Oh, no. What did I do?

So a current order of mine is for a pair of baby shoes. The shoes are for a (now) 4 mo. old baby. It's the first time I had to go smaller on my pattern so it was quite an adventure.

At first, I was a little bit hesitant to make shoes for a baby. After all, what does a baby really need shoes for? As they don't walk, shoes don't really serve much of a purpose other than keeping feet warm. In my mind socks can serve that function. Although, recently, I've come to a new conclusion. I recall that many moms are bothered by the lack of ability baby socks have to actually stay on the baby's foot. I have experienced this myself. I've heard several people say they've put shoes on their babies solely to keep the sock on. Here's the way I see it now: if a shoe is required to keep a sock on, at least it can be a soft flexible shoe that will not constrict growth or movement. This function is served well by my soft-soled shoes and therefore, there is a rationale to make them that I can live with. Call me strange, but keeping with my ideals with the products I make plays into maintaining my integrity. But I digress.

In any case, I set out to rework my pattern, this time for a smaller foot. What I developed should have been a shoe that measured 4 in. to fit a baby with a 3.5 in. foot. I measured everything out and very carefully drew out my pattern to maintain the exact size differences that previous patterns had given me. When sewing the shoes I was diligent (as I usually am) about maintaining consistency in my seams, etc. When all was said and done, I had created just about the cutest little shoes I had ever seen. Then I measured them. Yeah, they were 1/2 in. too short. I have no idea how that happened. That's not a small amount when we are talking itty bitty baby shoes.


So, it was back to the drawing board. I used some (more) scrap fabric and leather to make another pair of shoes just to check sizing before I made the final pair for my order. The second pair came out the way they were supposed to. Kinda. The larger pattern I used was supposed to make a 4.5 in. shoe (even though it was the "next size up" from the other one). The shoe turned out to be 4.25 in. I'd throw in the towel, but these shoes fit my little one who is close in age to the baby who will wear the shoes so I figure with the time that has gone by and the fact that babies grow, the shoes should fit. I'm going to make the pair the mom requested (with the fabric she requested), cross my fingers, and hope for the best.

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!

So, I recently have been working on an order for more shoes. Nothing terribly exciting, well, having the order is exciting, but the actual shoe making part is nothing new. I did use some new color combinations and a few different new fabrics. The biggest change is that I have "upgraded" to a stiffer interfacing on the top piece so the fabric should be sturdier and wear slower. They are still a fabric shoe so they will wear faster than an all leather shoe, but hopefully, it will add a bit more stability. I'll have to ask the recipient of the shoes if she notices a difference between these and the ones she has previously ordered. Here are the pictures:

Black & Brown Stripe/Chocolate
New top fabric option
introduced August 2011

Green & Khaki Stripe/Chocolate
New heel fabric option
introduced July 2011

Denim
Special order fabric selection

Now Available: Burp Cloths!

With my new-found "joy" of sewing, I got inspired to make some more items other than the shoes and taggy blocks to add to my product line. I wanted to make some burp cloths. At first, I was considering embellishing prefold diapers (and still may at some point), but I decided to make the whole thing (or things) from scratch. I opted to make them in the same style as prefold diapers but sew them completely on my own as well as add embellishments.

My first go at making the burp cloths was not nearly as easy as I thought it would be, but they did actually come out beautifully. I chose cotton flannel material since I had seen several commercial burp cloths made from flannel and it's a nice soft baby friendly material - especially after washing. My first selection was an adorable jungle/safari flannel material that I had used for some taggy blocks. Jungle/safari themes are so popular for babies today that even if it doesn't match a nursery set perfectly, it can still coordinate. I opted to offer the burp cloths in pairs of coordinating cloths. This first pair includes a solid jungle/safari material burp cloth and a green burp cloth with the jungle/safari accent. The project was certainly a test to my sewing ability; however, I truly think I proved how my skills have improved over the years.

My next step was "packaging" for sale and deciding how I wanted them to look. I opted for securing them with a simple ribbon and attaching a tag. The last thing a recipient wants is a lot of material to deal with and packaging with less waste is easier for everyone. I am so excited to add more designs and currently have materials for at least three more pairs of burp cloths. I hope potential customers love them as much as I do!

Taggy Blocks!

About a year ago, I was at a gathering with some moms I know for us to work on various sewing projects. Each of us was supposed to be working on our own thing, but for some reason, I felt really uninspired. I had some different materials that I had brought with me, but I just couldn't think of anything to make. One of the moms was working on some fabric blocks for her little girl. With nothing else to do and only enough time left in our little gathering for a smaller project. I decided that I would make a block for my little one too.

I pulled out some Dallas Cowboys material that I had brought with me and cut out the squares and got to sewing. I used some ribbon that one of the moms had with her to create some tags on a few of the block edges. At first, the block came together pretty easily, but putting it all together was not entirely as simple as I anticipated. With some more "borrowed" materials, I stuffed and finished the block and even added some plastic bags for a crinkle effect. My kiddo really enjoyed the block and still does to this day. I loved the concept of the taggy block and thought I might want to make them for my boutique down the road sometime.

Apparently, "down the road" was pretty far down the road. I decided recently that I was ready to try again. I picked up some different materials for the blocks I was planning. I found some adorable nursery flannel in a jungle/safari print. I found two prints that coordinated and then picked out some super soft minky. Added ribbon would help complete the block with tags. I made up a set of three matching blocks. Two of the blocks included crinkle sounds and the third block includes a rattle.

