Making a Bib from a Too Small Shirt

I try not to be too sentimental about baby clothes. They grow so quickly! Pete and I were both sad over saying goodbye to this little t-shirt. So, I turned it into a drool bib.

This is a sewing tutorial for people who are beginning sew'ers, and who don't mind a little hand stitching (although, you can use your machine). All you need is a small onesie/shirt, some extra fabric (I used a piece of her too numerous flannel receiving blankets), pinking sheers (for that shabby-on-purpose look), embroidery floss, tapestry needle (or embroidery needle; anything big and strong), sewing thread and needle. If you are super lucky and the shirt still fits over their head, then you don't have to cut open the neck hole at all. Otherwise, add snaps or Velcro to close the bib.

Begin by finding a bib that is close to the size of the shirt that you want to re-use.

Lay the top bib over the shirt.

Pin top bib to shirt, paying special attention to the neck.

Start cutting up the side seam.

Finish when both sides are detached.

Open shirt up inside up.

Lay down extra fabric along one piece. Trim to fit.

Sandwich the inner fabric by folding the back over the front piece.


Center the top bib over the front design.

Pin through the top bib, through the three fabric layers.

Cut with pinking shears around the bottom and sides of the top bib.

Unpin the bottom and sides of top bib.

Flip to the back.

Start pinning all the way around the back, through all three layers, but don't go through the top bib.
Place one last pin on the top of the back piece, in between the two neck pieces of the top bib.


Start cutting the back around the top bib but above the top back pin.


The back should now be separate from the neck piece.


If the neck still fits over baby's head, go ahead and leave it as is. Un-pin the top bib.

Or, cut the shirt neck in the back if it is too small for baby's neck.

Line up fabric with back neck (I re-used a piece from the bottom that had a hem in it). Pin the two pieces of fabric together, so that neck piece is extended to desired length.

Trim any excess fabric from the back neck.


Choose a color of embroidery thread that will complement your design. Cut about 24 inches of thread and separate into two halves (three strands, or two if you're going to double up on the needle).

Pull the needle + thread through all three layers of fabric. Tie a knot on the back. Pull the needle through again and start embroidering on the front side.

Continue all the way around the bottom of the bib, from pin to pin. (I used a pattern called the "Rosette" from the Reader's Digest Needlepoint book.)

Then use the smaller needle and thread to sew together anywhere that you currently have a pin holding together fabric. Use small, close stitches.

Finally, take out any pins remaining. Connect the two neck pieces on the back with either snaps or Velcro.

Place on baby. Let the spitting up begin!

Thrifty Gifting: Gingerbread Ornaments

The recipe for this gingerbread salt dough is actually just Sweet Sugerbelle's Gingerbread Playdough without the veggie oil and using half the water.

I made enough tweaks to it that I decided to retype my version. Mix, press, bake and enjoy!



Gingerbread Ornaments

• Step 1: Mix 1 C flour + 1 C salt + 2t cream of tartar in a glazed ceramic bowl. Add 2-4t of each spice (as desired): cinnamon, alspice, ginger, and ground cloves. Pour in 1/2 C water + 1t vanilla into dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly combined. Do not overmix. Add a little water to your hands, and knead the ingredients until it becomes a smooth dough.

• Step 2: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Sprinkle a little flour onto a cookie sheet. Roll out a lump of dough onto the sheet until about 1/4" to 1/2" thick. (Cover with plastic wrap if waiting for your little one to get up from a nap!) Press each hand and foot separately into the dough. Leave about an inch or so between prints. Cut the prints into circles with a cookie cutter or large glass dipped in flour. Remove extra dough. Make a small hole near the top of each with a skewer or stick.

• Step 3: Bake the ornaments in oven for about 45 minutes, or until they begin to dry on one side. Be careful that they do not puff up! Cool slightly and carefully slide a spatula underneath to separate ornaments from the cookie sheet (or you could have originally used parchment paper). Flip ornaments over and bake again on other side for about 45 minutes. Let cool and dry on a kitchen towel for a few days if they are still not cured.

• Step 4: String a piece of yarn through the hole in each ornament. Hang and enjoy!

DIY Baby Girl (and Mama) Gift List

(Image above from Ohdeedoh here.)

Here's my list of high quality DIY gifts for the wee ones (and something for Mama or Daddy). Most are from Etsy, although the first is available on Amazon. Not only do they support indie crafters, but they also give that handmade thrill for (mostly) very little effort.

Mobile Art: Papers, Designs, and Instructions for Making Twenty Stunning Mobiles (Crafts) by Chronicle Books Staff for $14.56.

We actually already bought this book and are excited to crank out some mobiles for Amanda over break.

Toy Kit Personalized Fleece Rattle for $14 + $2 S&H. (Silver Spoon)

Toy Kit Baby Rattle Mushroom for $5 + $1.25 S&H.

