Embellished Onesie Baby Girl Dress

Our good friends, Lara and Eddie, (Savannah's Godparents) just had their second baby a little while back.  They have a little boy named Luca who is three and decided to wait to find out the gender of the new baby until the birth.  Since I am such a planner, we found out what we were having with each of our three children, but I give a lot of credit to those who can wait for the surprise at the very end! When I found out they had a baby girl, Francesca Marie, I knew I had to whip up something for the new little lady.

For some reason when my friends have new babies, it makes me want to try to sew something new. Most of them know the kinds of dresses that I like to sew for The Cottage Mama, but it's always fun to sew something different and more unexpected. For Miss Francesca, I made a little dress out of a pink organic cotton onesie. It is size 3-6 month and I thought it would be really cute layered with tights and a sweet cardigan for the cooler weather.

I've been really into using the rolled hem on my new serger (yes, I've got new machines and I can't wait  to tell you about them). I cut a couple strips of fabric and finished the sides with a rolled edge. Then I gathered them and sewed them to the onesie. I added a strip of pre-gathered, cream colored eyelet trim as well. And finished the dress by hand sewing three little pink buttons on top.

The skirt on the onesie is also finished with a rolled hem. I absolutely love the line 'Woodland Trails' from Riley Blake Designs. It's just the perfect shades of pastel for a sweet baby girl.

Embellished Baby Bib ~ Pattern & Tutorial

Christmas sewing is in full swing here at The Cottage Home.  I've got a million and one projects on my to-do list and am slowly getting through them.  This will be my baby boy, Caspian Finn's, first Christmas so I wanted to sew something for him.  Yes, I know he won't know whether or not Mama sewed anything for him this year, but I want to make sure that everyone gets an equal amount of handmade gifts.

I picked up this woven trim somewhere.....not quite sure exactly.  I'm always on the hunt for unique items for embellishing. It's been in my collection of trims for some time and now that I have a baby boy, I can finally use it!

I'm going to give you the basic bib pattern and a few instructions on constructing it, but the embellishing is up to you.  I know some people like to be given exact instructions for each project, but I want to inspire others to use their own creativity to come up with something beautifully and uniquely their own.  Use what you have, use what you love, but spend some time planning out your exact embellishments.  Think about using unique buttons, ribbons, trims, ric-rac, piping, embroidery floss, appliques, ect......

To print the baby bib pattern, click HERE.

Materials:

1/4-3/8 yard of two different fabrics (one for front and one for back)

Contrasting 4" fabric for front

Unique trims and embellishments

Square of velcro

Double-sided fusible interfacing

Optional: Embroidery floss and hand-sewing embroidery needle

Basic sewing supplies

Baby bib pattern (print HERE)

Instructions:

Print out the baby bib pattern.  Tape together both pattern pieces connecting at the black dots.  Cut out pattern.  Place pattern piece on the fold of fabric and cut out the front and the back of your bib.  For the front I used linen fabric because I like the difference in the texture and for the back I used 100% cotton.

If you would like to add a contrasting strip of fabric to the front of the bib, apply with double-sided fusible interfacing.  Apply according to package directions.  My fabric strip was 4" x the width of the bib.  Next add and embellish the front of the bib however you choose.  Get creative!

Once you have embellished the front of the bib.  Place the bib front and bib back with the right sides together and pin. 

Stitch all the way around using a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 3" opening for turning right side out.

Notch the outer curves to remove any bulk and to help the curves of the bib lay flat.

Clip the inner curves, again, to help the curves of the bib lay flat when you turn and press.

Turn the bib right side out by pulling through the 3" opening on the side.  Work the curves out and press.  Press the 3" opening in line with the rest of the bib.  Edgestitch around the bib with a 1/8" seam allowance ~ when doing this you will catch the 3" opening and the edgestitching will close it.

Sew a square piece of velcro to the back of the bib.  You could also use a snap if you would prefer.  Either way works.

I embroidered my baby boy's name on the front of his bib.  I just wrote his name in a water-soluble fabric pen and stitched over it.  I'm hoping this is something he will be able to have for a long time.  That little train trim is just too cute.  I've got an idea for some pants that might utilize that cuteness as well.

I have so many ideas for more bibs for this little guy.  If I were doing this for a girl, I'm thinking some ric-rac around the border, some fabric yo-yo's and vintage buttons.  SO many options!

Do you think you might try your hand at embellishing a baby bib?  If so, I'd love you to add a picture to The Cottage Home Flickr Group.  It's always a thrill for me to see your creations!

Click HERE to visit The Cottage Home Blog Flickr Group.

I Would Like To Introduce You To Henry Strong

On August 25th we welcomed our son Henry Bihl Strong to the world. We have not stopped smiling since. The whole experience has been breathtaking and more than words could ever express.

Henry is Patrick's middle name and was his Grandfather's name. Bihl is my Mom's maiden name.

