Latest donations - super cute diaper and kimono sets

Tomorrow is a training session for new volunteers for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, the organization that I am affiliated with as an infant bereavement photographer.  I really wanted to have a stack of outfits on hand for the new photographers so that they'd feel a little more prepared to go do their first sessions.  I have been utterly amazed and humbled by the donations that have come pouring in, the countless hours of work and materials that have gone in to making this possible.  My sewing day regulars really stepped things up a notch and we had an insanely productive session earlier this month, plus several brought me gowns they'd finished on their own.  I also received some large donations from other groups of women that have been working on things for a few months, and the timing couldn't have been better.  I cannot say thank you enough - words are inadequate for how my heart feels.  Every time I look at the daunting needs and feel like I just can't do it all, my little legion of guardian angels gets busy and nudges all sorts of helpers into action.  I am blessed!

In no particular order, because Blogger is being frustrating this morning, here you go:

These darling little double sided flannel kimonos were made by a local women's group.  I don't have a pattern for them yet, but will work on it, because they're a great size for 20-23 week babies.  The hat and diaper makes an absolutely adorable set!  They have just the ties on the outside that you can see.

I have been mulling over various fabrics, and we've actually been experimenting with quite a variety on our larger gowns lately, and I am inclined to look for a thin microfleece to try this pattern on.  I did a photosession recently for a baby that had weepy skin (a very common problem with angels), and the hospital had a fleece outfit for him that contained the moisture very well.  Regular thickness fleece would probably be too bulky for the tiny size gowns, hence the microfleece idea.  A simple decorative blanket stitch around the edges would finish it off nicely.

 In addition to the kimono sets, this group made DOZENS of tiny diapers, hats, blankets, and also some of the keepsake boxes used by SHARE parent for hand and foot molds.

 Absolutely wonderful stuff!  It was clear that much careful effort and time went in to this, and I am grateful!

 My March sewing day worker bees.  We have a diverse and very fun group of regulars.  My abs hurt from laughing so much by the end of the day.  Good stuff :).

 We had a huge epiphany this month.  In the past we have used little clear snaps as the closure device on the back of the gowns.  They are a pain in the rear to manage - glue in place first, then hand stitch.  I have old lady eyes that have a terrible time seeing the teeny little hole in the middle of a clear snap to stitch, and it has been very labor intensive.  In the past, I tried sticky dot velcro, but it gummed up my sewing machine to stitch them in place.  I snagged a package of regular non-sticky velcro a few days before sewing day, and we cut each strip in half vertically, then 3/4" long pieces of that.  Two velcro fasteners on the back of each is about 10,000 times easier and faster than dealing with the snaps.  Why didn't I think of this earlier?  I don't know.  I'm a creature of habit.  Like I said before, we've been experimenting with different fabrics as well.  Sateen type fabrics can be tricky, and one in particular we were working with was very difficult to iron.  It looks fantastic at the end, but was time consuming to get it to that point.  A drapy polyester fabric proved to need serging around the edges to keep the fraying in check, but was otherwise not bad to work with and the final product was very nice and doesn't wrinkle.  The basic message is to feel free to experiment.  Just choose fabrics that are not see through or stiff/scratchy.

This isn't even all of the gowns I have at the moment!  I have another dozen that need a final pressing, but I was running out of space in the closet, so I'll reserve them for after Saturday.  AMAZING!

If you're not aware already, the pattern and step by step illustrated instructions for this basic tea towel gown is available on the main Angel Babies site.  Click on the "Patterns" tab.  I need to go in and modify a few things on the instructions, but am waiting for my webmaster to get home from his church mission in a few weeks because I invariably mess things up when I try to do it on my own :).

This absolutely gorgeous gown was hand smocked by a woman in Wyoming.  Every single person I showed it to immediately oooooohed and aaaahed.  Beautiful craftsmanship.  I am waiting for the perfect angel to give it to.

 These darling little kimonos were made by the daughter of the talented smocker.  The single button size is the original pattern size, and then she experimented with some other lengths.  I appreciate having different lengths on hand for different sizes of babies.  This pattern has a very clever little hole built in to it for the sash to pull through.

