"Big Sister" Crown and Unorthodox Baby Blanket- Part 1 of 2

Making an art batt from wool and 'shimmery bits'...

                                          ...and turning it into a piece of pre-felt.

                                                    Using a paper pattern ...

                                                ...I cut the pre-felt to size...

                                 ...leaving the tips 'as is' for folding in during felting.

                                Stitching the pre-felt strip into a cylinder with nylon thread.

                  Applying variegated pencil roving as an embellishment to the crown base...

                                          ...and to the newly rounded-off tips...

                                        ...then adding a few circles, just for fun. :)

   
                                                      Mid-way through felting...

                                                    ...and the finished crown.

                                    I did sew on a few colored glass beads for 'bling'...

      ...but neglected to photograph the finished project, prior to mailing it off. (Sorry)

                                      Next time: a rather unorthodox baby blanket...

                           ...made from luscious BFL and Silk-blend roving, plus silk caps.

More Baby and Big Sister Gifts- Part 2

Finished baby booties (bottoms) with plastic resist.

 

Felted booties (tops).

 

Finished gift with (tightly) sewn on felt balls.

 

Infant crown and booties plus big sister crown.

 

The infant crown came out a bit large after felting...

...so I trimmed it and sewed it back together to make the proper size.

The big girl crown tips were still a little floppy after felting (too few layers!)...

...so I folded up each point, and sewed a large "X" on each with embroidery thread.

For the booties, I used a resist pattern from "Felting for Baby" by Saori Yamazaki...

...using blue pre-felt to delineate the bootie bottoms.

I'm still a bit uncertain about the safety of using felted balls as a decoration...

...even though I followed the directions in this book.

I'm going to suggest to the Mama that she should snip them off when the baby gets a bit 'grabbier'...

...just to be certain that she doesn't manage to pry one off and choke on it.

More Baby and Big Sister Gifts- Part 1

Cutting the pre-felt for crown #1.

 

Adding pre-felt decorations.

 

Crown #2 with two layers of pre-felt and pencil roving.

 

Connecting the ends to make a seamless crown.

 

I have another work friend who is expecting a baby daughter...

...and with an older daughter already at home, I had some crowns to make! :)

I cut pre-felt into the proper shapes...

...and embellished them with wool roving, pieces of pre-felt, and pencil roving.

I overlapped the ends to make a seamless piece...

...and felted them, using bubble wrap to keep the sides apart.

Next time...

...the finished crowns and some baby slippers...to boot!! Har.

"Big Sister" Crown

 

 

 

 

If you're like me, after baby number one...

...you had all of the stuff you could possibly need for all subsequent babies.

Sure, it's nice to get some new little outfits...

...but I really loved the 'frozen food showers' (where everyone cooked a meal and froze it for the harried Mama)...

...or the 'big sister' gifts (that helped to make the older children less jealous)!

I wanted to make sure my friend's new baby wasn't the only one getting a present from me...

...so I made his big sister a crown!

I used one of the pieces of pre-felt that I had barely felted several weeks ago...

...and cut out a crown-like shape.

I needle-felted pencil roving in two horizontal stripes...

...and added circles of single-color pre-felt.

I needle-felted the ends of the crown together...

...then used a piece of floor underlayment as a resist between front and back.

The felting came together easily...

...and it was a really fun project to do.

When it was fully felted and rinsed...

...I ironed it with a steamy iron and let it dry in its proper circular shape.

Too bad you weren't there to see the baby's father try it on his nearly bald pate!

Adorable!! :)