i’ve been doing a lot of baby gift sewing lately. i have two pregnant sisters (one due with her fourth baby in August, one due with her first in October) and it’s been fun making some special little things for both of them.
unfortunately, due to my chronic procrastinator status, i’m usually sewing right up to the time i should be leaving for their baby showers, and haven’t had time for blog photos. i did get some for this little dress though!
i’ve been getting so much wear out of my double gauze nani IRO alder dress this summer, so i decided to use the scraps to make a baby dress for my sister Laura, who is baking a little girl (it’s her first baby).
i love Laura’s personal style and browsed her registry and pinterest board to get a sense of her baby style, which is also delightful. i thought the soft abstract design of Nani IRO Spectacle Double Gauze would be right up her alley.
i made a Geranium Dress, one of my most-sewn, tried and true kid patterns, in a 6-12 month size (for baby to wear next spring/summer). i made view A with the flutter sleeves (serged edge) and gathered skirt, and i changed the back skirt opening so there’s no seam like i did with Em’s Menagerie Geranium.
i finished the seam allowances together and pressed them down this time, tacking it down by hand along the edge of the placket so it wouldn’t peek out. the lining is a scrap of pink voile. so soft! the whole dress is so soft!
i also trimmed the front skirt so there’s a bit of a high-low thing going on; maybe to help a bit with crawling or to show off some baby legs. i just love how this little dress turned out and loved giving it to Laura at her shower too! i also gave her a grass bottle drying rack with stem (affiliate link) and they unintentionally coordinated quite nicely. 🙂
guess i should take the opportunity to post the one phone pic i got of the little set of bibs i gave her at a previous shower while i’m at it, eh?
on the bottom right above, you can see three bibs i sewed from my free pattern – one with cotton + steel, and two with leah duncan fabric / chambray color blocking. all three have ikea towels as backing. the color block ones were cherie’s idea – i swear she blogged about them but couldn’t find her post..? help me out if you know it, Cherie! ;P on the upper right in the photo, you can see the lovely crochet blanket and booties Laura’s mother in law made, and on the left i believe are some co-sleeper sheets my mom made! just a pile o’ handmade goodness.
while i’m throwing affiliate links in here, i might as well mention that i also gifted her my kids’ three favorite board books – i am a bunny, the very hungry caterpillar, and bus stops (C’s jam right now – he giggles when i just say the title!).
anyway, it’s just fun sewing for little babies and gifts in general! it makes me so excited to snuggle my new nephew and niece! i’m hoping to do a more official photoshoot of the blanket i made for my other sister’s baby boy to show you…she’s due really soon, so it could potentially even have a tiny new baby on it! that’d be fun, eh?
skirt as top 
So adorable!!!
Thanks Julie!
So pretty! Makes me want to run to my machine and sew a Geranium.
I know right?? I had taken a bit of a geranium break but they really are just so quick and fun to sew.
I can feel the softness through the computer!! I love this.
Double gauze and baby skin…once she wears this it’ll be softness overload!
ohhhhh, that dress is the sweetest! that fabric is so dreamy, especially as a geranium. i need a girl baby to sew for!
thanks gail! yeah, you should convince a sister/friend/neighbor to get pregnant! i never sewed for Em when she was this little; it’s pretty fun.
aw baby sewing is just so fun! I’m just dying for one of my siblings to get pregnant with a baby girl so I can finally dive into the geranium goodness. And lucky baby to get some Nani Iro!
once you start sewing them you’ll be hooked! she is a lucky little lady eh?
That is such a pretty dress! I’ve just been sewing Nani Iro double gauze with voile lining, so no difficulty at all imagining how good your dress feels!
thanks shelley! oh yum. that sounds pretty dreamy.
Awww SUPER cute!! I’m always scrambling for baby gifts for some reason so I’m always a big fan of the books as gifts. Love that little dress!!
thanks so much Rae! again thanks for designing such a perfect pattern.
I echo your comments on Laura’s personal baby style. How fun is that to create items to continue her theme?
I too found myself up to 2 and 3 in the morning scurrying to finish each little delight. Not finding my sewing machine until one week before I left for the shower did not help much!
Beautiful dress for little one!
thanks so much annette!! can’t wait to have the little gal here! they’re going to be such great parents. 🙂
I second Erin’s comment…I want to run to my machine to make a geranium too…but at the moment I don’t even know any baby girls! So cute.
Double gauze for a baby is a great idea.
just sew one and save it for a future date…? haha.
This dress is adorable, Kristin! She’ll be the coolest baby around. Also you put together the BEST packages! Seriously. It is a talent! 🙂
thank you Rachel! so do you by the way! :*
Just so you know, I tried to comment a few days ago on my phone and it was eaten up. That’s what I get for trying! Haha, anyways, this dress is THE SWEETEST. So adorable. And thanks for the shout out, but no, I never blogged those bibs. Just IG pics. Cuz like I blog anything anymore. Pshhh . . .
haha thanks Cherie. okay good, because i thought i was going nuts.
So sweet and soft and pillowy! I am a bunny is one of our favorites
it’s the best! fun to prompt the kiddo with other things in the book too (colors of the butterflies, blowing at the dandelion, pointing to the raccoon and ducks and the bunny’s hat). i love reading to babies.
So cute!!! These dresses make me want to have a baby girl and try them all for her.
thank you! it’s so fun, and you can use scraps or just a little bit of fancy fabric for these tiny dresses, too.
Makes me want to have a baby girl. What a special gift, Kristin! What fabrics do you have your eye on for fall?
The cute little girl dresses are so adorable! I am quite envious of your sisters for having a sewing sister like you! I agree that dress pattern looks so cute on little girls. When it gets a bit short to use as a dress, it is easy to use as a blouse and a tiny jegging to pair up with!
Hiya! Long time blog reader here but I rarely comment. Just stopping by to say I miss your regular posts! I’m sure you’re still sewing up a storm with your mad skills but understand that blogging takes loads of time. Hoping to see more of your awesome work in the future 🙂