Surprise and Delight!
Picture Perfect
Every stitch adds a hug and a kiss!
For details on this crib set see the previous blog.
Inspiration
Favorite Fabric Shops
Make Room for Baby
July 07, 2011
TESTING . . . one, two, three
Like so many grandparents today, they are separated by several states from their soon to be 'grand baby' and the new parents. Sally came up with some very clever ways to get around working without a crib. She found her stair case to be a great substitute for testing the 'bow ties'.
We both suggest cutting the angle on the ends of the ribbon last, after the bumper is finished and tied onto the crib. You can then seal the Grosgrain ribbon with fabric glue. Satin Ribbon can be sealed with the heat of a burning match . . . do not let the flame actually touch the ribbon.
Sally matched the pink ribbon with a ready made piping in the same pink. Placing the ribbons next to each other rather than on top of each other as a pair, they didn't lose any length before tying into bows. If your slats are wide, you can adjust the placement and spacing of the ribbons accordingly.
TIP: When sewing on piping/welt, use a wider stitch and do not sew close to the cord. This stitch is only to secure it in place and will be stitched over one more time when the right sides of the bumper cover fabric are sewn together.
The ties are sewn on the outside facing fabric before (under) the piping (also known as welt). (If you sew close the first time, you have to sew even closer the second time to cover the first line of stitches. Do the closest stitching on the final stitching.)
I couldn't wait to see it in the crib
Pink grosgrain ribbon accents the crib skirt
I was as excited as Sally to see it finished and kept me posted with photos, step by step. Expressing the growing love and anticipation for the miracle of a baby certainly shows in Grandmother's patience to make it perfect.
The time involved from the planning to the sewing is well worth it. The fulfillment in providing your precious baby a crib set made with love is priceless.
November 05, 2010
Across the Pond and All-Around
This is a story about the Stokke Sleepi Crib and the pretty bumper set that's in it.
Once upon a time there was a lovely lady in England named Pamela. She was going to have a baby and wanted to choose her own fabric and make her own bumper for her baby's crib. She contacted Make Room for Baby about a pattern for the oval crib. Now, 'Make Room for Baby' had been asked this question many times before, so they had been working on a solution and were just about ready to announce their newest addition.
Even better, the lovely lady Pamela was coming to visit her lovely mom, soon to be grandmother, on the West Coast. Rather than shipping 'over the Pond', we could ship over the land. So the delivery of the first 'All-Around Euro Slim' bumper Kit went to grandma's house and from there with Pamela to England to turn into a beautifully made crib set with a matching Patchwork Quilt, just in time for baby.
If you have that round or oval crib or cradle, this DIY baby bumper kit is a one size works for all. It's made extra long, and easy to cut to the length you need. The simple instructions come with the zipper that runs the full length of the bumper with the specially bonded fiber inside the poly cover. By specifying your crib being oval or round a paper pattern is included for the fitted sheet.
So, in England right now, there is a happy mommy, looking at her own beautifully designed crib set with her favorite fabric stitched with hugs and kisses surrounding the most precious baby.
October 11, 2010
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!
April 22, 2009
Slip-covered Baby Bumpers, Pick your Style!
HOW ABOUT ROPING IN A COWBOY THEME?
You can take the girl out of the country, but do you ever get the country out of the girl? Being from the Midwest, I had to make a Western baby bumper. So, while in Jackson, WY, I visited the shop of all shops for fabrics with a Great Outdoors or Western theme. Cowboys and horses, fish and bears, mountains and rivers, everything outdoors. Inspired by the quilters, I added some appilique with a patchwork feel to the slipcovered bumper, adding some fringe on the ties end.
Check out Stitch 'N' Time and you will be inspired to plan your summer vacation in the Rocky Mountains! They also carry Amy Butler's fabric and other trendy lines for City Slickers!
The fabrics available to suit your personal taste are fun and limitless. I will touch on a few more favorites of mine.
By all means visit the South Florida blog for moms. Madeleine Marr wrote a great review on Make Room for Baby! Thank you Madeleine!
Gabrielle Blair, a designer/Art Director and mother of FIVE in New York is current and covers alot of wonderful subjects,including fabric, be sure to scroll down to the hoop framed fabric art. What a great idea for color splashes on the wall and a no sew project, (even though I am trying to persuade all of you to take up sewing). This should inspire you to visit a fabric store, where you will catch the bug.
