more self-binding blankets and burps

I made some more baby blankets and burp cloths, for this boy one I used this tutorial

don't panic about the buttons, the ribbon is threaded through them, and then the ribbon is double stitched all the way across, they wont be coming off

for the girl one, I did my usual way, so I could add the ric-rac.  I just placed the ric-rac in place, before I turned the edges under and sewed.  I also sewed the flower on (using the same technique I used here), before I sewed anything together, so the stitching would not be seen on the back of the blanket



I just sewed some scrap fabric on a burp cloth, using some of the left over ric-rac.  I put brown thread in my machine, when I was sewing brown fabric, but I did not want brown seams on the back of the white burp-cloth, so I put white fabric in the bobbin.  This worked great, all brown seams on top, and all white seams on bottom

For the flower, I just grabbed some fake flower petals from my box of petals and used scissors to round the edges.  I just layered them and sewed a little x in the middle to attach them

I pretty much did the burp cloth (pink flower included) the same way here, and the felt flower, the same way. for the blanket I just sewed a piece of cotton to a piece of chenille, right sides together, then turned it and top stitched.

more baby blankets and accessories

I know I have already explained how to do the receiving blankets, but I thought I would show the ones I made today.  

This one is for a friend, whose sweet new baby had to endure the NICU (having experienced it, something I would not wish on my worst enemy).  and a couple eye surgeries as well

This set is for a good friend who just had twin girls.  Don't you LOVE Amy  Butler fabric? I sure do!  Her little girls also had to be in the dreaded NICU, but are home now

This set is for a baby shower tomorrow, but I don't think she reads this blog, so I feel safe posting it.
I followed this tutorial for the baby legs, but I found this one later, that I want to try next.

I have posted about the crochet baby hats before but this time I found a free tutorial (plus she has other great tutorials), I thought you might want a link to a free one, and it literally took me exactly 61 minutes to make, not bad huh?

For the Onesie, I just used some of my ruffle fabric.  I cut it how long I wanted, measured it 2x as wide as the onesie, and put it right sides together, sewing one quarter inch seam (making sure all ruffles were hanging down), making a tube.  Then I just folded the top over and sewed it on the onesie (I did not need to hem, because it is knit and does not fray).  I lined the one seam up with the side seam on the onesie.  sorry if this is confusing, I did not take pictures, but it was so easy.

For the burp clothes, I just sew on random fabrics, ribbons and embelishments, there is really no rhyme or reason to it, I usually don't even have a plan when I start.  I just want to say that I only like the tri-fold birds-eye ones.  I got the wrong kind once, and hated them.  I get mine at Target, and they are Gerber brand, they come like 12  in a pack I think.  Also, MAKE SURE TO PRE SHRINK THE DIAPERS! Wash them in really hot water and dry them in a really hot dryer.  It is the pits to make an adorable burp cloth, only to wash it and have it way smaller than the fabric you sewed on.

make your own chenille baby quilt

first off, I apologize for the bad pictures, I did not realize the camera was in the wrong mode, until I was done with the project

Here is a baby blanket/quilt I made for a friend, I just found a cute piece of fabric and layered it on top of four layers of muslin (five layers, one yard each) to make my own chenille.  The process of making my own chenille happens to quilt the top.  This is not too hard, but it takes a long time (4-6 hours) and a lot of thread

here are my five layers lined up on top of each other

then you sew diagonal lines down the back.  I just use your presser foot as a guideline, and do them 1/4" apart.  I did mine a little bit wider, because I wanted my quilted lines to follow the diagonal lines on the argyle print, so I just quilted on front, using the argyle for my guideline.  This made the chenille a little wider than I normally prefer, but I still like the look. 

next you get one of these nifty chenille cutters (scissors will work, but make it more difficult)

I got mine at Michael's, I don't remember how much, but I had a 40% off coupon.  You can always find a good coupon to Jo-Ann's and get one there too

.
you cut the bottom three layers (make sure not to cut the top layer, or the top layer of muslin)

next bind your quilt, there are some good tutorials out there, here is one I like 

then you wash it a couple times, and it looks like chenille


after I made this quilt, I found another great tutorial for a similar blanket, with a twist. I think I will try it her way next time

car seat blanket tutorial

I have been wanting one of these all winter for my baby, she always kicks her blanket off when I am carrying her around in her car seat. I finally figured out how to make one, but since winter is ending, I decided not to make one for her. I did make two for my expecting sisters though. I hope these steps make sense, let me know if you have questions

I started with two coordinating flannels, one yard of each. I folded each in quarters so I could trace and cut my pattern (make sure you have the folds in the right place)

I do not have a printout of this pattern, but I am hoping you can see the measurements when you click on the picture to enlarge it, and use the measurements to make your own (I just taped pieced of 8.5 by 11" paper together). Make sure your folds are in the right place, and trace the pattern on each piece of flannel

unfold the fabric and mark where the strap holes should be cut (enlarge the two above pictures to see where to measure and cut for the strap holes) mark it on each piece of flannel. Or, if you have a carseat handy, you can put the fabric in your carseat and mark it yourself

cut and press where you will need to sew around the strap holes (do not sew yet!). Pin the fabrics right sides together and sew around the blanket, leaving a gap for turning it right sides out)

pin in place the pressed holes together and sew (if you try to sew them before the previous step, you will not be able to turn the blanket right sides out)

top stitch around the blanket, sewing the gap closed

place blanket in carseat and strap baby in

then swaddle

here is the second one I made

Thank you Heidi for informing me of something I did not know (check comments)

