As I have mentioned before, I have been sewing. I'm still learning the best techniques for different things, but overall I think I'm doing a great job. I hadn't sat down behind a sewing machine since Freshman year of high school. I just used my Singer Sewing Guide from my new handy dandy sewing machine, added in a lot of common sense and trial & error, and here is the result. Granted, this is an overly easy project, but I was totally happy with the result.
I found the Baby/Toddler Leg Warmer tutorial on Prudent Baby back in the winter. The ladies over there are some of my favorite tutorial posters that I have found and there are TONS of neat things to make. I personally think they are awesome for sharing all these cool DIY projects.
Also, I need to note that these are not just a ridiculous fashion accessory for babies. I mean, I admit they are darling, as you'll see in the last photos......but they are for function at my home. I like to put them on Magdalen before a nap in the spring/summer when the air conditioner is on full blast. Babies don't pull sheets/blankets up over themselves while sleeping yet, and I feel bad putting her to bed in a cold room wearing just a bubble romper/dress. Seriously. And, I wish I had made them before she started walking. They are perfect on girls (AND boys) when they are crawling in the warm months. Both of my kids only crawled during the colder months when they were wearing pants, so it wasn't a problem, but I can only imagine how red & carpet burned those little knees can get. Not to mention how much faster diaper changes are with these, as opposed to pants!
The project shown above consists of 2 pairs of leg warmers AND a cute fabric flower hair clip. I just tied them both together with the pink/green polka dot ribbon and then clipped the hair clip to the ribbon. Perfect gift for a little friend turning one! This size fit Magdalen when she was just turning one, and now that she's 18 months old I can still fit the same size on her perfectly chubby legs. (You know, the kind of little legs you just want to chew on?)
The ladies over at Prudent Baby love to see what other people are creating with their tutorials, so I submitted my pictures of these and also a swaddling blanket I made with their directions.
On their Prudent Project Round-Up post for April 18th, 2010, they included my photo of my legwarmers!!! I was so excited! You can click HERE to see it. :)
I definitely recommend trying out their projects! They are so descriptive and give amazing photos to show their process.
Last, but not least, here are a couple of photos of Miss Magdalen wearing her made-by-mama baby leg warmers this spring. Precious girl!!
Da plane! Da plane!
Sorry, I couldn't resist. That's all I can think of when I look at the picture above. Maybe I'm the only that gets that. She was actually trying to communicate that she felt & saw the sunshine! This was back in March when we hadn't seen the sun in MONTHS. But how stinking adorable is she here?!
I'm happy and excited to be making more of these leg warmers for a Silent Auction coming up. They will be raising money for a local church that needs help due to the flooding here in Nashville and surrounding areas. I've been able to help in so many subtle ways, and thankful that I'm able to help, yet again. (Another post on the flooding - including personal photos - will follow soon.)