Sewing for babies and making baby gifts is always a fun way to use both sewing and embroidery capabilities on your machine!

Admittedly, the only "babies" I ever raised had four paws, fur, and answered to the call of "here kitty kitty!" However, I have made many baby items for gifts. I've seen the joy on an expecting mom's face when she received hand-crafted items perfect for her upcoming bundle of joy.

In this post I'll share some of my favorite baby days projects created for the It's Sew Easy TV show and the Brother blog where I regularly contribute as a Brother Ambassador. Follow along as I share some photos, descriptions and links to instructions.

This practical terry wrap is perfect for baby's bath time! Originally featured on It's Sew Easy TV show 1513, you can make this wrap entirely on the sewing side of the machine or choose to add embroidery for the triangular shaped hood. Packaged bias binding makes it fast and easy to finish but you can also consider making custom bias binding for a super cute color coordinated finish. CLICK HERE to watch the video on my YouTube channel. Download a PDF copy of the instructions with an easy step-by-step method for an inconspicuous seam on continuous bias binding HERE.

Make this quick and easy bath mitt using a wash cloth and a bit of embroidered ribbon trim. The little duckie design is available as a free .pes design download from Brother, included with the project instructions. This fits in a 4-inch hoop, making it ideal for new or entry level machine embroidery owners. CLICK HERE to download instructions and the design courtesy of Brother Sewing Machine Company.

Another quick and easy project, this baby bottle cover is super cute with added embroidery and it can be easily trimmed with something simple like decorative stitches or classic rick rack. To learn how to make this CLICK HERE to watch It's Sew Easy TV show 1503. You'll find the instructions for measuring and making a custom sized cover, plus a free bonus burp cloth pattern HERE on my site.

This blanket has to be one of my all time favorite baby gifts to make and to give. Simply cut a rectangle of one or two fabrics and purchase a package of satin blanket binding and you're on your way to making a blanket with a professional finish and a soft edge baby will love to cuddle under. Once you learn the technique for mitering the corners you'll likely keep this as one of your "go to" baby gifts for future baby showers and gift giving. I spent quite a bit of time working out the details for making this easy and effortless. I suggest you watch the video HERE on this page and download the included written instructions for step by step photos to help you master this technique.

Yet another burp cloth, cos what new parent can't use more of these!?! Grab a package of cloth diapers, some bright strips of fabric and decorative thread and you are ready to whip up one or a half dozen in no time at all! I  recently created this project for the Brother Stitching Sewcial blog. You'll find the instructions HERE. Design ideas include picking a few favorite baby themed embroidery designs, choosing fun sayings to use with built-in lettering, or consider using just decorative stitches or fabric appliqués if embroidery is not in your repertoire.

I hope you enjoy these baby days projects! Great for gift giving but quick enough for  a creative parent to be to make as well!

Save the instructions so when you here the news that so and so is expecting you'll be ready to stitch something cute, made with your sewing skills, love, and a little help from your sewing machine!

I'm starting the slow process of cleaning. clearing, clutter busting and rehabbing my sewing space. I have no set deadline and plan to move at a pace that does not stress me out. I thought I would share so of my ideas and invite you to join me in the journey in the hope that it will help you to get the clutter under control, perfect your workflow, and generally make your creative space more inviting. I want you and me too, to feel inspired and rejuvenated each time you enter it! 

Today we tackle the menagerie of magazines. I should start by saying that I have gone through the process of culling magazines and sewing periodicals many times in my sewing life. Before easy access to the internet became commonplace, we didn't have any other way to learn and be inspired with reading material except for magazines and books. For almost ten years I had the privilege of contributing to what I considered to be the premier machine embroidery magazine, Designs in Machine Embroidery. Copies of my contributions are on my must keep list. The batch of magazines that remain are going through the should it stay or should it go process. Below you'll find my best list of ideas and methods for tackling this stack of shiny paper full of pretty pictures and golden information.

​Begin by sorting a pile of keepers and discards. Think through your list of sewing friends that may benefit from magazines you are through with. Discards may be newfound treasures for them.
 
Now it’s time to go through the keepers pile. If you don’t have the dreaded FOMO (fear of missing out) syndrome like I do, you may be able to breeze through the index of your saved magazines to see if anything is there that still interests you just by looking at the titles in the index. You may be like me and want to leaf through page by page just to make sure you are not in fact missing out. Now you are ready to plough through and see what you can’t part with. See if any of the following ideas work for you.

I hope you found some of these ideas helpful. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about managing the menagerie of magazines!