baby clothes
Meet the Designer: Annie Parsons of anniedrawsthings
Pink Lemonade by anniedrawsthings
This week we’re visiting Southwest Virginia to meet illustrator and designer Annie Parsons, known as anniedrawsthings in the Spoonflower Marketplace. Inspired by the farmland and mountains of her quaint town, Annie describes the region as, “full of art and history, and home to a vibrant bluegrass scene.” She goes on to say, “my home also served as the inspiration for my newest collection, Fine Little Country.” And, if the name Annie Parsons sounds familiar, it may be that you’ve had a glimpse of her whimsical watercolors in our Party Pennants DIY tutorial. You’ll want to bookmark that one for later. Right now, we encourage you to settle in and spend some time getting to know our dear friend, Annie. You’ll be glad you did!
My day starts with…
“YouTube videos of the ocean, painting without a plan, and as much quiet as possible.”
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Sunday Sew: The Footie Leggings Pattern from Brindille & Twig
Happy Sunday, friends! Today we’re sharing a very special baby edition of Sunday Sew. Spoonflower crew member Theresa stops by to share her experience stitching up one of our favorite patterns for babes, The Footie Leggings from Brindille & Twig. Stay and sew along, won’t you?
photo courtesy of Brindille & Twig
Come November (or maybe October? We all know babies have their own schedule!) I will become the proud aunt of my second nephew. I was overjoyed and honored when my sister asked my mom and I to work together on making an outfit for little Freddie to come home from the hospital in. Baby’s first outfit is very important! This is his chance to set the tone for a lifetime of many dashing sartorial choices. I was thrilled that my sister chose this pattern from Brindille & Twig, because I love all of their patterns and was privy to their reputable pattern making credentials (because believe me folks, there are some ill-written sewing patterns out there in internet-land!).
After much consultation, pinning, and favoriting, my sister decided on Sun, Moon, Stars in Parisian Blue designed by Andrea Lauren. So I ordered up a yard on cuddly soft Organic Cotton Knit, and washed the fabric with gentle detergent and cold water as soon as it finished printing and I could take it home.
Brindille & Twig patterns are very well laid out and easy to follow. What I love most about sewing for babies is that cutting & taping their sewing patterns is a breeze! That part took no time at all. I won’t go into all the instructions and steps here for how to make the leggings. If you want to make these and need instructions, you can purchase the pattern from the Brindille & Twig site for a very reasonable price.
Two leg pieces, two pieces for the top of the footies, and two pieces for the soles.
I just adore the little teeny tiny footies!
I also plan to make a few knit baby hats, and I’d love to stitch up another pair of these leggings with contrasting soles. It’s official, this baby is definitely going to be rocking a heavily handmade wardrobe if this aunt has anything to do with it! Have you had experience sewing with this pattern or do you have a favorite baby legging pattern that you swear by? If so, please share!
Have a lovely rest of your weekend, and happy stitching!
How to Sew an Easy Baby Jacket
Fat Quarter February continues! Stay tuned all month long for creative projects that use just a quarter yard of fabric. This week Emma Jeffery, from the blog Hello Beautiful, shares a tutorial for sewing up a sweet and simple baby jacket.
Jackets are a great item for newborns because you get to avoid the awkward, over-the-head dressing techniques of tops and tees and this one uses a Velcro fastening which is great when speed is of the essence.
To make this raglan sleeve jacket, you’ll need:
- Raglan sleeve jacket pattern
- one package of Ric Rac (I used medium size)
- a small amount of Velcro
The pattern will squeeze neatly onto one fat quarter of Spoonflower’s Basic Cotton Ultra. I used some small-scale prints by Heather Dutton. You will have three pattern pieces. Begin by pinning the raglan sleeves to the shirt back and sewing.
Press the seam allowance towards the back piece and topstitch down.
Next, pin the two shirt front pieces to the sleeves and sew. Press the seam allowances towards the front and again, topstitch down.
Hem the sleeves, shirt back and shirt fronts by turning the raw edge ¼” to the wrong side, pressing and turning another ¼” hiding all raw edges. Stitch the hems.
To make a neat finish along the shirt fronts and neckline, I like to use ric rac. It easily curves around the neck and adds a sweet little detail to the finished jacket. You could also use a thin bias tape, but I find it unwieldy on small projects like this. Start by pinning the ric rac to the right side of the shirt, starting at one bottom edge of a shirt front, up around the neck and down to the bottom of the second shirt front. Turn the ends of the ric rac under to make a neat finish. Sew the ric rac to the shirt. You are aiming to sew a straight line through the middle of the ric rac.
Next, fold the ric rac towards the wrong side of the shirt and pin down. Sew the ric rac in place from the front.
Fold the shirt together with right sides facing. Sew the back and shirt fronts together at the side seams and underarms. Make sure to match the hems at the sleeves and bottom edge. Trim and finish the seam allowance with a zig zag stitch or serger.
Complete the shirt by sewing two Velcro tabs to the front, making sure to put the scratchy side of the Velcro away from the baby’s skin and you are done!
Note: With two fat quarters, you could mix around the fabrics to make contrasting sleeves on your jacket like I did with the pink and gray versions in the first photo.
About Our Guest Blogger
Hi! I’m Emma, and as well as working on the Fiskars Design Team, I blog over at hellobeautifulblog.blogspot.com/
I’m an obsessive sewer, often leaping into projects with more enthusiasm than talent, more bravado than skill and more good luck than anything else. This technique has worked well for me so far and more often than not, I make things I love, even if they’re not absolutely perfect. And though I’m no expert, I have a passion for fabric, color and design. I know what I like and what I like makes me smile.
Knit Baby and Toddler Leggings | Video Tutorial
What’s adorable, uses only a quarter yard of fabric, and sews up in under an hour? These knit baby leggings! We can’t get over them. These things are as easy to make as they are cute (and they’re really cute). Join Spoonflower friend and contributor Anda Corrie as she walks you through these DIY knit leggings, available in sizes 6 months – 5T, and bookmark this page–you’ll definitely want to make more than one pair. More of an audio/visual learner? Skip down to the bottom of the post and check out the step-by-step video with Spoonflower team member Meredith. Let’s get started!
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