When I was pregnant with my second child, a daughter, we went through our stored baby boy clothes, pulling out the ones that could be worn by our baby-girl-to-be, donating the majority, and saving five or six items that I couldn’t bear to part with. Predictably, those extra special clothes are still on top of my spare dresser because I’m not really sure where they go.
Then I saw this great idea from the now defunct WonderTime magazine’s blog (via Apartment Therapy).
Cut a small sample of the fabric and keep the swatch in a memory book, ideally next to a photo of the baby wearing the item.
I’m torn. it would look really cute, but then we can’t enjoy the size and shape of the clothes when he’s an adult. Or, his wife can’t. (Secret fantasy: one day a baby grandson could wear these clothes– not that I have put one single thing on my son that my husband wore as a baby, and we have a similar hand-me-down-a-generation bag to choose from. It just seems that 1973 didn’t produce very soft fabrics.) I’ll let you know what I decide.
ok sounds a little crafty but bear with me— if you cut the clothes into interesting shapes and then stitch them together you get a great baby blanket that could be turned into the new baby’s or into the little guy’s take to school nap blanket… if you know any one who quilts i bet they would make you a fantastic quilted creation from the pieces… and (ripped right from martha) frame the extra extra special pieces and hang them in the nursery or save as wedding gifts for the kiddos
Thanks for another great post. I think some other ideas might be to frame some as single pieces or to make a triptych. Many people make quilts from old baby clothes and that’s a terrific way to save the beloved fabric without forcing your son’s old baby clothes on an unsuspecting daughter-in-law. Make a main quilt and some baby throws that you can present to your son and later to his new baby.
I also have a friend who works old baby clothes into paintings – that might be an idea for artistic gals.
I linked back to this site and post on my site here:
http://smalltownfun.squarespace.com/journal/2007/4/23/quality-not-quantity.html
I don’t know if I could bear to take scissors to my favorite baby clothes!
My friend Hillary made an amazing quilt of her son’s first year clothes, and created a crafty website with links to Oscar wearing the related clothes.
http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/2004/12/oscars_baby_clo.html
But I’m too much of a purist – I want to remember not just the fabric but the entire item. Since my son was born my mom has given me several outfits I had as a baby (perhaps in case we ultimately have a girl). Even if we don’t have a daughter, I’m glad to have those itty bitty little things that were once mine. They’re not terribly soft, so I can’t imagine any granddaughter of mine will wear them, but perhaps they’ll be pulled from a box someday with ooohs and aaahs of, “This is what nanny wore when she was a baby.” I’ve found that there are more than a few of my son’s newborn clothes that I can’t part with. They are too evocative of those first amazing months when our lives had changed. We keep his coming home from the hospital overalls on a hanger in our closet, just to help us remember how small he once was (and he just celebrated his second birthday).
I have a keepsake box with the little hospital wristband, footprints, etc. I have also included Holden’s Texas Hold’en onesie and there’s probably room for one more.
On a related note, my mom gave me my beloved blankie from when I was a baby/toddler and a replica for my baby-to-be when I was pregnant the first time. Gosh, I have no idea what to do with them. I stopped sucking my thumb decades ago. But I sure can’t toss it.
I have a keepsake box that I keep all my favorite baby clothes and outfits I don’t have the heart to give away. I just hit a great sale online at www.sandboxcouture.com. They have select Flowers by Zoe line on sale so I stocked up!
Instead of cutting the garments, you could scan them and print them out for the journal. Then you’d still have the original intact.
I like the idea of the hand-me-down, if you have the room to store them and can pull it off. 🙂 My mom saved some cute outfits that I wore as a baby, and (if I get a girl), she’ll be wearing them, as I think they are still adorable. And I’m sentimental like that. I personally don’t think I could cut up my favorite baby clothes.