JCarolineCreative, has everything from notions to fabric and a whole long list of creative items that might be hard to find in a local store.
Spoonflower is a fun, design your own fabric or participate in selecting a winning print.
WHOOOOOO do you think won this week?
LIVE Textile is a favorite of mine, design your own print or work with theirs. They will print your baby's name in the design. It's the organic line of fabric, including organic black out and interlining for drapes.
Whatever your taste, whatever the theme, whatever your budget, with the Make Room for Baby kit, you can now make your baby bumper's slipcover and create a one of a kind, unique design.
In South Florida, save the date: Wednesday, May 13th, from 9:30-11:30 AM.
beautiful decorator fabrics. We will be there to help you have the designer look and stay on budget.
April 19, 2009
WHO ARE THE STICK PEOPLE?
Many have asked where the 'stick people' fabric came from. This is a Swiss fabric by Christian Fischbacher called Farfalla. The fabric is 108" wide with a repeat of 36". The patchwork duvet cover above was a sew as you go type patchwork. I mixed scraps and strips of fabric that I had, I cut and stitched working left to right in strips. Freestyle, no pattern, not perfect, but fast and fun.
The client wanted a matching ottoman, which would be easy to clean. She found one on-line that was inexpensive. I fitted the fabric with a button-hole in the center, covered the attached button with a circle of fabric, stitched with a basting stitch, drawn tight and tied.
I made the skirt separate from the top, not to deal with pressing the pleats. The top could be removed separately for cleaning.
What appeared to be a challenge, actually turned out adding a little whimsy. One window was a shorter window with more wall space above it than the other window. To keep a room feeling tall, try and bring the curtains up as high as possible, keeping all of the window treatments the same height. By making a 'mock' shade, we actually covered up the exposed wall by making it appear that a shade had been pulled partially down. This was done by simply lining the fabric and stapling it to a 1/4" X 1" strip of wood, mounting it on the wall under the cornice.
The windows already had the wood blinds, but for a darker room we added the black out lined drapes and cornices rather than rods for better room darkening. The coordinating stripe for Farfalla had a pattern that didn't repeat itself evenly. Choosing the center, I cut it and seamed it back together,changing the direction of the vertical repeat by flipping the right side up.
The showroom of Jeffrey Michaels in the DCOTA carries Christian Fischbacher, along with Ralph Lauren, who has fabrics only found in design centers 'to the trade'. For this, give my friend Lisa Robbins a call with City Living Baby. She specializes in designing baby rooms and going green in the South Florida area. Online... simply go to #1 Fabric Company.
I apologize for the photographs... I am working on it, but I do not do well 'reading manuals' I have a drawer full! Sewing is much more forgiving!
CRIB SKIRTS... the question is always the length, with the mattress UP and shorter when DOWN. Walk through a crib display of ready made crib sets, take a look at the skirt lengths, like short pants and someone asking when the water is rising!
Solution: two skirts. A top skirt and a mock skirt which is under the top one like a petti-coat. The top skirt is the length of the boxspring at the 'lowest position'. The mock skirt is the length of the boxspring at the highest, newborn position. This skirt is removed when the boxspring and mattress are lowered. What you have is a skirt of lining fabric, with a banding hem of coordinating fabric showing under the top skirt.
The mock skirt is made up of lining fabric used for the base of the skirt, called the 'decking'. The difference in length will be the 'good' designer fabric. When cutting add for the hem and another 2" to seam to the lining fabric with about an inch for making it appear as if both skirts are all designer fabric. This saves you yardage = $$.
Make Room for Baby Bumper kit has the solution for an easy to make slip-covered bumper. along with instructions for the crib skirt and fitted sheet. No messy paper pattern pieces. Everything is a straight cut and straight stitching, so the dimensions for each cutting size are drawn out and easy to follow.
Included in the kit are SIX of the following, depending on what you would like to refer to them as...
originally I referred to them as inserts, the 'workroom' reference'. Most of the time they are referred to as bumper pads, but I pictured a flimsy and thin bumper, which they are not. Six bumper pillows gives the feel of something more plush, but too fluffy? They're just right!
Also included in the kit is a full length zipper with 2 pulls, so you can make it into 2 zippers if you prefer a 2 piece bumper. This zipper makes it a slipcovered bumper, easy to remove the six-bumper pads-pillows-inserts!
