hats and booties for Nigeria

the sewing group I'm in sends newborn hats and booties to The Eku Hospital in Nigeria.  these are the patterns that I like to use:

Booties pattern by Paula Daniele from Crochet Hooks You.  these are pretty simple to do, and they look great.  she does her double crochet 2 together different, but I'm sure any way will do fine.

I can't seem to find the exact hat pattern I use from memory, but it could be that the pattern in my head is a mixture of a bunch of different hats I've made!

round 1:  make a magic circle, ch 2 (counts as 1st dc), dc 9 times into loop, sl st into top of ch 2 to join, pull tail tight to close hole (10 sts)

round 2:  ch 2, dc into same st, 2dc into each st around, sl st into top of ch 2 to join (20 sts)

round 3:  ch 2, dc into same st, *dc into next st, 2 dc into next st, repeat from * to end, sl st into top of ch 2 to join (30 sts)

round 4:  ch 2, dc into same st, *dc into next two sts, 2 dc into next st, repeat from * to end, sl st into top of ch 2 to join (40 sts)

round 5:  ch 2, dc into each st around, sl st into top of ch 2 to join (40 sts)

repeat round 5 until desired length is reached (I did 7" to have enough for a cuff), fasten off, and weave in ends.

I've attached buttons, flowers, and bows to the hats I've made, but they can definitely stay plain and still be cute.  I also use different yarns and hook sizes, so depending on what I use I check this chart to see if the sizing is good.

lil fuzzies

I wanted to make something soft for Jack to wear in the hospital, so I did a chunky hat and booties from some fuzzy brown yarn I had and a 9mm hook.  I felt like I was doing it blind because the stitches just sorta disappear, but somehow they came out okay!

I made Leo some booties that were too small for his big feet, so I went a little bigger on these, but watch Jack have smaller feet!  at least if they're big he can grow into them.  I used this video tutorial to make them.

for the hat I did it like the newsboy hat by making a circle and then doing straight sides down from there and just finishing it off when I thought it looked long enough.  I like how the big hook and double crochet give it texture, but it's not too hole-y looking with the fuzzy yarn filling in the spaces.

this set took me much less time to make (maybe about an hour total) and I absolutely love them!

more baby crochet

 

I made these for a friend of mine who had her little girl a few weeks too early.  I looked online for some crochet patterns and found this hat pattern, and this really quick and easy bootie video tutorial.

 

after hunting for the hat, I decided it was simpler to find regular baby patterns and adjust to make them fit the measurements I needed (which I got from here) than to find a preemie sized pattern.

 

I added an extra row of puff stitch and two rows of single crochet at the bottom on the hat instead of one like the pattern said to do so it was closer to the measurements I was looking for.

 

for the booties I used a smaller hook than what the lady in the video did, and I only made the toe 1.5" long, and 1.5" for the sides and back so it was the recommended 3".

they look so small to me, but I've been gauging her size from photos of her head and feet compared to peoples hands as well as going off the size chart for 4-5lb babies.  I'm still worried they won't fit, but they worked up so quick I can always whip up another set if I need to.

more baby stuffs

made this bib from an old t shirt and some leftover fabric. I'm running low on pretty thread colors, so I picked an image from my embroidery machine that would look alright with what I had - browns. decided on the ice cream and added the caption "nom nom nom". I know babies don't eat ice cream cones.... but I thought it was cute just the same. I serged the edges and put on a snap and called it a day.

these booties are made from the same pattern as the grey knitted ones I did. this is how they come out with fleece squares and embroidery stitches. I doubled up the fleece so they'd be thicker and baby won't feel the stitches on the inside. I think they may have taken as long to make if I'd just knitted them! just the embroidery took forever, not actually sewing them together - don't let it scare you away from trying them!

I used smartie wrappers again in the wings of this felt butterfly - I love how they crinkle :) - attached a ribbon and looped it onto a Link-a-doo ring.

I did this elephant with leftover fabric from my crib bedding, put eyelets on his feet and attached wood wheels on dowels through them. might be more of a cute thing to look at than actually play with because it's so tiny, but it was fun to make.

I can't wait to get these out in the mail... :)