Made for Baby Blog Tour

Ayda Algin recently sent me a copy of her brilliant new book Made for Baby, Cute Sewn Gifts which she has published with Tuva Publishing. For a long time I have been a huge fan of the projects that Ayda features on her Instagram account and blog so I was so excited when she mentioned she was releasing her first book!

Ayda’s book features 22 projects from pouches in all shapes and sizes, an adorable wall organiser to gorgeous appliqued quilts. And while the book is designed for those wanting to make baby gifts, so many of the projects work for all ages and stages.  In fact one of the first items I made was a pretty drawstring bag  I made as a birthday gift for a little girl.

 

 

One of the first things I noticed about the book is the strong influence Ayda’s background as an engineer has had on the way she has prepared the patterns. Each project is paired with an intricate amount of measurement details, which means that even if you have never sewn fabric boxes or a stuffed toy  you will feel very confident cutting your pieces (and if you need any extra assistance the first chapter also features instructions on how to do a range of sewing techniques).

I also really appreciated the way each project is photographed from a variety of angles, Ayda’s styling is beautiful and the gorgeous photos also mean you can see all the details and exactly how the project will turn out.

I was so  inspired by Ayda’s book with Tuva I actually made a range of projects for the blog tour!

 

I used a combination of Liberty of London fabric and Japanese chambray to make a travel bag. The pouch is perfectly sized for taking a few toiletries into hospital or even to store a few items in the diaper bag .  Of course this pouch would also work perfectly  not just for a new parent but also as a gift for a friend, teacher or loved one

 

 

The Made for Baby book  also features a super cute
bib project.  I was so inspired by Ayda’s bib project I made three bbs using some of my favourite fabrics (because I wanted the bibs to be as cute as the baby outfits its covering).

 

 

It was the first time I added an applique to a project. But thanks to Ayda’s fantastic instructions I had no problems and am definitely going to add more appliques to my projects in the future!

 

 

Finally I made the super quick and sweet little star teething toy with a few pretty scraps and a cute ribbon tag. In the book Ayda used a wooden teething hoop (ideal for a teething baby) however I was unable to find any locally so instead I used a specially designed plastic teething ring which you can also use to hoop on to the pram or crib.

Made for Baby, Cute Sewn Gifts is as versatile as it is inspiring and sweet.  It’s the kind of book you will always have on your sewing table because of the range of projects and inspiration. The book is available to buy right now or you could also pop over to Ayda’s blog site and enter to win a copy plus a few crafty extras!

Tomorrow Lauren from Molly and Mama will be creating another project from Ayda’s book and I can’t wait to see what she makes! You’ll be able to see it on Lauren’s pretty blog (and while you are there definitely have a look some of the things Lauren has made in the past – you won’t be disappointed).