Crafty Mama!

It has now been 5 months since I lost my job and I have to say that usually I really enjoy not working and just being able to focus on baby Emma. BUT occasionally negative thoughts slip into my mind about how I'm not contributing to the family etc... This especially happens when I get asked what I do for a living (which seems to be happening more now that I'm not working then it ever did when I was, go figure) and I say I'm a housewife (so 1950's, I know. But Mike and I agreed that we like the sound of that better then just saying I'm not working). I feel like it would be one thing if I had kids and could say I was a stay at home mom, but I don't have kids (yet) so I feel like people are thinking housewife = lazy person who doesn't want to work.  I guess it's just taking time to adjust to the idea that my value doesn't have to be tied to my profession and that I do contribute to the household, just not in a financial way. Anyways, I have decided to put those thoughts to rest as best I can, and truly embrace the idea of being this fabulous stay at home mom!

A fellow July 2013 expectant mom posted a link from Pinterest on making home made burp cloths and I decided this was going to be my first "mom" craft. Now, I must say that I am immensely proud of myself with this because I have NEVER, repeat NEVER, used a sewing machine in my life! And the fact that fabric is sold in yards confuses the crap outta me!! So I asked my mom for help and she was more then happy to oblige! My mom recently gave her sewing machine away so we had to borrow my sister's but then my mom actually ended up buying a new sewing machine (that's a whole different story).

First we went to Joann Fabrics to get the material. I decided to use cute flannel prints on one side and a basic (but still soft) cotton solid on the back. I have read that some people use Chenille, but I chose to go with flannel/cotton. We picked out 4 different flannel prints and 3 different cottons (1 of them went well with 2 of the flannel prints).

Once we got home my mom helped me figure out how to cut the fabric since the instructions used inches and the fabric was in yards. I seriously believe I missed school during the week they discussed conversions because I suck big time in that topic! Anyways, the instructions said to use slightly different measurements but my mom thought they needed to be bigger so we ended up cutting the fabric to be 10in wide and 18in long. This would give us 4 burp cloths for 3 of the prints, and 8 burp cloths for the other print (that fabric was on sale so we got more of it). Once all the fabric was cut I pinned the flannel and coordinating cotton fabrics together, right side facing each other. For those of you out there who are not sewers, like me, this just means that it looks inside out when pinned together.

Then came the hard part, it was time to sew! I did quite a bit of practicing on scrap pieces of fabric to make sure I could feed the fabric in straight etc. Once I finally felt comfortable I started sewing. I did a straight stitch allowing about a 1/4in seam. I also made sure to leave an open pocket along one of the long sides. Then I took out the pins and pulled the fabric through the open pocket so that it was right side out. Then I finished them by sewing a zigzag stitch around the edges which closed  the pocket and reinforced the seams.

I think they turned out fabulously and I now have 20 burp cloths for only $30!! In all honestly, it was pretty easy to get the hang of basic sewing. By the end of this project I was able to turn the fabric as I rounded corners. I could even fix and re thread the bobbin when jams occurred! I am so glad I decided to give this project a shot because now I have the confidence to do so much more. Next up, I'm thinking receiving blankets!