Springtime Sewing

It's hot; I have tons of plants to put in the garden; my house is a disaster; my clothesline is full of things waiting to be folded...so, naturally, I spent the afternoon sewing (some might call it procrastinating).

First, an Itty Bitty Baby Dress for an itty bitty baby. A friend of a friend has had a very difficult pregnancy--10 weeks on bed rest--and just gave birth to a 4-pound girl 8 weeks early. Mom will be out of the hospital on Tuesday. I remember how touched we were by all the lovely handmade gifts we recieved for Lucy, and how excited we were when we actually found teeny-enough clothes to put on her when she first came home. So I thought another Itty Bitty Baby Dress was in order. This one is made from several different thrift-store treasures--a tablecloth, a sheet, and some rickrack. I hope she likes it.

Edited to add: she wore it home from the hospital! Yay!





Next, I decided it was time to finally finish Lucy's Kimono I started from "Weekend Sewing." I'd started it a while ago and was really unhappy with how it was coming out--unfinished seams inside and puckery armpits showed just what an amateur sewer I am. I'd gotten some advice on Flickr (duh! clip the seam allowances! Why didn't I think of that? Thank goodness for helpful Flickr viewers!) Finished up, I think it looks pretty cute. I haven't tried it on her yet. We'll see. I'm worried it'll look like scrubs (it's a bit stiff, like them, I think).



Last, I tried an experiment. I wondered if I could use the Ruby's Bloomers pattern from "Weekend Sewing" to make a wool diaper cover. I used more of the felted cashmere sweater I'd used for the Easter bunnies. I had to piece it together to get a large enough piece for the pattern (because I'd already tried to refashion it into a cardigan, but gave up). I wasn't sure if I'd be able to steam-iron the elastic to shrink it up in that cool way it does, but it worked fine. The bloomers are thin and lightweight, which I thought would be perfect for summer--she can wear them over a diaper with a sundress on top. We'll see if they'll be absorbent enough to work.