Make a Baby Gift – Don’t Buy One

You’ve just found out you sister-in-law is expecting her first baby and you are so excited. As you think about the new life coming into the world in the next few months, your thoughts naturally turn to items for the little one. You wonder if it will be a boy or girl, the colors of the baby’s nursery and  . . .  what you can give to baby, mommy and daddy.

As you think, don’t pull your credit card out of your wallet on a reflex. Instead, go to your yarn and crochet hook stash, look at the yarns and hooks you have and check out the patterns you already have on hand. Ideally, you should not have to buy any patterns for crocheted baby items, but if you do, this is a comparatively minimal cost compared to visiting a department store and buying a baby blanket, layette set, booties or bonnet. If you have enough colors and weights of yarn in stock, you should be able to find a good, lightweight baby yarn to begin the project you choose. 

This part is strategically tricky. You want to find out what color scheme your sister-in-law is thinking of using for the baby’s room. As you do so, you don’t want to reveal what your gift plans are. Draw her and your brother into conversation about the pending birth and ask them what they’re planning –– make this a wide-ranging discussion, covering possible baby names, asking to look at the ultrasound picture, how she is feeling. If she’s having morning or all-day sickness, this is another topic you could use to keep them from guessing what you’re up to. Add this to your discussion, giving her remedies for dealing with her nausea.

Gradually get the information you’re looking for. Find out what colors they are considering for the baby’s room. As you’re doing so, don’t just blurt the questions out all at once. Instead, sprinkle them into different topics as you talk. Space the questions out, asking about nursery colors. After talking about other topics, ask if the baby’s room is going to be decorated following any particular themes or schemes. Continue getting the information you need in this way. Once you have everything you need, you’re ready to choose the yarn colors you need.

Go back to your stock of yarns and pull out every baby-weight yarn you have available. Now that you know what colors you need to use, make sure you have them. If you do, check to make sure you have sufficient quantities in stock. If you don’t have the colors you need, buy them; if you do, but you don’t have enough, stock up, but before you buy a single additional skein of yarn, check the lot number on the yarn band first. You don’t want to run out of your original yarn only to start using the newly-purchased yarn and find out the shading is wrong.

While pregnancy lasts roughly nine months, you won’t find out until mommy is about four months pregnant. This leaves you less than five months to make the gifts you plan to make, so start early and work on the item(s) consistently throughout your sister-in-law’s pregnancy so that they are completed, blocked and ready for giving at the baby shower or after mommy and baby come home.

Hint: Find reasonably-priced pattern books at your hobby and crafts store. You’ll be able to find several baby patterns in these books. Think about looking online for patterns as well. Different websites like Bernat and Lion Brand have a wide array of patterns to select from.