another baby's gifts

And still they keep coming... babies, that is!

Another friend recently gave birth to her first child and, of course, I had to sew for her and her new son.    I thought this friend would appreciate something a little different/quirky so I went online to my Special Place (a.k.a Spoonflower.com) and did a little shopping....

And this is what I made

How are you meant to style a onesie and make it look good?!?

A Dr Who onesie! This is the style of outfit worn by the 11th Dr Who and comes as a cut-and-sew pattern by Spacefem on Spoonflower.





This sewed up quickly and it was straightforward working out the order of the sewing.  Spacefem has downloadable instructions - referenced on the fabric! - if anyone needs them.  I used my coverstitch machine to sew the bands and hems.

and used some matching snaps 

I liked the way this looked so I bought more of Spacefem's fabric

Star Trek onesies

I am in the process of making these up for twin boys.  The blue one is nearly finished (just needs some snaps and the sleeves hemmed)

Being a twin myself, I really can't stand don't like twins being dressed the same so I feel a little torn about giving the parents two of the same item (but they are different colours!).  However, this is Star Trek so hopefully I will be forgiven.



But back to the sewing for the first baby.

I made a second onesie but this time I used the Jalie baby bodysuit pattern and some Vikings cotton-elastane fabric from Ottobre

This pattern is describes as having a boatneck and there is very little difference between the back and front.  In fact, I unpicked all of the stitching because the pieces just didn't seem to be sitting correctly.  After I had rechecked all of the markings I re-sewed the onesie.  I'm still not convinced that I like the neckline.  Fortunately the snaps at the crotch make it obvious which way this goes.

I think the fabric and the orange ribbing are a great combination.  And who wouldn't love these ginger Vikings?  Luckily I had matching snaps to complete the garment!

Coverstitch machine used for the ribbed bands

I placed both of the onesies into a Christmas stocking that I also made for the new baby

 The body of the stockings were made from crazy patchwork panels that I made using the many Christmas fabrics I have stashed.  Then I topstitched the pieces in gold metallic thread using the decorative stitches on my sewing machine

  

I fused each of the completed panels to some pellon and cut out the stocking pieces and stitched them together.  Finally, I embroidered the baby's name onto the stocking cuff and sewed a bell onto the end of the stocking.

I realise that it isn't Christmas, but I thought this might be a gift that a child would keep for a long time and not grow out of or discard after a short period of time.   My husband has a small collection of Christmas decorations that were given to his mother shortly after he was born and they get trotted out every year.  And another friend has a Christmas stocking that was given to him as a youngster and he still hangs it every Christmas by the chimney in the hope that it will be full of goodies on Christmas morning.  

So, I hope that the goodies I placed in the stocking are useful in the short-term but that the stocking is something the child grows up with.