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I am thrilled to share with you the series of guest posts appearing here in the coming weeks, as I take a little extra time to settle in and soak up my family and the new life among us. "Soulful Mothering" is a series of written words, photographs, craft projects and thoughts on mothering from some of my favorite ladies on the web. I'm so grateful to each of them for sharing their time with me, and their hearts and words in this space. I have been inspired by the gifts they've shared, and I'm sure you will too. Enjoy!
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I am so honored to be invited as a guest blogger here. Visiting this lovely, special place is the way I often start my day. Our three daughters are grown now, but I so enjoy the sentimental rewind as I read Amanda's heartfelt words and observe the Soule family becoming. For me, mothering is absolutely the most defining, delightful and important adventure of my life. That includes all the moments that inspired something handmade. Nothing like a baby for inspiration!
To welcome the newest Soule baby, I designed this bib project to stitch and share. It began with a simple sketch of a baby bird on a bending branch. Just when I thought it was finished and ready to transfer, I imagined that (Soule)mama bird swooping in at the edge. I love everything that she brings to the design - even the wiggly little worm!
How-To:
1. Click
here to download the PDF pattern from my blog. Print it out on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of copy paper. You could also enlarge it further for a larger size. This size makes a bib for a newborn to 3 months. I think it would be mighty sweet on a tote, sling or onesie too!
2. Add 3/8" seam allowance all around and transfer the pattern shape to a piece of prewashed linen or sturdy cotton. If you use muslin or something similar (a repurposed tea towel works beautifully), cut two pieces for the front so you can embroider through both at once. That keeps the backwork from showing through later.
3. Transfer the stitch design, allowing the branch and mama bird outlines to extend beyond the seam lines. Embroider the design using a small back stitch. I used perle cotton size 8 and just three colors, bittersweet orange, cocoa brown and leafy green.
4. For a rickrack border, cut a yard of rickrack and baste it to the stitching line all around the outside. When you stitch the front to the back and turn it, the rickrack will peek through around the edge. The basting also gives you a handy stitch map on the wrong side of the bib front for step 5.
5. Cut a second bib shape from a prewashed and pressed cotton. Right sides together, pin (or baste) and stitch all around the outside and inside neck too. Leave the CUT line at A/B open. Clip the curves, trim the seam allowance to 1/4" and turn right side out through opening B. It's a bit tricky to get the bulk of the bib strap turned through that little opening. Trimming the seam allowance closely helps with that.
Edit: For easier turning, try this: When stitching right sides together, leave a 3 inch opening in the bib on the right side (above mama). Trim the seam allowances and turn through the side opening. Press and blindstitch closed behind the rick rack trim.
6. Press and then fold the A/B opening edges neatly to the inside. Cut 2 soft ribbon or seam binding ties about 6" long. Tuck them into the A/B openings and stitch each securely. Moving the ties to the side of the bib instead of the back should make for an easier on/off. You could certainly adapt the design to keep them at the back or add fabric tabs for snaps or velcro closure.
I spend lots of time stitching - so relaxing - and had a good time making this. If you give it a try, I'd love to see what you make. Hurray for babies .... and their most amazing mothers!
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Charlotte Lyons designs and makes things. Mostly self-taught, she developed her own techniques for painting, needlework, felting, mixed media and a number of other crafts. Still inspired by the humble designs of traditional art and craft and the inventive use of repurposed materials, Charlotte’s work is infused with the vintage charm of handmade keepsakes. Over the years, her work has been featured in her books (the Home Companion series, Mothers and Daughters at Home, Between Friends) and also in magazines such as Country Living, Victoria, Romantic Homes, Woman’s Day, Better Homes and Gardens, Where Women Create, Cloth-Paper-Scissors, Somerset Life, Green Craft and Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion. Currently, she designs for licensing, sells on Etsy and teaches classes nationally.Born and educated in St. Louis, Charlotte raised three artistic daughters in a bright pink house in Chicago. Now, she and her husband live in the lower Hudson River Valley of New York, happy to have their girls (and their guys) nearby.See more of her work at charlottelyons.com and on her crafty blog,www.housewrenstudio.typepad.com.
