Nest building is hitting fever pitch now I have entered the third trimester. Suddenly birth does not seem that far away and what with christmas and new year to contend with it will fly by. Best to get slightly prepared. It's worth noting at this point that I am not someone who sews. Really and truly. I don't think I have sewn since I was desperately earning Brownie badges back in the early eighties. Even then my mum, a home ecenomics teacher, had to help me with even the most basic projects much to her shame I'm sure. She concealed it well. My point is that what you see here is the result of an over-abundance of hormones coursing through my veins as it's the only explanation I have for this sudden sewing fervour. The most surprising thing about it all is that it turns out I'm not too awful at it and for that I have no explanation.
Ah, baby shoes. I got the free pattern from Maked (via Omiyage). I had scraps of fabric left over from various other endeavours and thought I'd give them a whirl one evening while seriously sleep deprived. This naturally resulted in much cursing and seam ripping as I sewed bits on upside down and the first shoe took about half an hour to put together after cutting it out. The remaining shoes took about 5 minutes. So now I have small shoes which may or may not fit on a child's foot. It's hard to tell. Perhaps they will cut off all circulation within 5 minutes. We'll see. Also, not really a beginners project but then I wasn't aware of that and went for it anyway. Best approach I always feel. I mentioned that I had made shoes to the in-laws and the response was that they would be suitable if it was a girl. Really? I think my choice of fabric is fairly unisex and, well, all babies need shoes surely.
A bib. One of many I have been making but mainly because they are so easy and therefore satisfying to complete. I think this was the 2nd one I ever made and these bibs were my first attempt at any real sewing since the aforementioned eighties. This is a roundabout way of saying excuse the stitching round the edges which has improved since this attempt. I love this fabric and OK, it's not the most neutral of colours what with the very obvious pink but hey ho it's for a baby and really it won't know. The pattern for this comes from Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol although there are bib patterns and tutorials all over the web.
Now these I am very proud of. The pattern is a purchasable download from Made by Rae called Big Butt Baby Pants. The big butt is to accommodate the slightly more bulky reusable nappies which I intend to use. I made these reversible as I just felt that the material was too thin on its own for a winter baby and that the exposed seams would irritate the skin. I'm not sure how I made them reversible really. I just made another pair of trousers and inserted them inside the other and then sewed them up all neat and pretty. I suspect I'll never be able to do it again.
So that's part one of preparing the nest but the question is...how many baby bibs, shoes and trousers does a baby need?
