Book Review: Simple Sewing for Baby
I’m smitten with one of my new Christmas presents: Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter. Since we are entering the final stretch of pregnancy (um, a month and a half!), I have to be strategic with my time. I’m also going to have to be really careful not to overdue it, since we have a pretty packed January already. Further, I’m anticipating sleeping difficulties as “Coconut” gets heavier and heavier, so I may need even more time for napping.I decided to go through the book and make a list of everything I want to make and then number the projects in order from most important (i.e., do first!) to least important.
Here’s what I decided on:
- Fleece hat
- Swaddling “Snuggler”
- Pants
- Play quilt
- Tag blanket
- Bloomers
- Rattle
- Scarf
I vowed not to waste too much time sewing baby clothes, since babies grow at bionic rates and render cute clothing obsolete way too quickly, but I can’t resist the temptation entirely. I realized that I can purchase a fat quarter of organic cotton knit from Spoonflower (like this elephant fabric!) for a mere $14. I think baby pants will be a snap to whip up.
In general, I’m not a huge fan of crafting books because I can find so many free patterns and projects on the internet, but I’m excited about this book. I love the simplicity of each project (well, from a cursory glance they seem simple!). I once met a woman at a craft store who said she forces herself to make at least five projects from a craft book before she lets herself buy another one. I wish I had the same resolve!
Come to think of it, I need to integrate these projects into my remaining craft projects and put all of them in a prioritized order:
- Cushion for the chair in “Coconut’s” room
- Pillows for the baby’s bed (to be removed when he’s actually sleeping on it)
- A knit rug to cushion the transition from the baby’s Montessori floor bed to the floor
- Then I can start all the projects from Lotta’s book…
I’m excited!
4 Comments
Spaz
Hopefully your little one likes swaddling. My first absolutely hated it. Which is a shame as it's a really good way to comfort them.
Beehive
I love that book. I love the elephant fabric too, I'm totally obsessed with elephants (see yesterday's blog post). However, a fat quarter is a rather small piece of fabric and $14 is a lot of $$ for a fat quarter; most quilt shops sell a pack of 4 fat quarters for $7-$10. Check out fabric.com, they have some organic options and you can always find coupons online.
Katy
You should have a sewing party – invite your friends to bring their machines and you supply the patterns and fabric and you all can finish up your projects in no time!
Sharpiegirl
Tag blankets rock! Just sayin.