Sewing for Babes

I know that sewing for kids is right on the horizon. No, I'm not expecting - but a few friends have started adding new people to their families and I'm super-excitied about all of the embarrassing and amazing sewing opportunities afoot.

The First of Many
T.Rex was the first - she's just been joined by Sprog. I tried to make a bit of a care package for the whole family:

The two priorities for making were: dinosaur/monster theme, bung in the washing machine at 40c with minimal care instructions. In the bundle was:

• PJs and vest tops with poppers/snap fasteners
• Jumper with pocket and contrast cuffs
• T-shirt
• Blanket and Sock-ons

I admit to refashioning the jumper, not making it from scratch. Most of the stuff is made from scraps, jersey from Ray-Stitch and Nani Iro Pierre Pocho double gauze. The double gauze was super-difficult to track down! This is from a couple of seasons ago and most places had little or none left in stock. I odered 3m through a Belgian store called Le Hibou Sur Le Fil, who were extremely helpful.

Have you ever seen so much Nani Iro?

The blanket is a basic rectangle with some binding and flannel in the middle for warmth and bulk. I machined the binding but hand-quilted around all of the blobs, which took absolutely bloody ages.

The sock-ons were a bit of an experiment/prototype. We went shopping back in January and while these doodads seemed to be a great idea, the price was extortionate. £6 a pair! They are lycra with a couple of seams, so I made up some pairs using stretch scraps and fold over elastic (FOE), the pattern is below:

I used a newborn sock as a base and it seems very short-sighted, in future I'd use a 3-6m sock as a starting point. I'd also leave off the FOE as it adds a lot of bulk. Anything with lycra content will probably be fine.

Next In Line
The next one is due soon and I'm planning on a teddy bear, plus a bundle of bibs, leggings etc. I'm not sure yet of the specifics. The bundle is going to the other side of the world so I'm thinking about how everything will work together.

After the success of the Highland Cow, I'm keen to try more soft toys and animals as gifts. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

K