Fun things to do with your baby - Part 2: Fabric play

It can be difficult with a small baby to find fun things to do with them to fill the many hours of the day that you now suddenly have to occupy, My baby is now just over 6 month old and I feel I am well versed with providing entertaining activities for him and think you might be interested to find out what they are if you are ever stuck for ideas. This is the second in a series of posts like this with different ideas for fun things to do with your baby, often each activity could only last a few minutes, or sometimes they might be much longer activities.

This time I am looking at fabric play.  Exploring the qualities of fabric can be both a stimulating and a learning experience for young babies, they can learn about the different textures and weights of fabric as well as it's flexibility or stiffness and a number of other qualities.  I bought a selection of different fabrics with a variety of textures for Orren to play with, he likes to scratch on them as well as put them in his mouth and run his tongue (which is super sensitive right now) over in order to have a really good exploration of it's qualities. I also made some into little comforter cloths which are a more manageable size for taking out with us or for playing with in locations where letting the fabric drag on the floor is not appropriate, like in the garden.  (I will do a tutorial on how to make on at some point!)

I also play with the fabrics with Orren to make the play experience more interactive.  I gently stroke different textures across his face, (he especially likes the net), and I wave the silky fabric over him so he can experience the way it changes in the light, as well as the feel against his skin.  The fabric also gives an opportunity or playing peek-a-boo games.

Here is Orren enjoying the comforter I made for him (is that what they are called?)

And here is Orren with his friends enjoying the net: 

Fabrics that are fun and interesting for babies to explore include:

Net, satin, corduroy, velvet, leatherette, hessian, chenniel and faux fur.

Be sure to hem and fabric you give to babies and make sure any of the pile won't come lose because it could be a chocking hazard. 

Can you think of any other fabrics to add to this list?   What other games could you play with fabrics?

Neckerchief/Bandanna bib tutorial

Have you seen there sweet bibs you can get now that look like neckerchiefs?!  I think they are really cute and much more fun that an ordinary bib, it makes the bib part of the baby's outfit rather than just covering it up for the sake of dribble protection.
I was on the verge of buying some when I suddenly remembered that I can sew, and have half a brain #9the other half went out with the placenta!) and therefore could make some myself.
What's more I though I could share it with you so you can have a go at making one for your baby if you have one, or as a gift for a friend with a new addition.
It is dead easy to make one of these bibs, as I am sure you know by now I don't really do measuring, so haven't included any, all lengths are by rack of eye! (Or by what I figure will fit round a baby's neck.)

For this tutorial you need two types of fabric, I used a flannelette type cotton which I figured would be fairly absorbent, then a patterned jersey type fabric for the front.

Begin buy making a paper template for the shape you want, I loosely wrapped mine around my baby's neck to get an idea of the size and included enough room for hemming.

Pin the template to the fabric then cut around it.  

Next pin the flannelette to the jersey and cut around it as before so you have two triangles of the same shape and size.

Keeping the fabric pinned together sew the two pieces together using a straight stitch.  Leave about 1 cm for hemming.  

Make sure you leave a small gap of about 3cm to turn your bib the right way round.  I left one of my corners open.  

Next trim off the excess from the edges so they are nice and neat:

Then turn the bib the right way round through the small hole you left at one end:

It should look like this now:

Now to finish off tuck in the un-hemmed edges on your open corner like this:

Then simply sew a straight line over this edge (you could do a chain stitch by hand if you so felt inclined, I am a bit lazy though and want to get it done quickly, so it was just a straight stitch for me.)

Now you need to add some velcro.  Cut a piece about 3 cm long and pin one piece to either side of your bib:

Sew them with a straight stitch and you are done!

Hope you are all having a great week, I am writing this tutorial in my garden because we finally have some sun in the UK!

Retro Wreath Tutorial

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a lovely week, welcome to some new followers this week, thanks for enjoying my blog and paying a visit.  It feels like it has been a really long week to me so far, it is going very slowly.  I am sure before I know it the week will be over, I guess I am just counting down the days till the Easter holidays!
Anyway, I promised ages ago that I would share a tutorial on how to make one of my wreaths like these:

Well I have finally gotten round to making another one, any remembered to photograph it along the way, (although it has taken me three days!) Here goes:

1. Gather together everything you need:

PVA glue,

polystyrene ring,

assorted fabric,

Assorted yarns and string,

buttons,

ric rac (or other ribbons and lace)

Scissors,

Pins,

Needle and thread,

2. Cut your fabric to a length that will go round the girth of the hoop with a little extra to spare, the width is up to you.  In this wreath I used 7 pieces of fabric in varying widths and patterns.

3. Iron a fold in one of the short ends of your fabric.

4. Sew a hem along the short end. (You don't need a sewing machine, but it is quicker):

5. Paste PVA glue directly onto your polystyrene ring the pull your fabric round it so that the hem is on the inside of the ring to the back. You will need to pull and stretch the fabric so it lies flat against the ring with no wrinkles.  Pin it into place along the hem.  (You will find that the hem is curved, this is fine)

6. Continue this process with all the fabric, leaving gaps in-between each piece.  Pin every bit and makes sure you always keep the hem in the inside to the back. 

7. Put PVA onto the ring in between the fabric and pin your yarn or string onto the ring.  Wrap the yarn or string round and round the ring until you have filled the gap.  You may find it easier to cut the yarn or string into smaller lengths, this is fine so long as you make sure every piece is pinned to the ring at the start and end:

8. Continue this process all the way round the ring till you have filled all the gaps with yarn or string:

9. Next you need to create four Suffolk Puffs for the flowers on your wreath.  To do this, use a template to cut a circle of fabric in a coordinating colour (I made one large white circle, two small white circles and on patterned small circle to layer on top of the large one).  I drew round a bowl as my large template and some tape for my three smaller circles.

10. Next, sew a running stitch round the edges of your circles and pull the ends to gather the fabric together and make the puff. Tie a knot in the thread to secure it:

11.  Repeat this process with the smaller circles.  

12. Now sew a button onto the centres of the puffs.  I like to have my puffs ruffly side up:

13. Next glue the three puffs onto the ring with a blog of PVA, pin in place until dry.

14. Leave your ring for a few hours, until the glue has dried and then remove all the pins.   Hang your wreath with a piece of raffia or other coordinating yarn.  Here is your finished ring:

I think you would need to set aside about two or three hours to make this wreath, not including drying time.  If you love this wreath but don't have the materials or time to make it yourself, then pop over to my shop and your can purchase this very ring for yourself.

If anyone has a go at making this wreath or something similar I would love to see it, so do drop me an email.  Plus let me know if yo think this is a good tutorial or how I can improve it.

Have a wonderful day.

Helen

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