These are both soft options for learning how to play and make noise.

DIY Kit, Organic Reversible Baby Shoes, Orchid Wildflowers for $16 + $2.50 S&H.

PDF Sewing Pattern Kimono Baby Shoes 6 Sizes DIY for $4.50. (Just pattern, no materials)

I seem drawn to baby shoes, even though I know that they're ridiculous at this age. But they're so cute!

Sock Monkey Kit - Pink Strips for $20 + $12 S&H.

Sock Monkey Pattern Booklet Only $6 + $4 S&H. (Just pattern, no materials)

These sock monkeys make me so nostalgic, but they're much cuter than the old-fashioned variety. Plus, I love that she sells the book separately if you already have the socks.

Gray Skies PDF Quilt Pattern $9.50. (Just pattern, no materials)

Please make this quilt, somebody, so that we can all see how gorgeous it is.

Apples and Pears Reversible Pinafore DIY Kit - Learn to Sew for $13.99 + $3.50.

This seller needs to come back from vacay so that I can buy this.

Scandi Style Screen Printed Retro 'Tilda' Rag Doll Kit by Jane Foster for $18 + $4 S&H.

There are many things I love about this design, not in the least its orangeness.

Vintage Collection Table Runner Kit in YELLOW for $13 + $1.25.

Love the retro Cathrine Holm vibe. I will so be drinking my tea (or coffee) with this.

DIY Kit Embroidered Necklace for $23 + $3.50.

That one is reserved, but I'm sure a quick convo with the seller would get you your own.

So, this is the end of the round-up. I'll be keeping busy with several projects I've been meaning to finish over break.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Birthday Suit

Not what you're thinking: I used my minimal sewing skills to make Amanda's cow suit for my birthday party in December. The tail, horns and patches are all made from white felt, sewn with big stitches to a brown velour jacket from Old Navy. Cost: $0 (although I think originally the felt square was $0.25 and the jacket was $10-ish).

The theme is cowgirl sing-a-long, so of course this cowgirl needed her cow. And Sammy doesn't do costumes.

Loose Ends

Remember from waaaay back in January when I was crocheting a baby blanket for the 2WW? Yep, still working on that. Normally these puppies take, oh about two weeks but not if you take a 5 month hiatus to grow a baby.

Other loose ends to tidy up are: moulding needs to be stapled up and painted in the nursery, I need to show you my plans for organization and storage, I'm still removing the old Velcro from Bum Genius cloth diapers that we're having updated, and we've got to get rid of a lot of manky boxes that are taking up room in the guest bedroom.

Tutorial: How to Make Fabric Wall Decals

(Create a template - I used cheap-o wrapping paper from Target - for your shape. Trace around it onto the fusible webbing with a pencil. Weigh down paper and webbing so the layers don't slide around!)
(Cut out shape on fusible webbing. Remove sticky side - the side that will be more difficult to remove - and place webbing on wrong side of fabric. Smooth out bubbles.)
(Cut away extra fabric.)
(Find a location on the wall where you want to stick the decal. Level one side with a piece of painting tape.)
(Remove other side of webbing, and position decal on wall. Adjust so that it aligns with leveled tape. When ready to more permanently install, iron over fabric on low.)


The original tutorial for this was written by blogger Sewing for Scarlett. I adapted it so that I could make more clouds, as inspired by this post on Ohdeedoh.

Nursery Inspiration: More Cloud Fun for the Meteorologically Inclined

Ohdeedoh is my favorite resource for finding nursery inspiration. Here are some of the results of searching "cloud nursery."

A round-up of raining mobiles on sale by Etsy crafters (I particularly like this plush version by lepetitpapillion.)

A pattern for sale on knitting your own raining mobile ($5) by Mochimochi.

An indoor cloud-making activity that involves the little ones on Ohdeedoh.

A tutorial on faux sheepskin cloud rugs by blogger LifeFlix.

A tutorial for gorgeous fabric poms (these could be cloud-like, right?) by OnceWed.

A modern cloud shelf for sale by RoomMates ($30.49).

A simple painted rolling shade by blogger CupofJoe and a tutorial on how to paint or decorate a rolling shade by Yahoo.

Wordle word cloud nursery art via Flickr.

Tutorial: How to Paint Clouds (or Anything)

(Draw your stencil on kraft paper and place where you like on the wall. Outline it in blue tape.)
(Level blue tape and bottom of stencil.)
(Take off stencil and fill in taped outline with paint. Feather the sides to avoid hard edges.)
(Let paint dry for about an hour, or to the touch. Then re-tape stencil on top. Paint over edges carefully with original wall color.)
(Remove stencil. Fill in any patchy spots, then let dry and sand any hard edges that stand out.)

Now repeat about a ka-zillion times.