Though there are no babies in my home or near future, I have so many friends who are pregnant right now! And many of them are giving birth this month! For this project, I was inspired by a link my friend Amy posted on her FB wall--the Swaddle Me Wrap. This idea is so cute! I actually never had one (I bought receiving blankets like they were going out of style) but I think that they are an awesome idea. So awesome in fact, that I thought to myself, "I want to make one of those."
I like to reuse fabrics as much as possible and I had this pile of t-shirts from Goodwill that have been sitting in my living room for MONTHS! With the built in "wings" (sleeves), I thought a t-shirt would be the perfect base for this project. (my first attempt failed miserably so this is "Take 2." I think it turned out a lot better though there are still kinks to work out. This definitely isn't the prettiest thing I have ever made).
Since I have no babies (my kiddos are 3.5 years old), I dug out good ol' Molly from the basement. She is a little small to stand in for a newborn (only 18 inches) but she was the best I could do. Plus she was the perfect model and slept for the entire photo shoot. :)
Place your baby in the swaddler pocket (it has a little elastic to help it keep its shape).
Tuck one of the wings over
Tuck the other one over and secure the velcro around the back
This swaddler would work for a newborn to infant (Molly's feet were 4-5 inches from the bottom of the pocket)
I used a long piece of loop so that the swaddler is slightly adjustable as far as how tight you could wrap your baby
A close up of the pocket
I really like the idea of this project but I am not sure if it is
"Awesome--I want one!"
or
"Nice try but stupid and ugly."
Mommas--give me some feedback! Do you think this would work for a baby? Or should I scrap this idea?
We were given a couple of these as hand me downs. Arin, my sis in law, said Ella loved it for the first six weeks before she outgrew it and slept like a baby in it. I always found it a little difficult to get a squirmy baby's little legs in the pocket so didn't use it as much and never fell in love with it. And Jared was the master swaddledrin this house and he preferred the receiving blankets that had a little stretch to them so it never got used much. But I'd definitely say it's worth trying out on one of your friend's little babies soon! And t-shirt material would be great- nice and stretchy and not too thick. Perfect for the summer babies!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea especially for someone who is new at swaddling. You are so creative!
ReplyDeleteThat could work well! One thing that the actual SwaddleMe's also have is velcro right in front where the wingy part overlaps the leg pocket. So that the baby can't kick off the leg pocket. Your leg pocket has elastic, though, it looks like, so maybe that would help it stay up. Also, they have a dart in the shoulder so it wraps over the top of the shoulder better. I would try this out on a real baby for a few nights to see how it works in real life before making dozens of them. You might be on to something great!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, Laurel! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Brittany! I was going to say the same thing Laurel did (about the velcro in the front to hold the left side as you cross it over).
ReplyDelete