In honor of the recent arrival of Royal Baby Archie, baby gifts have been on the brain.  Watching Meghan become a mother reminds me of my own time with a newborn. Baby was SO little and I loved swaddling that tiny baby in my arms.  Mary gave me the sweetest swaddles when baby was born and I used them all the time. With this in mind, we created three DIY ways to add a little pizazz to basic swaddles to give to the new moms in your life. We added a fancy embroidery stitch to one, a ribbon trim border to the other, and finished with a hand dyed swaddle with an embroidered monogram. PLUS they all make the best wrapping paper for a sweet baby gift.

We made these swaddles in Mary’s new space. (Catch up here if you missed the big reveal!) When we were creating this kitchen we wanted each element to define Mary’s sleek aesthetic, but each element also had to be functional for both cooking and CRAFTING. Hello! The Delta Trask™ Kitchen Faucet, available exclusively at Lowe’s, provided both the form and function we were looking for.

The Delta Trask Single Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet with Soap Dispenser uses sleek, contemporary lines to bring a sophisticated feel to the space. We went with the Champagne Bronze finish to coordinate with the gold accents in our lighting and hardware selections (read more on those here!). Champagne Bronze is a timeless, soft gold that pairs elegantly with traditional, transitional and contemporary décor.

Functionally, the sprayer is engaged with a simple toggle. It easily pulls out so you can manipulate it to rinse anything and everything you might have in the sink. And then it locks seamlessly into the spout with the MagnaTite® Docking system when you’re finished. Using it, we rinsed the fabric thoroughly and simply, and then it made cleaning the dye out of the sink so much easier. In sum, the Delta Trask™ Kitchen Faucet made the entire dyeing process clean and simple. (Which is important particularly in Mary’s space, because she doesn’t like a mess.)

We can’t wait to create more projects in Mary’s house (and Mary can’t wait for it either :/ )

How to Dye a Baby Swaddle

Sure, you can buy a swaddle for about $20-50 OR you could pick up some plain muslin fabric and make it yourself! The cost difference is extraordinary! Here’s how to dye the fabric.

You will need:

• Fresh water for rinsing. The Delta Trask Kitchen Faucet in Mary’s new kitchen made this a breeze!
• A deep container that holds water or a sink
• Salt
• Dish soap
• Dye
• Swaddle fabric
• Contrasting embroidery thread for monogram
• Black tea bags (for dulling down the color)

Instructions

1. Fill a deep stainless steel pot with hot water.
2. Add a tablespoon of salt and one pump of dish soap, this will help set the dye so you can achieve the richest color possible.
3. Add dye to the pot and stir.
4. Test the dye color with a paper towel to check color.  You can add more dye if you want a deeper color and add more water if you want the color lighter. Note: If you want to dull the color, you can use black tea bags in the pot. Start with one and then add as necessary.
5. Place the swaddle under the Delta Trask Kitchen Faucet and drench with fresh warm water.
6. After getting your fabric wet place in the dye pot.
7. Leave the swaddle in the dye for at least 2 minutes, or until desired color is achieved.  (For reference, we left the yellow swaddle in the dye for about 8 minutes.)
8. Remove swaddle from the pot and rinse with cold water.
9. Wring out your fabric and leave out to air dry.
10. After the swaddle dries, monogram with embroidery thread.

How to add a decorative stitch

The color is beautiful on its own, but what if we added on a little personalized touch like a decorative ribbon or embroidery? Let’s go!

You will need:

• Thread (We used a fun contrasting metallic thread)
• Swaddle

How-to:

1. Choose the stitch you would like to use for the edge of the swaddle.
2. Sew all four edges of the swaddle using your chosen stitch.

*Tip: put your needle in the swaddle at the corners, lift the foot of the machine and pivot the edge for a clean corner stitch.

How to add a border

Adding on a custom ribbon is one way to make the recipient feel loved. Here’s how to do it:

You will need:

– Thread that blends with your ribbon

– Thin ribbon (amount varies depending on swaddle size)

– swaddle

How-to:

1. Pin ribbon to edges of swaddle.
2. Sew close to one edge of the ribbon to secure that siding
3. Sew the opposite edge of the ribbon so the ribbon is attached in both places to secure it.
4. Repeat with remaining 3 sides

How to add on a monogram to a swaddle

Adding on a monogram to a swaddle is a sweet way to customize it for a gift. We used a simple backstitch to do it. We’ll be sharing a full tutorial on this process on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Once you have your swaddles made, use them as gift wrapping for your sweet baby gift (hint: like our royal mugs–perfect for a royal mother!) Use code “ARCHIE” for 20% off our entire shop for your gifts!

Which decoration is your favorite? Which DIY method will you try?

This post was sponsored by the Delta Faucet brand. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that allow Lars to create unique and inspired content for you.