Blueberry Ruffles to Match her Eyes

So, in the very few minutes a day that I don't take care of the baby, tackle the never-ending piles of laundry, or, you know, indulge in some hugely overrated necessities such as eating, it seems all I can do is still make stuff for the baby.

My little one and I have been hugely enjoying going around with a sling (truth be told, I may be a little addicted to the thing, and tend to be cranky if we don't manage an outing once a day). The only thing is, the intense sunlight we have here in Languedoc means I keep having to wrap her head under a layer of the sling, then unwrap her as she wants to look around, especially now that she starts holding her head. She urgently needed a little hat; however, I didn't want a sunhat with an all-around brim, as it would create an uncomfortable excess of fabric between her cheeks and my skin. 

Enter the "béguin", as we say in French, or bonnet, as you English speakers would say (I happen to love the word "béguin", as a common if slightly quaint idiomatic phrase in France is "avoir le béguin pour quelqu'un", meaning being infatuated with someone. You know, a bit like "throwing one's bonnet over the mills". "Bonnet" in French means woolen hat, so not quite the same thing :).) I have this book of beautiful traditional designs for babies, Intemporels pour bébés, by Citronille AKA Astrid le Provost (I also have her book for maternity wear, which I mentioned earlier, and used with mitigated results; the baby book is much better IMO). I used the pattern for the ruffled bonnet, or "béguin à volant". I did alter the pattern as I made the ruffle much wider (by 4 cm), for a deeper brim - since the point is to shield my baby's face from the sun.

Success! The sunlight streams down on us, but is screened from her little face, and she can look around all she wants.

I used a print for the ruffle only, making the body and lining in solid shades: lilac linen for the outside and white cotton for the inside, both remnants from previous projects. Sewing for a baby is proving a great way to get rid of all these remnants that aren't big enough for an adult project, but that you can't justify throwing out because they're not tiny scraps, either.
The print is Liberty, no less; but when you need so little of it it really isn't so decadent! It has both lilac and deep blue shades, which is why I settled on it for the ruffle - to match my daughter's current dark blue eyes.

Because the brim is only at the front, there's no problem in snuggling up and falling asleep against maman, either:

(my glasses are back as I haven't been able to wear contact lenses since the birth due to photophobia and my eyesight being out of whack - hopefully things will get better with time!)

As an added bonus, the blue matches my Vitamin D cardigan - which was great during pregnancy, and is still great for babywearing!

Coming up next: cute little pants, and a spring dress!

Wherever you are, and whatever way you are (or are not) celebrating, I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter weekend.