Totes for Tots – and Other Small Things

Sometimes one’s fashion sewing has to take a little break to make way for other sewing projects – of the less complicated sort. Much of my sewing time the last couple of weeks has been dedicated towards getting some baby gifts ready – and making favors for the guests of a baby shower which I hosted just last weekend.

I had seen a Noodlehead blog post for a very cute “baby basket” months ago and had even purchased the pattern (a download, very reasonably priced and, even better, instantly delivered). I thought it might be a cute way to package gifts for all the very deserving moms of my acquaintance and their babies who seem to be arriving quite frequently. What I really like about this pattern is that the basket is the perfect size for storing diapers and other baby supplies, and then it becomes the perfect size for toddlers to load up with their treasures as they become mobile – as in walking!

A picture of one of the Noodlehead baskets in the pattern instructions.

I found myself inspired by some very cute home decorator fabric which I found on Fabric.com – heavy enough to give these baskets some heft, but still soft and manageable.

The pattern calls for fusible interfacing – which I never use for my fashion sewing – but which works beautifully in this application – specifically in the body of the bag and in the divider inside. The directions are quite clear, but I found that using a walking foot made the sewing much easier and more precise, especially on the handles and the top-stitching around the top of the bag.

Here are the four bags I have made – so far…

Looking inside of the totes.

The front pocket is optional, but I think it adds a useful touch!

Of course, I made one for my daughter/granddaughter, and I gave them their choice (although I knew the yellow bag would be the one!) I made the pink one for the lovely and talented honoree of the Shower, and I made one of the gray ones for the new baby daughter of another dear young couple adding to their growing family. I am keeping the other gray one in reserve in case I need a quick gift sometime, and I know I’ll be making more of these fun and useful baskets in the months to come.

Once I had finished the baskets, I turned my attention to making favors for the guests of the Baby Shower for dear Jess. I am kind of partial to making potholders, as I know that everyone uses them, even if just for a microwave. So I designed one in the shape of a baby block, and decided to put a big question mark (?) in the field where a letter or shape would be.

One example of the question mark.

And the finished potholders…

Why a question mark? Easy to appliqué, for one thing, when many need to be made! But it also plays into the age-old question “What’s for dinner?” and, on a more baby-specific level, “Who is this little creature – and what do I do now?” (At least for me, I remember thinking those questions when I had new little ones…)  I needed to make over twenty of these potholders, and I wanted each one to be a little different, as shown here:

Truly, I can be away from fashion sewing for just so long – and I was ever so anxious to get back in my sewing room yesterday to continue work on my current linen “dress–in-process”. The biggest question mark I have facing me right now is: “How long will this one take to complete?” Oh, but how enjoyable the process is!