During the quarantine or “corn-teen” as Marylanders say, you can guess that there has been a spike in baby production. After all, you can only catch up and binge-watch so many shows during confinement. At my place of employment, we have had a set of twins plus two other babies that have arrived, and a few are still waiting to make their debut!
Since I enjoy making things and giving them away, I started sewing gifts for the newest members of this great big world. I found a simple burp cloth pattern; it is quick and easy. I had a difficult time choosing baby-themed flannel to piece these together. There are so many cute options out there. It is super easy to spend a small fortune when looking for just the right fabric. I love when I know what people are expecting. That opens the options versus staying gender-neutral. Lucky for me, grays seem to be the hit right now, and that has made my decision-making a little easier. I typically choose a patterned fabric for the top and a solid fabric for the backs. I also made sure to attach my super adorable personalized labels so the receiver remembers that they were loving made by me. I hit the jackpot at Joann Fabric with a $2.99/yard sale on flannel, plus 20% off your total purchase, so these projects were easy on the purse strings.
Next on the list for the babies, receiving/baby blankets! Simply Stashing Fabrics and Quilts, my favorite local quilt shop, had a super easy self-binding baby blanket pattern. The pattern is from Missouri Star Quilt Company. Fabric choices were flannel again and coordinated printed for front and more solid for the back. Of course, I made a practice blankie for the girls, aka Pearl and Maggie (our very spoiled sphynx cats). Who better to try a new flannel blanket on than the blankie queens! We have blankets in every room of the house for them. They love to be super cozy and certainly deserve nothing but the best! And if they are sphynx approved, you know they will undoubtedly be baby approved! My favorite part of sewing these has got to be the ability to use those decorative stitches on my sewing machine. The only decorative stitch I used before was the zigzag for applique. I have to admit it was pretty fun!
The last items I decided to make were reversible bibs. These are so easy and quick to make. I found a free template online at Craftaholics Anonymous. I chose not to use flannel for both sides; instead, I either used terry cloth (think towel material) or chenille for one side. I purchased the terry cloth at Joann Fabric, and I used a 40% off coupon for this one. I can’t remember the chenille’s cost. I bought it a while ago at fabric.com. But I do know I am budget-conscious, so it must have been a reasonable price. For the bibs, I also needed to buy a snap applicator. Yep, I said it, a snap applicator. I am now an official snapper! LOL! I found this online on Amazon. It was a kit and came with two hundred snap sets, so I should be good with this for a while!
I cannot stress the simplicity and affordability of these baby gifts. I honestly do enjoy making them and giving them away. I do not know many people, especially mom-to-be recipients that don’t appreciate a handmade gift. I love seeing the smiles on their faces it warms my heart.
You can really see the decorative stitching here. 
Burp cloths 
More burp cloths 
I figured out to “origami” a baby blanket & six burp cloths inside of a baby blanket 
Flannel choices! 
Baby shark bib sample 
Back of bib sample 
Stack of cut bibs, ready to be sewn! 
More fabric options 
Stack of burp cloths & blankets 
Label on back of blanket 
Back of burp cloth
Purrfectly Imperfect 