Summer Baby Bonnet

After working on my sewing desk for a while now, I decided yesterday that I really needed a quick sewing project to get my creative juices flowing again – and blow the dust off my sewing machine. Our friends Mike and Krista have the most darling baby and I can’t help but be inspired to make little baby projects for her. On my list of things I would love to make: baby booties, bibs (check), blankets (check), burp cloths (check), door jammers (check) and the list goes on and on. Yesterday I made a Summer bonnet for her! And it was so easy I want to make one in a bunch of different fabrics.

I stumbled upon a tutorial for baby bonnets at the Purl Bee, one of my favorite blogs. The instructions are detailed and easy to follow and it was a great scrap-buster! Plus, you can make it to the size of your baby! Little Isabella is only 2 months old, so I made a 3-6m size that will (hopefully) last her all summer… but she’s growing fast!

I love the little dimples at the nape of the neck!

How adorable is this sunbonnet? I can’t get enough of it. I don’t have babies and the cat already gave me a nasty look when I showed it to him, but I want to make ten of them anyways.

A great idea? Making the inside fabric just as awesome as the outside fabric, because this bonnet is actually reversible. Only realized this after I made it!
This would also make a great shower gift - one for every season or every month of the first year (if you’re feeling ambitious or you’re a wiz with the machine).

I can’t wait to see little Isabella in this bonnet! I’ll post more pictures as I make more and maybe one of the baby if Mom and Dad allow!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Bridget XOXO

Sewing Cabinet: Part 1

Hi everybody! My latest project has been taking me forever, so please bare with me and my recent infrequent posting.

My dad loves to woodwork, which my Grandfather taught him as he grew up. My Dad became a mechanical engineer, but to this day still loves to build, fix and tinker. Recently he made me a beautiful sewing cabinet! Complete with swing open doors, built in storage and an expandable work surface, it even has adjustable shelves and drawers so I can move them around. This cabinet is perfect. He even left it unfinished so that I could do the finishing myself. Which is what I’ve been up to for the past month or so.

I sanded and stained the cabinet first, then coated it with three coats of semi-gloss polyurethane, sanding with fine-grit sandpaper in-between coats. Sanding all those little crevices and panels was a *bleep but it came out great. Luckily we don’t have dining furniture yet so I commandeered the dining room for this whole project. Don’t mind the still-packed boxes in the back of the room. It’s a work in progress.

Supplies I used:
- Golden Oak Minwax oil-based stain
- Minwax clear semi-gloss polyurethane (three coats for extra durability)
- 220 grit sandpaper for smoothest finish between coats of poly
- Mask to help protect from fumes and dust from sanding…. also used a wet towel to wipe cabinet down after I sanded each side each time… kept the dust level down.

Before:

After Staining:

Finished (with the exception of the forgotten drawers… woops):

Much better photos to come in Sewing Cabinet: Part 2. Once everything is complete and I can put the cabinet in its place I’ll be able to get better photos!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers!
Bridget, XOXO