R & r Moda: Baby Blankets

The creation of some beautiful Baby Blankets for a special friend has been a lovely project. My friend had an idea to make something of her baby wraps. Her girls were now too big to carry, but she and the girls had developed an attachment to the beautiful, bright wraps.

We used the "Imagine - Create - Enjoy" approach, where we worked together to come up with an end product that meant something to everyone involved.

My beautiful friend was kind enough to put into words our design approach, this is the story of what we created...

Imagine

Growing up in Africa Babywearing was seen everyday, mostly using a towel or a sheet. The children used to go everywhere with their mum. I always loved the fact that so much could be done whilst having bub on your back. As such when our first was born, we wore her in a carrier (SSC). A lot has progressed since then and it is safe to say that with our second daughter I fell down the wrap rabbit hole (both with Wraps and wrap converted SSC) with so many amazing brands out there. Oh for the lotto! How to decide on what wraps to have, well that was easy............ anything African inspired! I fell in love with the Kokadi and Natibaby brands as they have Giraffe and Elephant inspired wraps.

To say I had a fair collection is an understatement, shhh don’t tell the husband.

To cut a long story short, as our Babywearing days are now coming to an end I wanted to work out a way to save these wraps that I have loved, to be an heirloom for our girls. They are amazing and have sentimental value. I started the internet search and spent many hours on Babywearing websites trying to come up with an idea. Blankets were an inspiration. I loved that they could be used on the girls beds daily. However, living in a very warm country I wanted something that could be used all year round. It was then that the idea of a quilt came about.

Create

I approached a very talented friend of mine with the monumental task of creating something using the wraps that I had supplied. It is worth mentioning that the wraps we use to wear children are gorgeous but are a nightmare to work with as they are so soft and move in the sewing machine. She has been phenomenal and it is only through her that the vision has become reality.

Enjoy

The end result is absolutely breathtaking and is something that the girls will have on their beds daily. They will be able to tell their children how they were carried in these wraps and how they grew up with them. Just like Babywearing which has been done by many generations these quilts will be able to be passed on to future family members. In this modern day of technology I Love that there is going to be something with an amazing history given to future family members.

Step 1: Imagine