Good morning! Today is our first day of Wee Ones–A Baby Series this week. I’ve had a lot of fun putting together some new and old favorites of projects to make for baby, whether your own or a friend’s.
There is something so precious about the process and the results of making for a baby. It slows you down and directs your thought to anticipation, whether of a wee one to come or your wee one enjoying/using your handmades.
There are both simple sewing projects and non-sewing projects alike. If there aren’t instructions on where to find a particular pattern, then the tutorial is a Sleepy Time Gal tutorial included in the link.
Here are my Simple Projects for Baby:
{baby booties}
To start off, baby booties are the quintessential baby project for wee ones. I love making them for friends and my own babies alike because you can choose the fabric, buttons, and accessories to fit your own style.
The above booties I made for Rowan for Christmas. The pattern can be found in Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby. I found these beautiful ages pine buttons here to make them even more special.
I also love making these booties–my favorite booties. Using wool felt and just two pattern pieces, they sew up quite easily for a beginner sewer. Link below.
Here are some bootie patterns you can use:
Felt Baby Shoe–my favorite bootie pattern and template
{newborn swaddler}
Baby swaddlers are absolutely essential for me. Although I don’t put my babies in them all the time to sleep or calm, they come in handy when I really do need extra help with a fussy/sleepy wee one.
The swaddler I made for Rowan is wonderful. There is a pouch for his feet and two extensions for wrapping in his arms and securing with velcro.
My swaddler pattern came from Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing for Baby: 24 Easy Projects for Newborns to Toddlers. The liner is soft fleece and the outside is cotton. It is perfect for 0-3 months. As Rowan has gotten taller, he stays velcroed in less.
You can actually find this easy pattern online for free here. Definitely a baby necessity. I’m so sad Rowan’s outgrowing the one I made him!
This is one of my favorite keepsake projects. It is the perfect project to make when your baby’s first year mark is approaching. Your older children can help you make personalized pages or art and memories to be sewn into a beautiful soft book for your baby to flip through and love.
You know I love making fabric buckets. What more fun is it to make a specific baby bucket! It can be filled with toys or baby care products or diapers for each floor of your house. The sky is the limit in terms of filling it.
The fun part is choosing the perfect baby fabric. Maybe something to match a room or something simply whimsical. I love my bucket pattern– the Nesting Burlap Bucket Pattern from designsmayamade. The pattern is $10 and so worth it.
This is a really simple and practical project. With exciting fabric and clear vinyl sewn on top, you can make a stylish wipeable high chair mat that you enjoy seeing on your kitchen floor. This is a perfect beginner sewing project.
{essential oil air freshener + terry cloth bear wash mitt}
We make our air fresheners in our home. Using essential oils, you can be creative as to the fragrance and odor removing quality of each. And a cute air freshener with a handmade wash mitt for baby goes well together as a gift.
I love these precious dolls. The minimal facial details allow wee ones to be more creative in their baby play in terms of make believing the doll’s expressions. They are filled with wool and bend beautifully. They are the perfect first doll for your baby, whether girl or boy.
This pattern is from one of our sponsors, Adirondack Patterns, for only $4! You will love making this for a baby and always having the pattern on hand.
{iron-on personalized onesies}
This is an easy and special project for siblings of a new baby. Kids can draw, design, choose fabric to iron-on and create little wearable gifts for baby.
As my babies grew, I loved that they could have a book in their bed in a special pocket or even a little doll. A pocket means they could wake in the morning and have something to greet them before I did. Another easy sewing project that whips up in minutes.
{homemade baby powder in a powder shaker jar}
Making homemade baby powder is so indulgent. It can be made in minutes and the results are silky and special for baby. Here are my favorites:
Lavender Powder for little girls
Chamomile Powder for little boys
Rowan also got his own taggie blankie from me for Christmas. It is so much fun picking out scraps of fabric (cotton on one side, fleece on the other) and different widths of ribbon. It is a simple concept and sews up easily– a perfect evening project for a soon-to-be mama.
{fabric panel quilt}
If you aren’t a quilter or choose not to take the time to make an extensive quilt for your wee one, making a panel quilt is where to begin. I fell in love with this fabric panel and simply turned it into a quilt (batting in the middle, white cotton on the back) and then simply hand quilted around some of the detail in the panel. A few nights and the quilt was finished, from start to finish.
There are many panels and ideas for panel quilts here.
If this isn’t your first baby, it is nice to spruce up that Boppy for the long haul of nursing anther baby. Pick some new exciting fabric and create a new look for your Boppy!
Hope you enjoyed some of my favorite projects. What do you like to make for babies??
the sleepy time gal
Love these ideas(^_^)
To me, it is hard to come up with things to make for boys.
There are plenty of good stuff for boys too!
Love all of the ideas! Love seeing the twins tiny again
Great ideas – and I love all the fabrics! I just returned that Handmade Beginnings book to the library; I was eyeing those booties, but the idea of cutting out and sewing together all those small pieces gave me a headache.
At some point I *would* like to attempt something similar, though!
I made some satin-edged blankies for my little one – a set of three, since it’s nice to have spares. I picked a fun turquoise animal print minky-like fabric and paired it with bright pink edging, so the contrast is striking. I also made a foldable changing mat with chenille in the inside, an inside pocket and a wrist strap – it’s so pretty! I don’t knit as much these days but made a few hats – one of them en elf-style hat with a long tail and pom pom.
And maybe not as fun, but I made some tiny undies and upcycled woolies which I’ll be using with my cloth diapering stash.
I haven’t made many sewn baby gifts since learning how to sew, but I did make the cutest bow tie for a baby boy, some burp cloths and cloth wipes. And I’m really excited about big sibling gifts I made for my kiddos: doll carriers!
Boy, you’ve been busy!!!
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