Baby Sun Shade

I decided to make my own sun shade for Adam's car seat since the mesh one that suction-cups to the window just wasn't cutting it. One of the four suction cups kept popping off the glass...plus the sun could still peer around parts of the window that the shade couldn't reach.  On top of that he had no protection from the sun when it was pouring down on him from the back windshield so I sewed up a very simple shade using leftover fabric from other projects.

I wanted to keep the shade light in colour so that it wouldn't absorb heat from the sun. I had some white embroidered cotton fabric left over from a shirt I previously made but thought it was a bit too thin, plus the tiny holes in the design could let streams of sun in and annoy a sleeping baby. Since the fabric was so pretty I used it anyway but added a second layer of cotton on the underside.

Next I added an elastic to one end of the shade so that it could easily hang around the back headrest.    Between the two points where the elastic attaches to the fabric I attached a wooden stick to keep the cloth from drooping in the middle.

On the other side of the shade I attached a thicker and stronger elastic encased in the last scraps remaining from Adam's citrus nursery curtains and chenille blanket.  I wanted this elastic sling to be more durable since it is going to be pulled on and off the car seat repeatedly. It ended up fitting really well around the top of the baby car seat and keeps the shade nice and taut.  When not in use this thicker sling can easily be hung over the back seat headrest as well, folding the shade in half and keeping it nicely out of the way.

Here's the final result.  As you can see it did a good job of keeping the sun away from Adam so that he could catch some zzzZZZ's!

Simple Curtains

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. I'm falling behind! But then again there isn't a whole lot to update about, at least not in the area of sewing anyway.  I've been too absorbed with Adam (as I should be) who is thriving and smiling more each day.

I did finally finish a very simple curtain for the nursery which I mostly completed over the Christmas holidays. The only thing that had been missing was the gathering tape and hooks which we forgot to pick up originally.  Then Adam came early and everything was on hold including simple 10-minute tasks such as sewing two straight lines to attach gathering tape to a curtain!

Anyway the curtain finally went up two weeks ago and here is a photo of what it looks like with the sun shining through.  It goes well with the "Retro-Fit" nursing chair as well!  The nursery still isn't fully decorated yet but Mike is in the process of putting up bookshelves and I am getting some photos framed.  Clearly we are taking our time :)

And yes, it's the same cheery and playful fabric I used for Adam's chenille blanket which makes a great backdrop for all of Adam's funny martial arts poses!