AFTER READING HEIDI'S COMMENT I TRIED TO SEARCH ONLINE FOR VERIFICATION. THIS IS THE BEST THAT I FOUND

http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/a/carseatcoat.htm

it does state that the warranty may be voided (you could call your carseat company)

it also gives guidlines for you to check yourself if your baby is safe in his/her carseat

"Check All Winter Coats for Car Seat Safety
It's easy to check and see whether a baby's winter coat or infant snowsuit is too thick to be safe in a car seat. This test will show you how thick the coat is and how much the coat will compress during a crash.

1. Take the car seat into the house.
2. Put the winter coat or snowsuit on the child.
3. Put the child in the car seat and buckle the harnesses as you normally would before car travel. Adjust the straps to the appropriate fit for your child.
4. Take the child out of the car seat without loosening the straps at all.
5. Take the coat off your child.
6. Put the child back in the car seat and buckle the harnesses again, but do not tighten the straps.
7. If you can fit more than two fingers under the harness at the child's shoulder bone, the coat is too thick and is not safe for use with the car seat."

it also says, near the bottom, "

However, there are no federal guidelines governing after-market car seat accessories. These extra car seat covers and buntings could interfere with the function of the car seat harness, and many car seat manufacturers will void your car seat warranty if after-market accessories are used. "

It could still be useful for a carseat that is strapped into a stroller, rather than a car. Or with any five point harness device, such as a stroller itself, or a swing or a bouncer

minky blanket tutorial

I made a couple minky blankets over the weekend. I bought the fabric months ago on clearance, and I have been wanting to use it, but scared it would be hard to sew with. and when I attemped to about six moths ago, it was. Then I was told to use a walking foot, and it was a breeze.

I found this silky ruffle blanket binding at walmart

after cutting th minky to my desired size I `pinned the ruffles face down to the right side of the fabric

then I pinned the back piece of fabric , right side down, on top of that. I stitched all the way around, leaving an opening to turn, turned it right side out, and sewed the opening closed. I did use my walking foot, and I did not top stitch, I was afraid it would bunch, and I like how it looked without the topstitch. It took me about half an hour to make one

here is the second one I made

I made this one for my own babes for Easter, I used the same tutorial as my receiving blanket. This was so easy, I thought it would be hard with minky fabric, but it was so forgiving, the binding fabric is so plush, that you cannot even see the seems.

Still around

I know it seems like I have been slacking, but really, I have been crazy busy with projects. We remodeled out basement. There are still some finishing touches needing to be done (including bookshelves that are half way built for either side of this fire place to put all the clutter on the (and hide all the wires), and a few more things. I took the week off last week to sew, but hope to finish up this week, I will post pictures then, but here is a sneak peek

My sisters are both having baby girls this month, so I made them a bunch of stuff. I couldn't post pictures until I gave it to them though, it would have spoiled the surprise

I made them each a blanket like this. It is Amy Butler Lotus fabric on front, and Chenille on the back. I just put the right sides together and sewed around (all but 6 inches) then I turned it right side out and top stitched, closing the gap. I used a walking foot, since the fabrics have a different stretch than each other. I don't know if it was necessary.

I found this tutorial for the above blanket, but it was not as easy for me as it sounded, other people have told me they really like doing it that way.

so I reverted back to my old method for this one, and I liked how it turned out better.

Receiving blankets

Lately I have really liked to self-binding style of receiving blankets. I usually make my blankets about 1 yard, by l yard (give or take, usually give, a few inches). When I had my second daughter my cute neighbor made me a self-binding receiving blanket, and it was the first time I thought of doing them myself. I was too proud to ask her how she did it, so I did it the best I knew how, following guidelines from this tutorial. I found it much easier to use my walking-foot(if you don't have one, get one, I love having one. After checking about six different shops, I finally found out that Hancock fabrics has a good selection of feet, and most newer models use a short shank, but make sure you know if you need a short shank or long shank before you go), to avoid puckers. Recently I found this tutorial, and I can't wait to try it out this way. I am sure my neighbor used the second one, because hers did not have seams on the corners, in the back, mine do. I bought a 12 pack of burp cloths at Target, I made sure to get the tri-fold "birds-eye" (or something like that) ones, I like them better than the other ones (I learned that only after going through a whole pack of the other ones). I usually just cut some left over strips of the blanket fabric, Iron the edges under, and sew seams along all sides, following the ironed edges.

I just bought this patch at JoAnne's. I get a lot of notions at JoAnne's, but usually buy my fabric and specialty stores, they seem to have a better variety.

I could not find a "UTAH" patch anywhere, but I did find some really cheap Utah apparel at Wal-mart, and I just bought the cheapest one (I didn't care what it looked like) and cut the patches off of that)