Heirloom Gifts for Baby

Hand Ornaments
Use your child's handprint for an adorable fabric ornament your family will cherish for years to come. For the ornaments you will need one yard each of two complimentary, 100-percent cotton fabrics (depending on how many ornaments you plan on making), fusible web (like double-sided tape for fabrics), embroidery floss or perle cotton thread, a needle, pillow filling or cotton balls, an iron, and ribbon. All of these items can be purchased at your local fabric store.

• First, outline your baby's hand onto tracing paper. Cut it out to use as a pattern.
• Adhere the wrong side of the fabric to the paperless side of the fusible web.
• Follow the directions on the fusible web, ironing times and settings vary.
• Reverse the hand pattern and place it on the paper side of fusible web. Cut out the fabric handprint.
• Cut out two squares from the other fabric that will extend about three-quarters of an inch around the handprint.
• Remove the paper from the fusible web and adhere the fabric handprint to one of your square fabric pieces with the iron.
• Use thread to button-hole stitch the two square pieces together on three sides. A button-hole stitch goes through both fabric squares from the top then loops around the square's edge before coming back to the top side. Place the stitches a little less than a quarter of an inch apart. (You may also want to stitch around the handprint before stitching the squares together.)
• Fill the ornament to a desired fullness and stitch the final side closed. Add an ornament hanger by making a loop with additional thread or ribbon.

Not the craftiest mom? Don't worry—these ornaments are supposed to look antique and hand-quilted, not perfectly uniform. To create a baby-themed Christmas tree, make several ornaments and use the same ribbon from the ornaments to tie colorful bows onto the tree branches. Send extra ornaments to family members as gifts.

Hand Quilts
Looking to personalize a baby blanket? Add your child's handprint to a blanket using the technique outlined above. You can add a new hand each year to chronicle your youngster's growth. You might also want to make a lap blanket with the handprints for Great-Grandma. This technique works best if you use all-cotton fabrics for both the handprint and the blanket.