A much-loved second child has added to my friend’s family. As baby number two is born within two week of my godson’s birthday, I’ve been passing on baby clothes. Even for someone who isn’t a mother of any human children, I find baby clothes to be so sweet and, of course, remember how adorable my godson looked in so many of those suits! (The four-legged furry children don’t take kindly to being dressed in clothes.)
A while after my godson grew out of his first batch of baby clothes, I was speaking to his mother about how she had a certain attachment to some of the suits, particularly the special “coming home from the hospital” t-shirt and pants set we’d picked out. I made the suggestion, why not “upcycle” the clothes into something the baby can keep? For those not in the know, upcycling is the trendy term for a kind of recycling, crafting new things from existing materials.
We came to the conclusion that upcycling her favourite clothes into a stuffed toy for the baby would be awesome. At that age, my godson had a fascination with owls (not without a bit of influence from me, of course…), so I sketched out a pattern for a big stuffed owl and spent a couple of days cutting and sewing together panels of his old baby clothes into a toy.
These days, Owl-cush is misshapen and deflated from all the baby love-wrestles he receives.
The belly-panel with the puppy picture, and the pale blue eyes, tufts, beak, and feet are from my godson’s coming home suit. The other pieces were either deemed super cute, like the grey elephants and mint stars, or I picked them for the matching colours. All in all, I discovered baby clothes don’t have nearly enough fabric for crafting with – which is why there ended up being so many sections – and it’s rewarding to make a keepsake which the baby will love, and the parents will cherish for the meaningful inclusions. Plus, no one feels like they’re keeping too-small baby clothes solely for sentimental reasons!
And it gives me more excuses to make cute things.
~A
The Fane 
It is always a goo idea to find ways of being creative. Beautiful artwork to honour those precious baby memories.
I agree, Julia! Being creative feeds the soul. 🙂
~A
What an adorable owl! That was a great idea.
Thanks, Cynthia! He looked cuter when his stuffing was fresh and plump. Now he looks very loved. XD
~A
So cute! And very clever. I love it.
Thanks, Annie! 🙂
~A
OMG– *LOVE*
What a sweet and cute idea. Also, you and those owls, haha. But it is really so cute! A stuffed owl made from baby clothes, yeah, there isn’t much that can compare.
Hehe, yes, it is kind of up there on the scale of cuteness, eh? 😉 The photo doesn’t really show perspective, because the Owl-cush is actually around a foot tall!
~A
Ashlee, that is an ADORABLE gift! As someone who was also attached to certain outfits my kids wore, can I just say Wow…never thought of doing something like that! I luv luv luv the sentiment that went into making it—your reasons for picking certain clothes to use. Aww, your friend is one lucky mamma.
My kids wore out their favorite-ist stuffed animal buddies… so I much prefer the loved-look in your picture to something brand new and plump. When I look at it, I see oodles of hugs and hours of companionship. So sweet!
LOL, “The four-legged furry children don’t take kindly to being dressed in clothes.”
Thanks, Barb! I’m glad you can appreciate the love in this, it was really awesome to make. 🙂 I very much wore out my favourite teddies as a young child, too!
~A
Wow! I’ve saved several boxes of my sons’ baby clothes for potential grandchildren, but the reality is, they will probably never wear these old things. But recycling them as stuffed toys is a great idea! Now, I just need to find someone who sews. Hmm… Do you happen to know anyone? 😉
If you have a lot of clothes, I would recommend making a big patchwork blanket! That would be super nice and full of memories for you. 😀
Sewing a blanket is easy. Sewing a stuffed animal is a little harder (not least because I made the pattern for it myself). I’d be glad to help, but Australia tends to be a little far away. 😉
~A