Seeking Saner Baby Gifts

In the past - BB, Before Baby - I handknit a sweater for every new baby who was born in our social circles. Not custom work, just a steady stream of projects that alternated between vaguely girlish and vaguely boyish. I kept the finished creations neatly stacked in our back closet, ready to go. When Jonah was born, I had a few girl sweaters left in my stash. Now the stash has been empty for at least a year and I've been searching for a new baby gift that I could make on a more working-mom-friendly timeline (say, in one evening!?). So far, I've tried appliquéing store-bought clothes (which felt like not enough craft-love for a newborn), sewing felt booties (which I know from personal experience have a very short period of usefulness, although they are adorable), and now combining a simple hand-sewn project (elastic-waist pants) with an appliquéd store-bought onesie (ordered by the dozen). This début project just went out to Miss Micah Mandell, whose parents sent us the most amazing onesies (Jonah is *still* wearing one of them now at 17 months - whoa!). The fabric is an aqua print with tiny monkeys from RetroDepot. While the pants are generous (I used a Burda pattern and it seems too full around the ankles), my poor photography accentuates that even more. Everything's sized for 6 months, in which time spring should be arriving in Chicago...