We have spent every day since just staring at this face...and thanking God for such a blessing.

Thank you all for all the e-mails, calls and comments. You don't know how much they have meant to me. I am so lucky to have such amazing and wonderful people in my life.

Baby Boy's Room: A Nautical Nursery

One week and counting until our little bundle is scheduled to arrive!  I thought I would share some pictures of the nautical themed nursery that we've put together for our special little guy.

My husband, Brett, painted the room.  Surprisingly, he let both girls help for about 10 minutes.  That was enough time for them to get covered in navy blue paint from head to toe - he is a brave, brave man (and a super-wonderful daddy).  Brett had already put up the chair-rail and crown molding when we did the girls nursery, but he painted the navy blue and tan that I picked out from Home Depot.  Both paint colors are Behr and they are in satin finish.

This room has always been our nursery, but it's taken on a whole new look now.  No more pastel pink and green, we've moved onto navy blue, tan and red.  I definitely think it shouts "boy"!  All of this furniture was already in the room from the girls and I'm really happy that we went with a honey colored wood because it works just right for a boy or a girl.

We had this little round table in the nursery before, but I just changed out the overlay.  I sewed a large square of fabric from Riley Blake's "All-Star" fabric line and kept the cream colored tablecloth that was already on the table.

I've always loved our glider.  I just love rocking and gliding with little ones.  Occasionally I still take one of the girls in this room when they need some mommy cuddle time.  Both of them still love the soothing motion of the glider.  If you are debating on whether or not you might want one for your nursery, go ahead and get it, it's well worth the money.  Ours has an ottoman that glides with it as well.  We ordered this one through target.com and it has held up really well.

The pillow on the glider was sent from my mom.  As I'm sure you know by now, she's always making special, handmade things for the kids.  She made this pillow and matching quilt for baby boy's nursery.  She named the quilt "Oceans of Love". 

Here are some more pictures of the "Oceans of Love" pillow and quilt made by Grandma Jane......

I love that my mom puts a label on every quilt.  The beautiful thing about quilting is that these things can be cherished forever; therefore, a label with a date makes this a true family heirloom that can be passed down.

My mom was inspired by a quilt she had seen on "Moda Bake Shop" but she adapted it to make it her own.  I think I need to get Grandma Jane on the blog to do some quilting tutorials, what do you think?  Don't know if she'd ever do it, but you never know.....hint, hint.

I added a bunch of different nautical accessories around the room that I really think pull the theme together.  I wanted to do some accessories that were nautical, but not necessarily "baby".

This distressed wooden flag is probably my favorite piece in the room.  It is screwed into the wall above the crib so it is nice a sturdy.

The sailing ships rug was something my in-laws had in their basement that they had never used.  It even still had the tags on it.  It must have been there just waiting for us to have this little guy.

These three pillows won't stay in the bed during our little guy's first year, but we usually keep our newborn in a bassinet in our room for a little while.  So for now, they just look cute in his crib.  The polka dot sheet is from Pottery Barn Kids.

The "Welcome Aboard" steering wheel as to be another favorite of mine in this nursery.

Now this poster does not exactly go along with the "nautical" theme, but it's my husbands favorite childhood book and he really wanted it in the room.  This shelf is right above the changing table.  I think the poster looks nice and the colors match just right!

"Dream" is a word that I hope my children always keep in the forefront of their minds.  I want them to always know that anything is possible if they put their minds to it.  Life is so much more exciting when you have big dreams.  Hopefully this sign will remind our little guy of this always.

I ordered these three art prints from Finny & Zook on Etsy.  I love to support etsy sellers if I can and I fell in love with this shop when I found them through my etsy search.  They offer many, many different prints and you can choose any color you would like to match your room or nursery.  There are many different images from A through Z as well as alphabet signs and different sayings.  

I purchased these prints and then found photo mats and frames at my local Michael's craft store.  All three prints are next to the large mirror on top of the dresser (didn't get any good pictures of the dresser).

Our little baby boy should be here soon and we can't wait to meet him!  

I hope he loves his room........I think he will, don't you?

The Little Man Gown Tutorial

I was recently invited by Laura from ON{the laundry}LINE to guest post during her "Summertime and the Living is Thrifty" series.  So here I am sharing my most recent thrifty creation for my soon to arrive little man, The Little Man Gown.

I've been meaning to make a little something for this new bundle of joy that is due to arrive in a month in half, but just haven't had the time to sit down and actually get it done.  I'm sure you can imagine that with two girls, we have a lot of pink in this house.  I love baby gowns, but we really didn't have any that would be appropriate for this little guy.

My husband recently left a stack of old t-shirts in my studio that he was done wearing.  He said before he put them in the "donate" pile, he thought I might want to make something out of them (he knows me pretty well).  The shirt above is kind of a joke.  We used to have a really awesome six-toed, boy cat named George.  Brett would always call him a mushroom and one day I asked him, "why?".  He said it was because he was such a "Fun Guy"........get it? Funghi?

