Nursery Sewing - Citrus Curtain

Is a non-functional curtain still called a curtain?  I'm not sure... Regardless, I have finished this non-functional curtain for the nursery.  Well, I guess it does serve a minor function, it hides the not-so-attractive blackout blind and I feel it brings a nice pop of colour to the window and wall.

This was a pattern of my own creation.  I lined the fabric, which was quite thin, with white fabric so that it wouldn't be sheer when the sun was shining.  The yard of fabric I bought wasn't wide enough for the whole window, so I had to piece a few pieces together.  I had initially wanted a small ruffle along the bottom, but the geometric pattern didn't lend itself well to that, and I felt it would have looked sloppy. 

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.  It is quite simple, but that's okay.  This is the last of my biggest sewing projects, although I still have many wet bags to make between now and when the baby comes.

Nursery Sewing - Giant Strawberries

This project is totally for fun and not really very functional.  Oh well, sometimes those are the best projects aren't they?  I envision these in a pile next to the new glider we are getting for the nursery (hopefully soon!) and mostly, they were just too cute to pass up.

These were made using the Purl Bee pattern (FREE) and require very little machine sewing, but a lot of handsewing.  Still, I was able to make two in one evening, so it's a pretty easy project. 

The body is sewn on the machine in one major seam, plus a few small seams for the tip.  You also sew the leaves together on the machine, and then sew the leaves onto the strawberry by hand.  Each strawberry used less than 1 yard of the main fabric.

Nursery Sewing - Wet Bag

I have been keeping busy with lots of sewing for the nursery, and I haven't had time to share any of it.

One of my biggest projects was a large wet bag for the cloth diapers we'll be using.  This one is specifically for the nursery and was inspired by this one which was made using this tutorial.  I didn't really end up using the tutorial, since I had a few different requirements for my wet bag. 

Here's the finished product so you can see what I am talking about.

I wanted a wet bag that could hang from various locations including this closet door, the regular door, and possibly on the side of our dresser.  I sized it accordingly, and based on the 18 inch zipper I bought.  The inspiration bag actually zips at the top, but I didn't want the handle getting in the way of putting things into the bag, so I made the zipper on mine several inches from the top of the bag. That was a little bit tricky, but I worked it out.

Probably the hardest part was the fabric, which I love, but has a straight line pattern, which wasn't straight any more after the fabric was washed and dried.  I had to decide whether to cut the fabric square (which would mean the fabric would always look crooked), or cut the fabric based on the fabric pattern (which would mean the bag wouldn't actually be square).  I went with cutting based on the pattern and it worked out fairly well.  It isn't wonky enough to be noticeable, but I feel like if I had cut the fabric square, the bag would have looked wonky.

I was really worried about just cutting into my nice fabric to make the bag, so I made a small version first testing out all the necessary tweaks and techniques.  It was totally worth it and I felt a lot more confident when it came time to start the large bag.

In case it's not obviously, since this is a wet bag, it is lined with PUL.  The PUL was sewn basically in a separate bag so that fluids (etc.) don't wick in between it and the patterned fabric.  There are lots of sites out there talking about PUL and how to use it in cloth diapering and wet bags.  I was thankful that I had read somewhere to use parchment paper on top of the PUL and underneith the zipper foot when sewing.  If I didn't use parchment paper (which can easily be ripped off after you finish sewing), the PUL would get stuck and became all bunchy.  Not good!

Nursery Mood Board

Since finding out we are having a little girl, I have been dreaming up lots of ideas for a bright and fun nursery.  I'm a theme sort of girls (most gifts I give have obvious themes, for example).  After scouring the internet, and adding ideas I loved to my Pinterest Board, I have finally settled on a Fruity Theme.

Here's what I mean (click on the image to make it bigger):

I have ordered the fabric shown in the top left corner (for the curtain and wet bag) as well as fabric to make strawberry pillows.  I'm going to stick those wall decals up randomly I think, although I might cut the boarder off so it is just the fruit (even though it's more work!). 

I love the garland shown, but want to make it with sliced fruit.  I am finding lots of crochet patterns for fruit slices, so I may have to learn how to crochet!  Otherwise, I'm sure I can figure something out for knitting.

The walls are painted a light yellow, similar to the colour shown in the background of the mood board.  Our furniture is a dark brown. 

I love those little pears (especially since we are having a french baby), but they are tiny, and expensive.  I might try to incorporate the idea in somewhere else.

For now I am stuck waiting for my fabric to arrive, then I will definitely need to get sewing!

I'll keep you posted on the nursery progress!