Baby love

One of my colleagues is about to become a grandmother for the first time. She is over the moon excited and more than a little nervous. She is more nervous about the birth of her granddaughter than she was about the birth of her own son, a fact she readily admits. How to calm those nerves? The best way is with teeny, tiny handmade clothes.

For everyday, summer casual I made the Oliver + S playsuit. The shorts were made with fabric from Heather Ross’s West Hill line. I went to painstaking trouble to get the stripes to line up just right on the front and back. The result is perfect and so worth it. The bodice is simply white kona cotton that I trimmed with a yellow calico. I found the snap tape impossible to work with on such a little garment. (0-3 months is so tiny!) Instead I sewed in snaps by hand for easy diaper changing.

For more dressed up occasions I made the comfy jumper dress and bloomers from Amy Butler’s Little Stitches for Little Ones. This dress came out so, so beautifully. I just love it. The butterfly fabric for the skirt and bloomers is from Hoffman while the bodice fabric is from Wilmington Prints. The dress came together easily. If you found yourself with an entirely free evening you could definitely get this completed in one night. There is one error in the cutting instructions though. It says to cut out a piece of fabric for a loop but a loop is never mentioned in the sewing instructions. Amy’s people confirmed it was a mistake and the loop should be ignored. The bloomers were also an easy project though I found the wording in the instructions a bit confusing. Luckily I’ve made her lounge pants before so I had a good idea about what needed to be sewn together and what shouldn’t be sewn together.

But back to how lovely this dress is. It’s perfect for warm days. On cool days though it would be just darling with a pair of tights and a crocheted baby sweater. Oh, and tiny little shoes. See? There is no time to be nervous when you’re imagining dressing a baby.