sewing tutorial | Smiles and Piles...of laundry

It’s August and that means a LOT of women I know are having BABIES!

Good news is I love the idea of cuddling and squishing a multitude of newborns…and giving them back when they fuss. (I have my own fusser – I don’t need to deal with yours.) One thing about new babies though, when you visit you should bring a gift. Lots of new babies in my life = Lot of gifts.

So this begs the question…what can I give all of them that is special, yet functional? As a new mom myself, I know that porcelain ornament makers for babies hand print are nice and all – but who has the time? I opted for burp clothes. Yup. Every baby burps, spits up and/or pukes all over everything at some point, might as well provide mom with a stash cute clean-up accessories! The beauty of these is that it’s cheap, quick and “homemade.”

All you need is:

A pack of cloth diapers (I use these 10 packs – about $17)
Some scrap fabric
Coordinating thread

To begin, wash and dry EVERYTHING. Those diapers will shrink up pretty funky if you sew on fabric before putting them through a cycle. Next, measure the midsection of your cloth diaper. Mine was about 18×6” so I cut my fabric 19×7” allowing for a ½” seam all the way around. Fold in the sides and iron your seams flat. I started with the long edges, and then clip the corners on the short edges for a crisper fold.

Once it’s all ironed, set up your machine for the stitch of your choice (I love zigzags or curvy lines, but a straight stitch is awesome, too!) and stitch all the way around. Note that if you use any color thread besides white, the stitch will show up quite obviously on the reverse side of your cloth, so go slow and try not to let the machine get away from you…like I tend to do! If you’re feeling ambitious, you could add a monogram or other personalized applique via iron-on.

Now, like I said – I know a lot of new babies coming soon so my plan of attack is to whip up as many of these as I can (about 30 in an afternoon) and package them up according to gender. Just because babies can be unpredictable, I like to do 10 feminine, 10 masculine and 10 neutral – just in case. It is so nice to have a special, handmade gift ready to go when you get that text that “The baby has arrived!” Giving 5-10 to a new mom and dad is a great way to show you care – and they will think of you fondly as they wipe up regurgitated mashed peas for the 47^th time…

It’s a Friday night, and I’m a mom, so I am sitting here on my living room floor trying to catch up on my Project Runway. The season literally JUST started, and I’m already three episodes behind so it’s HELLO DVR (and laptop!) In keeping with the theme of “fashion design,” I bring you the baby girl crossover dress. LOVE!

Before we begin please know that I am new (new, new, NEW!) to sewing and even I have been able to figure this one out. (Though there was a moment when my husband walked by and said, “Is that a burp cloth or something?” Um, no. I will give him a pass though, I was in the middle of flipping it right side out.)

BIG thank you to Smashed Peas and Carrots for sharing this tutorial. She provides some tips and great instructions for completion. My goal is simply to share some of the lessons I learned. This is the first outfit I’ve ever sewn and the pictures are from my second attempt!

Don’t forget to post your final project to the Smiles and Piles Facebook page!

What it looks like at the end! Front (left) and Back (right). Sorry for the color variations,this took me a while to finish and the lighting in my studio (a.k.a. kitchen) changed on me. I never claimed to be a photographer!

Cut fabrics all stacked together. May not be best practice on higher level projects, but for this – what a time saver!

You may see that your pieces are uneven. Go ahead and trim them up. Evenly cut pieces will help you keep things in line – GOOD for beginners!

I use a heavy stitch, one with those little triangle in it, like the hem of your t-shirts. It’s a little stronger than a straight stitch so it will hold up longer.

Use a chopstick to push out the corners.

Once it’s sewn, and you remembered to leave a gap for flipping, start turning it right-side-out. It will look messy (NOT a burp cloth), but this is where you get to finally see the cutey-patottey dress!