Sewing For Baby Girls - Summer Bonnet And Ruffly Diaper Covers



After having my baby boy almost a year-and-a-half ago, I'm very excited to be sewing for my BFF's baby girl due this summer. I didn't sew when I had MY little girl 8 long years ago, so I have a lot of catching up to do.  Since this is a summer baby, I thought these prints with bright juicy lemons and cherries with polka dots were fitting.  I love how the reversible bonnet goes with both diaper covers so you get two different "outfits".



The first thing I made her was from this fantastic book Hat Shop which I have checked out at the library on more than one occasion.  It's a simple reversible bonnet, and I had enough fabric leftover to make matching diaper covers (I  had half yard of each fabric).  

 

Well I couldn't just make plain old boring diaper covers, so I added some booty ruffles and a skirt ruffle.  I used the diaper cover pattern from Dana Made It, and got the skirt ruffle idea (and bias tape technique) from See Kate Sew...


Bias tape for the elastic casing

I added the booty ruffles on my own.  Here's how I made the ruffly bum.  Can Americans say bum?

Take three strips of fabric that are approximately 2-3" wide and 18" long. Finish the edges however you like.  I faked serged edges with my overcasting foot, then quickly pressed the edges under and then stitched it down with a straight stitch.




To ruffle the strips, set your machine to the longest stitch and the highest tension setting (5 and 9 respectively on my Brother). Sew down the middle of the strip and the fabric will ruffle itself - no gathering necessary! You can pull on the bobbin threads if needed.


Smooth and straighten your ruffled piece to the desired length (approx 9"). Pin it to the back of the diaper cover leaving room for the waist and leg seam allowances. Stitch in place. (I sewed some 1/4" satin ribbon in the center for a sweet touch). Repeat with the other two strips.




I pressed the ruffles so they would stick out nicely.




That's it!












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