Girly Craftiness

So we've known for a few weeks that the next baby will be a girl and it has inspired me to try a few projects outside of my normal comfort zone (i.e. burp clothes or embellishing onesies)

Here are the results so far.

Before Sawyer was born I received a few baby gowns and I thought I would never use them. Well lo and behold when Sawyer arrived I loved the gowns because they were so convenient. No snaps or zippers making for easy diaper changes and the length of the gowns made it more like a blanket than a dress. So, when I found a few newborn kimono t-shirts in my sewing stash I decided to try my hand at baby gowns. I loosely used this tutorial from Running with Scissors. I did not make the bodice, so I only used the instructions for the ribbing and the gown portion. I used a soft flannel for the gown part, so the outfit should keep her plenty warm. I love how they turned out and I'm thinking it might be a perfect coming home from the hospital outfit.

Then I winged a onesie dress. I did not use a pattern for this particular dress though I'm sure you could find one pretty easy with a google search. I've made these several times before, but this one threw me because I did not have enough of the print fabric. So instead of making my traditional empire waist onesie dress I went for the short skirt look. The fabric is from an Amy Butler line and you might be shocked to know that I love it even though it has animals on it. In fact the pink bunnies mixed with the damask might make a great Easter dress. It will all depend on how big/small she is.

Next up was a pillowcase dress. I used the tutorial from Prudent Baby. By this time my sewing machine was getting tired and therefore I got frustrated, so it's not my best work, but I love the end result. I've had the black and gray fabric for years and I was waiting for the perfect project to use it on. I love the way a pillowcase dress can grow with the child from dress to shirt. I also love how I can interchange colors with the black/grey fabric. I could change the undershirt, ribbon, hair accessories, and leggings to whatever color I choose. I'm thinking red and pink would look adorable, but also blue and yellow, and... :)

And finally I had a cute light blue striped onesie that I purchased from the Salvation Army. However, much to my dismay as I gingerly removed the stapled tag from the garment I created a hole in the onesie. Seriously, who thought it would be a good idea to staple a tag to the front of the shirt? To save the onesie I made a few rolled fabric flowers (here's a good tutorial from My Sparkle) from some red scraps and put pins on them to attach them to the onesie. I will also be making a few more flowers for a headband to complete the ensemble.

Still on the to-do list one more gown, a pair of baby shoes (this is really intimidating to me) and some head gear (don't tell my husband :)

If anyone knows of a cute and easy baby shoe pattern let me know.

Oh and one more thing. My wonderful friend Patty gifted me with some houndstooth fabric that matches our living room perfectly. So I made a quick pillow slipcover. I love how it turned out...perfect color, perfect pattern, perfect size.

Old pillow

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Houndstooth fabric

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Lovely new creation