Make Room for Baby

OH . . .SEW HAPPY!

COLETTE'S NURSERY

Devin writes:  "Wish I had a better camera to take better pics with, because the crib bumper & skirt are really beautiful!  I chose the fabric for Colette's room to be a mix of soft blues and greens.  I shy away from the pinks, etc.  The fabric was from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern collection." 

Devin also used the 'formula' in the Make Room for Baby Kit instructions to have the skirt 'kiss' the floor, giving it that 'designer's touch'.

Thank you Devin, for taking the time to send in the photo of the finished nursery, it looks great!

 

        LAUREN 

Lauren writes:  "The affordable stuff out there isn't my style but, the stuff that is, is too expensive.  I'm okay at sewing and I figure this can't be too difficult.  I've found some great fabrics that I'm really excited to use."

After a few e-mails and sewing tips, Lauren sent the picture along with another note . . .

"I got my fabric from Mood fabrics in LA and I love the way it turned out!  thanks so much for your help.  I love your site!"

Lauren, what a memorable project and a great accomplishment, not to mention the hugs and kisses you stitched in that darling fabric.  Great job!

 

 

HARPER'S NURSERY

Krystal writes:  "Thank you so much for selling a great product.  Our bedding couldn't have turned out better and it looks just like the $1000 bedding we were about to purchase from a local boutique."

I love hearing from you and seeing all of your great ideas and beautiful fabric choices.  I especially like to hear that you have exactly what you had hoped for and more, while saving lots of money . . . for strollers and lots of other things!  

If you are thinking about sewing and have your doubts, I hope these ladies have encouraged you.  I am always available and can send detailed instructions on each and every step.  

Zippers being one of the things I hated (yes, dread was not strong enough at one point, although this is not a pair of pants), I can reassure you that it is simply sewing along the edge of the 'teeth' on the zipper. You do not, should not, and there is no need to sew a flap over that zipper!  The zipper is tucked away between the mattress and the bottom of the bumper where no one goes for even a peek!

If you still have doubts, visit a fabric store and see how many beautiful choices are out there.  Sew many choices!

 

 

 

Sock it to me!

  

Can I say . . . I went bananas when I received Gina's e-mail!  Leave it to 'big brother' to come up with a cool theme like Sock Monkey.  

Gina writes:  

"My six year old son helped me pick out the theme since they will be sharing a room & he didn’t want it to be too “babyish”. I checked out buying a crib set & found one that sold for over $500. Yikes! Since that wasn’t in my budget, this worked out perfectly. I am not a seamstress and have only sewed a few things in my life. I was blown away by how easy it was and how beautiful it turned out. So, you certainly made my dream come true!"   

She got her selection of sock monkey fabric pre-picked from the fatquartershop. What a darling crib set.  How sweet is it that the brother picked out the theme and watched mom make it up. Priceless memories and a very special room that all can be proud of. 

 

Gina's sister was kind enough to share the quilt instructions which are extremely easy and can be done in an afternoon.

Instructions for the 'don't leave home without it' quilt!

Cut 11” squares of fabric and place them back to back with thicker cotton fill in between. Sew an “x” across each square and then stitch the squares together in the pattern you want, leaving a 1” hem where the squares are attached. Gina's blanket is 5 squares by 5 squares, but typically her sister sews 6 sq. (W) by 7sq (L) and uses flannel in order to skip using quilt filler. After sewing all the squares together, she fringed all of the hem that was around the squares and the outside border. She then tossed it in the wash and ran it through the dryer until it the edges were nicely frayed. 

I would love to hear your ideas for a baby room theme and definitely send some photographs to info@makeroomforbabykit.com

 

 

MAKE ROOM FOR BABY 'COLETTE'

 

 

Another pretty baby's room, designed with love and sewn with hugs and kisses.

Mommy Devin sent this photo of her baby 'Colette's' new room.  Choosing soft blues and greens from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern collection. , it stands out beautifully against the linen colored walls with the white furniture and trim.  

Devin preferred the skirt touching the floor, which designer's call  'kissing the floor'. I love that word picture.   It sounds so much better than dragging, or explaining a little less than a quarter of an inch on the floor. 

Just softly touching like a kiss. 

When it comes time to lower the mattress, the skirt will now  be 'puddling' on the floor, oh, sorry, not a good word picture for a baby's room!  A good way to avoid this is using 'tucks' .

  

 LITTLE GIRLS' DRESSES WITH 'TUCKS' 

The best example would be in a little girl's dress, (mom's, don't be afraid to use tucks on a boy's cribskirt, sooner than you think they will be in a tuxedo shirt with 'tucks'!  It's a nice touch in so many ways.

   

To help you get a better picture of tucks, I am using the drawing from the dress pattern.  

For the crib skirt, it will be faster and serve the purpose to do a one inch tuck, which will take up the fabric two inches.  Lower the mattress with the skirt to check out how much shorter the skirt needs to be. This will be the number that needs to be in the tuck, or several smaller tucks. Placing the fold of the tuck just over the stitch line of the original hem works well and you can use that as a guide line.

