Crafty craftyness

At the beginning of the baby fever, I started to notice all kinds of cute things on pinterest that could be made for a baby.  Bibs, burp cloths, blankets...  All super easy and quick to make.  I figured even though at that point we were still at least a year out from actually having a baby to use these things on, it wouldn't hurt to get a head start on making cute little things for him or her.  Plus, I had a bit of scrap fabric laying around to play with, and if I wasn't going to use these things soon, I know plenty of people out there that could!  (Is it me or is there a serious baby boom happening again?!)  So I started playing around with some fabric that I already had, but after making a few things and seeing how cute they were turning out I decided I should pick up some baby-appropriate fabrics...  Here is what I have made so far:

Bib #1:

The tutorial for this bib can be found here:  Chickpea infant bib

I made this with flannel on one side and a plain white towel on the other.  That way you can use the backside of the bib for cleanup after baby eats - how clever! 

 (sorry for the poor photo quality of these, I was playing around with my camera and didn't get the settings quite right until I started shooting the rest of the items...)

Bib #2:

Then I decided to try out another pattern, and as it turns out I liked this one much better.  It has a cute little pocket for messy eaters, and drool I guess?  Babies drool a lot don't they?  ;)

This pattern here:  Baby bib with pocket

 Giraffe bibs (and some little no-scratch mitts I whipped up with leftover fabric)

Polka-dot and stripe bibs + contoured burp cloth (see below for more info on that)

see the cute pocket?

 

Notice how these have *real* snaps!  I bought a little snap tool and as it turns out, it is super easy to use.  All you need is a hammer!  I was very happy with how they turned out  :)

sidenote:  I recently found myself at an upscale store in Chapel Hill that has a little section of baby/kids stuff.  I noticed they were selling bibs that were almost identical to the ones I was in the process of making, and they were charging $12 per bib!!!  Yikes!  Mine only cost about $1 each in materials  :)

Contoured burp cloth:

Seems to be just the right size for a burp cloth, and I like how it fits around your neck and covers more territory for a projectile burp!  On some of them I used a terri-cloth material on one side and super soft flannel on the other...  And on the others I just used the flannel on both sides.  p.s.  They all have matching bibs  :)

Pattern here:  Cloud 9 fabrics: Contoured burp cloth

 

 These are regular rectangle burp cloths I made up with fabric too small for the contoured pattern...

Diaper Changing Pad:

I only made two of these, but I will probably make more eventually.  I have no idea how many of these things one would need.  They are little portable changing pads, with a pocket built in for a diaper and wipes.  I think the idea is, if you wanted to go someplace and not take a whole diaper bag you could just throw this in your purse..  Not sure how practical that is but I think they will definitely be useful!  

Tutorial here:  Changing pad with pocket

folded up:

Swaddler:

Definitely my favorite thing I have made so far is this swaddler.  I just love how it keeps the baby wrapped up like a perfect little burrito, and since it velcros in several places you don't need to worry about it falling off.  (Rumor has it most babies like to be snugly wrapped up so they can sleep.  Yay for happy sleeping babies!)   

This was the most time-consuming project by far (2-3 hours compared to a bib that takes maybe 30 min) but it is so darn cute I plan to make at least one more.

Tutorial here:  A swaddler that fits

open so you can see the velcro:

fastened up:

rolled-up towel inside so you can see shape:

 I should have warned you this was going to be a long post with a bunch of pictures!  That is all I am going to share for today, but I have some other cute things to post at a later date  :)