Well, anyway, George passed away at the young age of 3, but when I saw this shirt I knew I had to buy it in honor of our late "Fun Guy".  Brett wore it as an undershirt a few times to humor me, but it isn't quite his style.  I thought this would be really cute for the new little man coming into our lives.

I decided to turn this t-shirt into a baby gown.  You could certainly use this tutorial to make a recycled baby girl gown too, but since I have boys on the brain, I'm calling it "The Little Man Gown".  Oh, and the best part about this gown is that if you use a shirt/supplies you already have - it's almost free!!  That's being pretty thrifty, right?

Supplies:
1 large t-shirt (the larger the better)
1/4 yard contrasting knit (I used rib-knit)
18" thin elastic
Scissors
Sewing Machine (make sure you use a needle designed for knits)
Old baby gown to use as pattern
Spray starch (optional)

Directions:

 Grab a large shirt.  It needs to be pretty big because you need the length for the gown.

For this tutorial I used one of my girls old baby gowns as the pattern.  I know there are tons of commercial patterns by McCalls and Simplicity if you would prefer to use a gown pattern.  But if you have a baby gown lying around, just go ahead and use that.

Cut around the baby gown leaving at least a 1/2" seam allowance all the way around.  Cut the neck out of the t-shirt, but make sure to leave some length towards the top (see picture below) because we will be overlapping this part of the gown.

Here is what the top of your gown should look like after you have cut it out using your pattern.  Again, notice how I left some length towards the top of the gown, near the neck-line.

Now you need to cut out both of your arm pieces.  Lay the arm flat along an extra piece of t-shirt material (I used the sides of the t-shirt).  For this piece you will need to cut it TWICE as large as the arm pattern piece (see picture below).  Cut a curve towards the top.  You don't have to be super exact with this part.  Trust me, don't be scared.

Here are your two arm pieces after they have been cut out.  See what I mean?  They are double the size of the arm piece that we used for our pattern.

It's time to cut our contrasting binding.  I used rib-knit because I like the way it stretches, but you could certainly use pieces from another recycled t-shirt.  I cut 2 strips, both 2" x 36" and that was just the right amount for the gown and hat.  You can do shorter pieces if you are working with less yardage, you'll just have to cut more than 2.

Here is your contrasting binding once it has been cut into strips.

You are going to fold the binding like you would bias tape.  Fold in each side in 1/2" and press.  This is when your spray starch will come in very handy.  The starch really helps give the knit more body and structure, so use it liberally during this step.

Once you have folded the sides in by 1/2", you now want to press your binding in half length-wise.  Again, use your spray starch.

Now that your binding is complete, it's time to add it to our main gown pattern pieces.  Pin binding around both neck-lines.  Sandwich the main gown piece in between your folded binding.  Stitch the binding to the front and back of the gown as well as on the ends of both sleeve pieces.

Once you have the binding sewn on, overlap the front and back of the gown to form the neck-hole.  Baste stitch around the armholes to hold in place.  Basting means to use a slightly longer stitch (I use 3.0).  You want to overlap the neck enough so that your armholes are the same length as the curve on your arm pieces.

Pin your arm pieces along the armhole opening.  Place the main gown piece and the armhole piece right-sides together.  The pinning may seem a little strange for this part because of the curve of the armhole, but just keep working it around.  Stitch in place using a 1/2" seam allowance.  Do this for both arm pieces on each side of the gown.

Stitch down both sides of the gown.  Place gown front and back, right-sides together.  Start sewing at the wrist and go all the way down the arm and down the side of the gown.  Do this on both sides.  Turn right-side out and press.

Stitch binding around the bottom of the gown.  Leave a 2" - 3" opening for threading your elastic.

Cut an 18" piece of thin elastic and thread through the bottom binding.  Use a safety pin or a bodkin (shown here) for threading.  Stitch the ends of the elastic together, overlapping about 1".  If you are using really skinny elastic you can simply knot it several times.  Sew the opening closed.

If you have some extra t-shirt fabric leftover you may want to make a matching little hat.  Again, I used a 0-3 month baby hat as my pattern piece and cut the hat out of the sleeve.  Cut around the hat leaving a 1/2" seam allowance.   Place right-sides together to sew the hat.  Turn and press.   Then sew the coordinating binding around the bottom.

And there you have it, a super-cool gown for your super-cool dude!

If you're looking for some other thrifty tutorials, check out some of these previously seen on The Cottage Home...........

 Summer Rag Wreath

Tiered Party Trays

Place Mat Throw Pillow

Dress Shirt Sleep Sack

T-Shirt Shrug

Tile Coasters

And for even more fun and thrifty ideas, head over to Laura's blog and check out some of the other awesome ideas from some other very talented bloggers!  Thanks for the invite, Laura - it's been fun!!