 Last but not least, a couple of very talented ladies up in Idaho are on their way to me as I type this with this amazing collection of Diaper Shirt outfits.  I nearly died of cuteness overload when I saw the wonderful details in the hats, and the coordinating sets.  Great stuff!

 

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!  The families that receive carefully handmade items are so grateful.  Keep up the good work!  (And I will try to keep up with posting things more often here - I have a couple pattern posts I need to put up.)

New crochet pattern links

 Some new cute stuff arrived today, and I love the uniqueness!  The yellow and pink ruffley style hats on the top have a ribbon to cinch it down, allowing adjustability and greater ease in putting the hat on. The small blue stripe hat was actually made with elastic yarn, which makes it nicely stretchy.  The tiny little hat with pigtails is the size for a 16 weeker...very, very tiny.  I have indeed photographed a couple of babies that small.  My only comment on that pattern is that babies of that size are particularly fragile and difficult to put the hats on, so stretchiness is even more important.  The headband on the top row has a unique stitch to the band portion that makes it very stretchy, and once my friend Wendy gets the instructions written up, I will post them.  The fuzzy all white hat on the right was made on a round loom.  A lot of loomed hats don't work very well because they're gappy and not stretchy, but with the right kind of yarn and careful technique (like the one shown), a very cute and useable hat can be turned out.

The remaining four hats came from patterns found on this page.  Thank you, Wendy, for finding this great resource!  So many great patterns in one place, and many of them with multiple sizes for babies of different gestation.

 I fell in love with this little owl hat!  So unique, and so cute!  Click here to find the pattern.

 This hat is super cute as well, though according to Wendy, far more time consuming than the other patterns.  I love the stripe and curly boinger thingy details.  Click here for the pattern.

And this hat?  Adorable!!!  I can't wait to use it along with a little crocheted sleeper sack.  Absolutely precious!  Click here for the link.

Other patterns on the page that look particularly useful include these cute little shell pattern hats, this layette set, and this "Fly Boy" hat.  I have photographed three little angels with a condition called anencephaly, in which the brain and the upper portion of the skull do not develop.  A hat that ties around the chin is really important for these babies.  For the girl that I photographed, we were able to rig up a bonnet with ties that held it in place nicely, but for the two little boys...well, it was a problem.  So I would love to have a few of the Fly Boy hats in my stash in various sizes.

Local business shout out!

I have been limping by on barely and eventually non-functional sewing machines for the last few months, borrowing ones from my friends for sewing days.  One of my sewing day regulars offered to call around to see if she could get any of the local repairmen to donate their services to get a machine running for me.

The Sewing and Vacuum Center in West Jordan, Utah graciously offered to repair it, and I dropped it off today.  Very friendly folks over there, and I am thrilled to have their support.  Every little bit counts, and money that I would have spent on repairs can now go toward fabric to make more gowns.  If you have a sewing machine repair need, head on in and tell them that I sent you!

"Diaper Shirt" outfits

 A lovely woman in Idaho contacted me a couple of months ago about donating some outfits, and she came up with some really darling and innovative things.  I had the best of intentions of taking photos of all of them to post, but needed to use some right away for angels.  I at least managed to save these three.  The original pattern for these "Diaper Shirts" can be found here.  This one is well proportioned for about a 20 week baby.

 Wanita says that this particular one used the full number of stitches as the original pattern, just with small yarn and an E sized hook.  She changed colors on rows 4, 5 and 7.

 This tiny little one is appropriate for about a 17-18 weeker.  It has been proportionally shrunk down from the original pattern.  She used yarn ties on this rather than ribbon.

 This one is the basic diaper shirt pattern modified to open more in the middle (and on the backside rather than the front), as well as to add a skirt.  The skirt pattern was modified from this dress pattern.

 Back side, with ties to keep it closed.

All opened up.  This size is pretty small, most likely to fit an 18-20 week baby.

If you'd like more details about any of these, send me an email and I can forward Wanita's notes to you.

