Mrs. Greedy-Pants Makes A Gift (Two Actually)

9.16.2013

Call me greedy if you must, but the truth is that I'm generally a pretty selfish sewer.  Ninety-nine percent of the things that I make are either for myself or my children (with a little something sewn for someone else every once in while).  A few years ago, though, things were quite different and I often knit and sewed gifts for other people but the fact is that people who don't make things by hand rarely appreciate the time and effort that goes into handmade gifts.  At one point I was a bit bitter about this but I've come to realize that there are many, many things that I have no appreciation for or any idea of how much time and effort it takes to create.  So to each their own, I say.


So given that I'm generally Mrs. Greedy-Pants when it comes to sewing, I was as surprised as anybody to find myself sewing not one, but TWO baby gifts for co-workers who are currently expecting new little ones.  For the baby-boy-to-be I decided to make a Baby In The Hood jacket from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings and I settled on a 9-12 months size hoping that the coat will fit the little guy next fall.  The only modifications I made in making the jacket were to make the elastic in the hood a tad bit shorter so that it would be more fitted around the face and I added a little coat hook for easy hanging.  As you can imagine, those were both incredibly difficult modifications to make (that's a joke, people).


It must have been kind of entertaining to watch me at the fabric store as I tried to figure out what a "boy" fabric is.  On the one hand I didn't want anything too traditionally "boy" but on the other hand I know that I'm far more accepting of gender-neutral fabrics than other people and I didn't want to make something only to have them deem it too "girlish."  I also knew, however, that the mom is a lover of bright colors, so in the end I settled on this elephant fabric and some bright orange polka dots for contrast.


I decided to line the inside with flannel to make the coat a little more seasonally appropriate and once again I cut up an old baby blanket for the flannel (which coincidentally also has elephants all over it).  It's almost like it was meant to be.


For the baby-girl-to-be I cut into my Briar Rose jersey and made an Oliver and S Hopscotch Knit Dress (there are few things better than rediscovering a new love for an old pattern).  When both my girls were infants they had a little strawberry outfit that I loved to have them wear so little baby strawberry clothes hold a special place in my heart.  Although I guess this dress isn't particularly infant-ish since it's made to fit a 6-12 month old.  It's still absolutely precious though.  Man, I love this fabric.

12 comments:

  1. Very cute pressies, hope they're appreciated!

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  2. I've never made a jacket but I'm getting the itch after seeing all these fall jacket projects pop up--you just added to the itch! I think baby clothes are a safe bet for handmade gifts, but yep, I've also learned that it's best to gift handmade items to other creative-type-people.

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  3. Very pretty sewing. Hope they are treasured

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  4. i would consider getting pregnant if you would make me a gift as awesome as these! (that is a total lie)

    love looove them!!!

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  5. Look at you gettin' all generous! These are both super cute and your search for boy fabric internal discussion totally cracked me up. It is a huge challenge, boy fabric. I feel like I end up repurposing men's clothes far more than I actually buy fabric when I sew for O.

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  6. That has to be the sweetest Hopscotch dress I have ever seen!

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  7. Both such lovely and generous presents!
    Your thought process over choosing the boy fabric made me giggle too :-)

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  8. These gifts are so lovely! I would think that any expectant mother would be thrilled to receive a gift of this quality and obvious love (not to mention originality!). I too have been underwhelmed by the responses to my handmade gifts and sometimes wonder if people realize that it would have been MUCH easier to head to the nearest Baby Gap and pick something up, but that instead time, love and labor were invested in the gift I did chose to make. OK - mini rant over, just saying I feel your pain:) These gifts will be much loved, I'm sure!!

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  9. Great presents! I've had the same discovery about handmade gifts, there are a few people who are excited when I've sewn something special but there are others where you can see the implied eyeroll. off to go dig through my fabric stash since I am now inspired to make a jacket for my little guy!

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  10. you did a great job choosing the jacket fabrics. I like baby clothes that are barely to one side of the gender-dressing line rather than off the scale.
    Lovely gifts and if you feel good about having made them and gifting them then that's all that really matters! I know I'd be pleased with myself if I gifted either of these lovely things.

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  11. Your little boy jacket is SO cute! I was trying to figure out if you had some kind of "signature" tabs on it, when I realized you even have super cute tape :)

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  12. i thought i had commented on this! i love the title of this post so much! i love what you made! what lucky recipients! and i'm inspired to check out that hopscotch pattern again! (now that's a lot of exclamation points!)

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