Before I learned about surface pattern design, I was doing sewing projects. When I was sewing I started a #gettingcrafty blog. I am sharing this older post because it shows you what you can do with my fabric collection available in my Spoonflower shop! I now wish that I was designing fabric when I made this crib set before my second daughters birth. This was actually my biggest sewing project ever! I was worried at the time I couldn’t pull it off, but if I could do it, you can too!
The following post was originally published on June 2, 2019.
I’ve been so excited about the tropical nursery I’ve been planning but I wasn’t happy with the crib sets I was seeing in the stores so after sewing a few pillows, I decided to move up to creating the entire crib set. This was my first time using a full pattern for sewing. It wasn’t an easy task and it took a lot of patience, but the end product is one I am very happy about. I now have the perfect gift to welcome our baby girl home! As of now, I have a lot of items in the crib but they are just for decoration! The only thing you should have in the crib when baby is sleeping is the fitted sheet. This fitted sheet does fit very snug around the mattress which is also an added plus. The crib skirt goes below the mattress so this is okay to have too.
Now that I have this gorgeous crib, I can finally debut my crib set and really see the tropical theme that I’ve been envisioning for so long really start coming to life!
For the entire set, I used Simplicity Pattern 8622. The fabric is Novelty Cotton Fabric 43”-Watercolor Tropical Hibiscus from Joann Fabric.
I was able to figure out the pattern for my first time using a full pattern set. It was a challenge at first to learn the sewing jargon so I had to search up a lot of it. I also ran into issues on how to make ruffles. The pattern didn’t provide enough instructions for me but I ended up finding a tip to use elastic thread and it worked! I discovered that elastic thread is a great item to have around but let me say, it’s very hard to find in the store if you don’t know where to look!
The changing table mattress pad was supposed to be in my mind the easiest thing to make of the set and it ended up being the most difficult because the sizing was off and I had to ditch the pattern. (I ended up improvising and sewing it without using a pattern and it turned out great!)
Overall, I learned a lot about sewing by sticking with this project and it’s very exciting to see what you can do when you put your mind to it!
Later in 2020, I discovered surface pattern design, shortly after I launched Pattern Babe! You never know where a creative project will take you!
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