Recent donations

My friend and neighbor has made me lots of cute headbands with little felt flowers.  She makes all sorts of fun clippies and accessories as a business and I sincerely appreciate the items she donates to Angel Babies.  I find that families really like headbands for their little girls over hats most of the time.

 I also have had a number of cute gowns and sleeper sacks crocheted and knitted lately.  I love how unique each one of these is!  I have a special soft spot in my heart for the ones made by other angel mamas and grandmas - I love to be able to tell the families I serve a little about the people who created the outfits.

 Matching twin set!  My friend Jerri did these, and she simple didn't add as many stitches on the gown part of the boy one so that it would be a little straighter down and look more masculine.  You can't see it very well, but she added a simple ribbon belt just under the arms that ties in the back and a cute button on each.  The boy one has a little star that is just perfect.

 These were made by an angel grandma (with the exception of the smallest hat, which was made by my sister).  She does beautiful work!  Scroll down for a closer shot of the detail work on the small pink and white one.  I would like to point out that the larger hats are perhaps just a little bit bigger than the proportions of the gowns, so if you're trying to gauge sizes, I'd go just a little smaller.

Love the delicate pink edging and the little rosebud!

Current needs

I just sent my very last sleeper sack off today in the mail to a family waiting for a teeny little triploidy angel to be born.  I have loved the ones I've used so far.  They fill an important gap size-wise that I previously didn't have.  The sewn gowns work great for babies that are about 1-1 1/2 pounds up to 3 pounds for the small size and 3 pounds up to about 6 -7 pounds for the bigger size.  But most of the little 20 weeker peanuts that I go take photos of are less than a pound.  Far less, even.  I recently did a session for a baby weighing less than 3 ounces.  It is a beautiful thing to pull out a little sleeper sack that is just the right size in such situations.

So, if you're looking for something to keep you busy in the days between Christmas and New Year's when things slow down, pull out a crochet hook or set of knitting needles and set to work!  I have a few small girl dresses, but not a ton, so I'd appreciate those as well.  Same with small stretchy hats that would fit over a plum, orange, or grapefruit.

Fighting the blahs

I can feel them creeping in.  I'm doing better this year than last, but 'tis the season for me until I get past Elizabeth's birthday.

Tell me your best two ways to kick the angel baby blues to the curb.  (I suspect we can all use it at this time of the year).

Sizing Guidelines

I often get asked about sizing for especially the little bitty micropreemies.  It is hard to imagine how small these wee little angels are until you've held one.  I found this sizing chart, which should help those of you that are crocheting sleeper sacks and dresses, to make sure that you're getting proportions right.

Click here to link to the chart.

Service project results - gift boxes

 I rounded up a group of my angel mamas and set them to work with a stack of boxes, paint, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and mod podge, and this is what they came up with.  I love how unique each one is!  Beautiful work, ladies!  I know they will be appreciated by the families that receive them.  This is an ongoing need, and would be a great one for a youth project, women's group or even a sit-around-after-Thanksgiving-dinner family project.

Darling Little Diapers

 I had several sets of the absolutely darling little diapers donated a couple of weeks ago.  I have already used them at two photosessions.  These fill a very important gap in bereavement supplies.  Our Elizabeth was just under 3 pounds, and the smallest preemie diaper the hospital had fit her perfectly.  It's about the size of a maxi pad (sorry - best visual I could come up with :)!)  But what about all these teeny little peanuts that are born between 18-28 weeks that are anywhere from half a pound up to 1 1/2 pounds?  Most of the time, there simply isn't anything to cover their bums.  I have seen nurses fashion a "diaper" out of a piece of gauze, or even cutting up a regular diaper into a small one and trimming down the tabs.  None of those options are ideal.  That's why I got super excited when I first laid eyes on these.

Here they are on a cutting mat so that you can see the sizes.  Each square is one inch.  These were made by a woman near me as part of a service project to honor her own angel.  She made sets of two of each pattern so that the family will have one as a keepsake if they wish to bury their baby with the other one.  It's a very thoughtful gift.  I love these colorful patterned ones, but could also use lots of plain white ones.  Most of the clothing I have is white, and wild patterns show through.

You can click here to download the pattern.