Let me zip this up and say: Make Room for Baby is the solution to customizing your crib set by creating a unique slipcovered bumper using the six removable pillow inserts and easy to follow instructions.
April 16, 2009
Razzle Dazzle to Lavender Ice
BOOK COLORS FOR YOUR HOME
I recently attended the HOUSE BEAUTIFUL COLOR INSTITUTE at the DCOTA. What a wonderful experience.. I am so grateful for the internet at this moment, because I will give you the links rather than trying to share my notes!
Stephen Drucker, the Editor in Chief for House Beautiful showed up with a purple tie, Mystical Grape #2071-30 to be exact! Purple is a color that definitely brings charm and humor while looking at black and white pictures of the first editions of House Beautiful, just teasing... Mr. Drucker did a fine job of entertaining as he shared the history of design and color.
Our keynote speaker, designer Jeffrey Bilhuber, was a delight, like lemon Drops #2019-50 from Benjamin Moore. His point being, color is emotion, as in yellow brings delight, red feels like romance and passion. Color is also pattern, such as gingham on the walls and curtains. Be sure to look for his new book with Rizzoli, Defining Luxury, The Qualities of Life at Home. He painted a colorful picture of the challenge in naming new paint colors.
Visit paint with ben for some fun with words and color. For serious planning, check out the Virtual Fan Deck for the latest in all the colors. Expect to spend some time playing!
Go with confidence. Pick out the colors that you love, see what jumps out first, and work from there. If you are starting with fabric, look on the edge of it for the little color blocks, the least of these can be the wall color.
Make Room for Baby is for the Creative, Unique, One of a Kind, Have some Fun, DO WHAT YOU LOVE, and enjoy the trip... making your own bumper, designing your baby's room.
Quoting Jeffrey Bilhuber, "a decorator's job is to take you to new places". I want to take you to new places that also give you a rewarding experience. Let's step out in confidence and do what we love, in color, style, and theme, creatively saving while we do!
April 02, 2009
BABY'S FIRST COMB & BRUSH SET
SEW, how sweet is this?
This has been a favorite set to make of mine for many years. When completing the baby's room for a client I would present the CBQT' as a gift of appreciation for the job. Another 'I feel so good I made it myself" moment. Whether for your own baby's room or giving it as a gift, it is just SEW SWEET, and easy to make. It got the name of CBQT because it includes the comb & brush, a bottle for Q-tipss and the tie-tray. To keep it simple, you need only add a 1/4 yd of fabric and ribbon. You will have very little sewing around the tray, and need to iron on the fusible web to the two pieces of fabric. The gimp and double stick tape is included.
Stick with me and I will show you just how easy it is. We'll start with the tie-tray.
We'll take baby steps
Pre-cut padded cardboard pieces are provided along with the pre-cut fusible web.
AL E. GATOR is not included in the kit.
To 'WALK' you through each step, the kit comes with written directions and photos.
TIME FLIES... WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN!
It's a PIECE OF CAKE!
March 19, 2009
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!
March 04, 2009
Surf's UP in "March of the Tools"
My earliest venture in Arts and Crafts shows were baskets lined with gathered floral chintz. This meant the pressing of miles of ruffles & long ties for the bows. Feeling constrained with more fabric on the floor than the ironing board, I moved to my work table with a beach towel. Worried about warping my rotary cutting mat, I soon gave this idea up.
I remembered seeing the padded tables at the drapery workrooms. A narrow version of that would do the trick. I could have made it myself, but I knew Lou who made cornices in Miami. He was the Wild West dude with one fast staple gun!
Driving home with "my board", I was as happy as a surfer ready to ride the waves, singing California Dreamin! (Not to be confused with ironing clothes! Totally different song). Years later, and miles of pressing, I simply add another layer of batting and fabric and "my board" is new. If you are making your own bias, or have ribbons to press, this is great.
I have since added a 25" square board for the designer pillows, and patchwork. I can tape work down or pin on it. Iron on fusible web presses much better on the board than the softer top of the ironing board. It's also great to move a work in progress, and stores easily leaned up against a wall.
An inexpensive way to speed the work up and get a more professional finish. I now consider it a staple in my workroom. What an honor to be invited to contribute to Heather Bailey's "March of the Tools!" Thank you Heather!
