What can I do with old baby clothes? 

Do you have the clothes your baby wore put away in a bag in the loft? Or do you have just a few treasured items in a memory box that you want to display? Here are 3 ideas, plus 2 bonus ideas for what you can do with them. It all depends if you would prefer to sew a keepsake, comission a keepsake, and the condition of the clothing.

1 Have a keepsake animal made

At the Messy Stork I make keepsake bears and elephants. These keepsakes will look lovely in your home for many years to come and are so much nicer than putting those little clothes full of memories away in a box where you can’t see them. I can embroider your baby’s name and his on her date of birth on your bear’s paws. On the elephants I can embroider your name and date on to the ears, which looks ultra cute. 

You could display your memory bear or elephant in your baby’s nursery, keep it a shelf with some baby photos or sit it on your bed. These keepsakes are not toys as they cannot be CE tested, they are to hold onto your memories so you can see them and they will  make you smile. 

So if you are reading this article on what to do with old baby clothes and would like to order a keepsake bear, keepsake elephant or keepsake cushion click HERE for my order page.

2 Have a keepsake cushion made.

My keepsake cushions come in 2 styles. A square or a heart. The square is made up of squares and rectangles of your baby’s clothes. It is a zipped cushion with a cushion pad, so the cushion cover can be washed if needs be. 

My heart shaped cushions are made of a patchwork of clothing. Again they make a lovely display item for a bed or a shelf or a settee. These cushions have a heart shaped pocket on them which can be used as a  tooth fairy pocket. This shape of cushion is stuffed with soft toy filling, so the cover can only be spot cleaned not removed to be washed. I will prioritise any items that hold extra special memories for you, Just let me know which items these are when you order.

3 Make your own memory bear

If you have a sewing machine and would like to sew your own memory bear, I have some sewing patterns you can buy. As an experienced keepsake maker I have written these patterns in such a way as to share my knowledge with you so you can make a lovely professional standard bear or other animal. If you are looking at the clothes your little one has outgrown and are wondering what to do with these precious baby clothes, in my photo tutorials I share with you all my tips and techniques for you so sew a lovely keepsake. links to all photo tutorials are on my sewing pattern shop HERE.

I know it can be daunting to cut into clothes that are so precious to you, so I would suggest you always practice first on some regular fabric. I have a Facebook group full of other women who have made my patterns. They are such a supportive group of sewers and will love to see your finished make and give you encouragement if you need it.

My sewing pattern shop is on my website HERE, and my Facebook group is HERE.

And 2 bonus ideas

1 Give away what you are not too attached to

When I had my daughter I was SO grateful for the clothes we were given. In that first year in particular babies grow so fast they often barely have time to wear their clothes before they have grown out of them. If you do not have friends or family who are currently needing baby clothes, then there are plenty of free sites to give away any items that you do not want to make into a keepsake. It is so lovely to be able to save another parent money, and lovely for them to receive your gift.

2 But what to do with any clothes that are too badly stained or worn out?

Some charities and councils are able to recycle fabric so it is definitely worth asking around instead of sending clothes to landfill.

If you can sew you can cut and sew baby clothes into washcloths or make up removal pads.

How to make a washcloth or make up removal pad from baby clothes

First cut the clothes into pairs of matching size rectangles. Then a stretch stitch, sew your rectangles together (right sides together) nearly all the way round, leaving a 3cm hole for turning. Next snip the excess fabric away from the corners so you don’t get a bulky bump. Lastly turn your rectangle right side out and sew all the way round again – this will also hold your turning hole closed.