Bassinette Baby Basket Bumper

 Try saying that title 10 times fast!  Here is the sweet jungle animal fabric I found at a Fabricland store.  It is copyright 2010 Precious Moments Designer Collection, Inc.; Licence SPF Fabrics. 

 Here is the remaining crib bumper that I bought at Value Villiage for $4, its a bit worn out & way too big, but by far cheaper than buying new batting & backing fabric.  An hour in the recliner with the seam ripper and I had more than enough supplies.  I washed it twice before commencing & was a little surprised to find the previous owner's detergent perfume still came through.  I guess I forgot the vinegar rinse, since that usually kills perfumed detergents.  The panels are cute & may get re-used into something, but I'm lacking ideas right now.

 Here is the finished basket bumper, it is not tied in this picture.  I forgot to show a picture of the backing fabric, it is white, blue, & green plaid backing fabric from the original bumper.  I also reused the ties & bias fold tape on the top edge.  Why not, it all matched perfectly.  If you click on the pictures to enlarge you will see my sewing is not perfect.  I'll admit it was pinned to death to hold it's shape for sewing & still not easily cooperative.  4 rounds of stitch picking didn't really make this project popular with me.  I added vertical stitch lines at regular intervals to keep the stuffing in place.  I couldn't resist this fabric for this purpose, and for about $20, & a few hours time, it is so worth it.  I won't bother with all the boring measuring & sewing details since this is a project blog & I doubt anyone will have this exact same basket or supplies to duplicate this.  It works out that the bumper is a continuous loop, about 10" tall & about 70" long.  The mat in the base is waterproof & I can use a pillowcase or fold burp-cloth flannels over it.  I have some flannel serged but am not sure if I want to put an elastic edge on them to become custom fitted sheets.

This basket was used by my Mom for me & my brothers, and for my son & 3 other family members.  Over 14 years ago I made a different bumper for my son of fabric with cute cat faces.  I remember he would have the sweetest little mumbling baby conversations with them.  Sorry but I have no digital pictures of that to show.  It is said babies can see 7-15" as newborns, and they are most drawn to look at interesting faces.  I seem to do a mix of practical sewing like this or a binge of pattern sewing.  Thanks for looking at what I've been up to!