To mark a sewing line, try using  1" masking tape for making the straight line and sew along the edge.  I use this method when I need to attach a trim, ribbon or ric rac in a straight line or perfect square on the front of a quilt or the length of a bumper. Finish the stitching and pull off the tape.

If you have any questions on construction, feel free to e-mail me at: info@makeroomforbabykit.com

 

DIY Baby Comb & Brush Kit

Baby's First Comb & Brush KIT

The kit includes everything but the fabric and ribbon ties.  The comb & brush are European with natural bristles and very soft.  It is the best quality baby comb & brush I could find to include in the kit.  The clear plastic container comes with a lid and is great for holding cotton swabs or girlie ribbons.  The white roll of gimp trims out the baby comb & brush and the top and bottom of the plastic container. The satin bow finishes off the baby comb. The double stick tape roll is for the gimp and the double stick pink page is for sticking the fabric to the brush and comb. Provided for the assembly of the tie-tray are the five pre-cut, padded white matt board pieces which give the tray it's stability.  

I decided to have some fun and used Heather Bailey's Pop Garden fabric design.  I also added a trim to the tie-tray embellishing it with a red embroidery thread.  

This set was done in the more traditional look with an Organic Fabric by LIVE Textiles 

I used the toile and dot pattern making the ties out of the blue stripe in the coordinating fabric.

Using Black & White Toile I added two ribbons I found in a black & white Check and dot.

Mr. Peanut

This may be a long stitch...but I keep thinking of the peanut and it's usefulness.

Stay with me, this will connect somewhere down line.

The amount of ideas I have trying to escape my brain and turn into 'rocking' crib sets is keeping me up at night. You could say I am sleeping like a baby, not.  I'm also starting to stockpile fabric (like I did when I was quilting!)    There are just so many beautiful colors and combinations out there. Heather Bailey keeps adding to that!  LIVE Textile offers organic and Spoonflower will print your own design.  

In a nut shell... Make Room for Baby is there to swing the creative door wide open by personalizing your baby's room.

Start with an 'Island story' using tropical prints and a grass crib skirt  (buy a twin, cut it down, any left over can be trimmed and used as fringe on a throw pillow for the glider, not in the crib). You can also design your own print, sketching with fabric pen and paint.  Simple palm trees and sailboats would be darling.  You could sew hand drawn patches on a backround print, or make a border.

Another expression of surrounding the baby in love is having brother and sister decorate the fabric by using their own 'handprint'.  Kind of like finger painting, creating an all-over design.

If you are not the sewer and could care less about the DIY pleasure, but know what you want and can find the means to have it done, the kit works well to pass on to your designer-workroom.  They will be grateful that you come with the solution.   Many a workroom has put in hours of constructing a bumper only to be disappointed in the finished results. Let them know Make Room for Baby has the formula!  

Now, to connect the dots  to ...  Mr. Peanut!  

George Washington Carver found over 100 uses for the peanut, (of course, I stick with peanut butter, never mind).

Another use for the bumper inserts!  Restore your favorite bumper, fatten up a new one, revive the one you have now!   I love it, more ways to save money!  

Make Room for Baby Salutes Heather Bailey!

Heather Bailey  is leading the Parade for all of us who " March" to the beat of a different drum. She has inspired thousands to dream, create and make beautiful items.  But let me back up to connect some dots.

I was ready to launch Make Room for Baby and needed to be with "like-minded" women (who could relate to sticking your finger and lip together with hot glue, among other injuries we suffer).

I attended the Creative Fest  in Toronto. The Canadians seemed to have a corner on crafting. Some of the women I met had been meeting for the past 15 years at this Festival for a "girls only" weekend. I felt like I had been living in a cave. How could I have traveled the world and missed out on this? It was really a spectacular, inspiring time.

I was laughing hysterically with hundreds of "crafty women" listening to a speaker named Elinor Peace Bailey".  She was  "on a roll"  with a TRUNKLOAD of beauties. Her family of dolls.

She would pull one out and introduce us. Telling us how they came about and their many escapades.  As she wove their stories we all knew we had met them personally at one time or another...some we raised an eyebrow at and others we wanted to join for a cup of tea.  She honored us by passing them around the room so we could actually inspect the incredible workmanship from dyeing her own fabrics, to sculpting their faces and bodies.

Elinor Peace Bailey, (Heather's mother-in-law) had us laughing until we thought we would split a stitch. She enjoys people and life in BLAZING COLOR! She also let us know that "if you have even looked at the fabric, it counts as using it!". (We know who we are and where we have hid all the boxes.)

She was kind enough to give me a moment and pass on her words of wisdom. Suggesting I visit a blog that called HELLOmynameisHeather.

Like the chicken and the egg, you don't know which came first "Heather" or "Blogging". Her site is what blogging is all about and why I look forward to her posts!