoes, ruffle bum rompers, and a sun hat, here and here.

And coming soon, I will have a free tutorial for a monogrammed terry cloth and cuddle fabric combination burp cloth!  You won't want to miss it!

Baby Gift Bundle

Just last week, I blogged about the adorable Ruffle Bum Romper and Mary Jane Shoes I made as a baby gift for a relative.  A day or two later, my close friend, Melissa, called me up and ordered a custom Baby Gift Bundle that includes the exact same thing plus a few extras for her soon-to-be great niece!  She needed them in time for a baby shower this coming weekend, so I worked on them on and off for two days until they were done and dropped them in the mail yesterday.  Whew!

Note:  I am an affiliate for Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop, but all opinions provided in this post are 100% my own.

First up was another Ruffle Bum Romper by Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop.  This one is a size 3 month and is even smaller than the last one.  It is so sweet!  I embroidered the baby's first initial to the bodice using the Adam's Accent Monogram by Embroitique.  Both the pattern and the embroidery design are quickly becoming my favorites!

For the straps and ruffles, I used Anna Maria Horner's Loulouthi collection.  The red is Triflora in Lipstick and the pink is Curated Bloom June.  The teal polka dot fabric is quilting cotton from Joann's.

Like I mentioned in my previous post about the Ruffle Bum Romper, I did add interfacing to the buttonhole and snap areas for a little extra reinforcement.  I also did a better job at attaching the snaps this go around!

This romper also got a matching pair of little Mary Jane Shoes.  I used the Little Shoes pattern again, but this time, instead of making a strap with a velcro closure, I made a strap with elastic that is sewn in place on both sides of the shoe.  Thanks to Melissa for giving me the idea.

The third item is this precious, teeny tiny sun hat.  Again, I used a Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop pattern, the 4-in-1 Sun Hat which includes sizes for a newborn up to a 10-year-old child.  I also monogrammed the same initial H on it.  This particular hat is a 3 month size.

Oh, and the hat is reversible, too!  The pattern shows you how to make these finished slits in the brim so that you can pull the straps through to either side of the hat.  How cool is that?!

The fourth part of the Baby Gift Bundle is this embroidered baby bib.  The embroidery design is Bows Embroidery Alphabet Monogram Set from Embroitique.  I found the free pattern on Gingercake.

I used cotton batting in between the top layer of quilting cotton and the bottom layer of pink minky fabric. Instead of using snaps for the closure, I sewed on velcro.

The fifth and final item of the Baby Gift Bundle is a this burp cloth or changing pad.  It's roughly 10" wide by 18" long and also has a layer of cotton batting in between the quilting cotton and minky fabric.  I used my round magnetic pin holder as a guide for filleting the edges of the burp cloth.

I'm really happy with how the Bows Embroidery Alphabet Monogram Set stitched out on both these items.  I'll definitely use this design again.

And there you have it!  Another personalized sweet baby gift!