kcw fall 2014: moon phase sleeper
October 24th, 2014
This KCW has been all about making gifts for babies. I thought it would be super quick and I could crank em out. Not so. As I’ve gotten better at sewing, I’ve gotten slower. Seems counterintuitive, I know. Yes, I can sew faster, but now when I make things I want to make them better not faster. That means slowing down and ironing a hem before I sew it–pinning it even! [just as an aside: I listened to a podcast where the interviewee, Soyna Phillip, said the same thing. It’s a good one, go listen! ]
I wanted this little sleeper to be especially perfect because it’s for a brand new baby. I made sure to strengthen all the seams and sew all the hems with a stretch stitch. Wrestling a baby into clothes is hard enough without seams popping all over the place.
The stencil was inspired by Goodnight Moon. “Oh barf,” you’re thinking, “she took her inspiration from such an obvious book.” Or maybe you’re not that snarky. Still, Goodnight Moon is everyone’s go to kids book (I think we were given no less than 5 copies). You’ve read it a thousand times I’m sure, but have you ever noticed the moon?
Clement Hurd drew the moon and the stars moving through the sky as the book progresses. The moon slowly rises as the bunny goes to sleep. He even drew the clock to show the passing of time. Look at the clock on the mantel next time you read Goodnight Moon. The bunny’s bedtime is 7pm and it takes until 8:10 for him to get to sleep. That’s about right :)
There are some gifs of the clock and moon movement here (be warned this post gets ridiculously pedantic).
I was always struck by that attention detail and loved the book so much more because of it. There are actually a lot of little hidden details. You can read the “allusion and references” bit in the wikipedia entry for even more. And did you know there is a sequel to Goodnight Moon? It’s called My World (affiliate link) and it follows the bunny through his day.
For the stencil I cut the phases of the moon out of freezer paper freehand. I wanted it to look like a sketch, so I didn’t fill in the stencil completely. There are a couple flubs, but it turned out even better than I hoped.
I made a few bibs too, with that same bandana bib pattern I used before. I think this turned out to be a nice little baby gift!
see more about this project here
We have at least 2 copies of that book. I never noticed the clock, though! I love how the whole room gradually gets darker. I think the color of your baby sleeper could be inspired by the final page!
I forgot how the room gets dark! And I did choose this color because it was so perfectly night sky.
What a fabulous present, I’m sure this baby will enjoy it and will have lovely nights!. I really think the stencil went brilliant and I love the way you applied the paint.
Thanks, Maria!
This is awesome- I love your stencil. Might have to completely copy you. :)
I just noticed the moon changing in the book after years of reading this to my kids. It was a nice little treat.
what a great gift! I love the colors and moon phases, and how the moons look like they were painted on.
Moon phases, I absolutely love it!!
oh meg i love it! so if you and tara have both done moon phases, is it a trend now? i’m gonna follow that trend! goodnight moon is a great little book to read – it’s fun having the little one try to find the mouse on each page too. details! :)
Yay! Someone else noticed the clock! I have never met anyone else who noticed that. I love all the little details as well. Thanks for sharing and cute gown!
This is super super cute Meg! I love it and want to put that graphic on my kids’ shirts!