I love the final result. Each of the blocks includes various traits for sensory development in babies and toddlers, not to mention providing a good, simple, safe toy. If I have one complaint about the blocks, it's that they are not washable aside from spot cleaning the surface. I can make the blocks without the crinkle or rattle to allow for machine washing and drying, but that would remove attributes that make them really unique. I have extra materials ready to go for additional sets of blocks which I'm really excited about. I hope I have the opportunity to get them made up soon. =)

Hats Off to Breastfeeding... Or is That "On"?

Recently some friends of mine and I were participating in The Big Latch On, an event sponsored by La Leche League to promote breastfeeding awareness. The event was scheduled on August 6th the Saturday of  Breastfeeding Awareness Week which is always the first week of August which is also considered National Breastfeeding Month. After the event (an effort to collect as many moms as possible to simultaneously nurse their little ones around the world), we were chatting about the boob beanies that are available for babies. The idea of these little hats are to promote breastfeeding in a non-conventional way by normalizing the sight of a breast. Theoretically, a baby/child would wear this hat that resembles a breast while nursing. Depending on your sense of humor, you'd find it funny or amusing. To some, it might be offensive - likely, those are the people that are not a fan of nursing in public or perhaps breastfeeding in general. One mom mentioned that at one time she had one of those hats but that she had shared it with another mom and was likely not to see it again. Another mom mentioned that she wanted one. I suggested they make them (since we recently attended a crochet class led by none other than my own mom). Sadly, neither mom felt they possessed the skill to make the hat. To which I foolishly responded, "I could probably make one." Me and my big mouth...

My own crochet skill, I felt left much to be desired. I learned the craft when I was a child and would crochet clothing for my dolls. As I got older, I made a bag and several adult sized beanie hats. I used one stitch and didn't get more complicated than that. I hosted crochet classes taught by my mom twice - one about a year ago and one a few months ago. After the second class, I really was starting to understand the basics (which I wasn't patient enough to pay attention to when I was younger and not disciplined enough to practice after the class a year ago). I also became more intrigued by the items that can be made and began perusing patterns. It was actually having a project that got me to practice more and see what I could create.

I found a pattern for the boob beanie and collected my materials - cotton baby soft yarn in the appropriate colors. It certainly was an interesting experiment. While working on the hat, I ripped it out three times because I couldn't get it right. It was rather frustrating. It certainly didn't help that I wanted to change which stitch was used on part of the hat. In the end though, I finished it. I do love how it came out. I found it to be simply adorable.

The pattern labels the hat "newborn" size. It fits my 3 mo old whom I used to model the hat so people can see how it looks on a baby. I look forward to recreating the hat in various color combinations and expanding the sizes that I can make, but for now, it's only available in the one size. I can't wait to see where this takes me!

A beautiful bouquet

Many diaper cakes I've seen contain diaper tiers and are lavishly decorated with silk flowers and ribbons. They are really beautiful all things considered. The thing that keeps me from designing this type of diaper cake is that the decorations add cost to the final product, but don't necessarily add to the value. I prefer to use baby items to decorate and embellish the cakes so the new mom has more items at her disposal.

Recently, however, I decided to see if I could meld the two concepts. In the past, I have made baby bouquets using washcloths and socks to resemble flowers and presenting them in baskets and vases. In one cake, I used some socks in rose form for embellishment. I wanted to take it one step further though and make the flowers more central to the cake decoration.

For this initial experiment, I wanted to see how a flower bouquet would work for a cake topper. I used washcloths to make several roses and some washcloths with baby utensils to make calla lillies and gathered them into a bouquet that then embellished the top of a one tier cake. More washcloths were used for the bouquet base to emulate leaves for the bouquet. I didn't add a ton of other decorations since I was focusing on the bouquet, but the tier was wrapped with prefold cloth diapers/burp cloths and then decorated with simple ribbon.

The cake turned out beautifully. I really am happy with the final look and from this I will probably work on cleaning up the appearance of the flowers and perhaps experimenting with having the flowers cascade down the cake. As excited as I am about these prospects, there is one important factor I need to consider. This uses A LOT of washcloths. It's not bad, per se, just something to think about. I can't wait to experiment some more and see how it all turns out. I'm glad to offer a more "refined" look to the cakes I can make and still keep them functional.

Shoes! My First Girl Pair!

After my first sale of baby/toddler shoes, another mom in my mom group showed some interest in shoes for her little girl. There were a few problems though. I didn't have any in stock, nor did I have and "girl" material. I also didn't have a smaller pattern which would be required for said little girl. So, I apparently had some work to do before I could present shoes for a future sale.

A friend and I had seen some adorable material that we had discussed would be perfect if I had a little girl to make shoes for, so we headed to the store and I picked up the precious pink plaid material and some coordinating light pink material for the shoes. That was the easy part. I then had to sit down and work out a pattern. Using the sizes I already had, I created a pattern that should work according to the measurements the mom gave me. I then went to work making the shoes. They turned out adorable and came out to the exact size I planned for that pattern - I'm glad I was so particular when adjusting my pattern!

I love these shoes. The material is just too adorable and I'm glad I was able to pick it up for some girl shoes. I've also been mentally working on some new ideas for some more shoes I'd like to make in the future. For now, I'm trying to master the current design and hopefully pick up more interest. I am also still working on sorting out my sizing. Most of my shoe patterns were separated by half inches, but I've started making them on the quarter inch, so there are more size options and they can have a better fit. These girl shoes are my first of these "in-between" sizes and I still need to make sure they fit the kiddo they were made for. If not, I'll just make the next size up and have these in inventory, otherwise, it's one more pair to a (hopefully) happy customer. =)