If you want to give the gift of a baby bouquet, the baby—and parents—might prefer one made of clothes rather than flowers. Here's how to craft one from scratch.
Babies don’t really need, or appreciate, flowers. But they do need baby clothes, which are always appreciated by their parents.
So the latest trend in neonatal gift giving is the baby bouquet, a grouping of baby clothes made to look like a floral arrangement.
Why baby bouquets?
With a baby bouquet, infants will be spared pollen allergens, thorns, and wilted petals.
Instead they will receive “floral” bouquets of socks, hats, mittens, sleep suits, bibs, and other essential items. These come in girl, boy, and unisex styles.
If baby has really sensitive skin, you can find 100 per cent organic cotton baby bouquets. And don’t worry if the clothes don’t fit yet. The bouquet can be kept around as a decoration until the time is right.
Flowers or not?
Yes, you can get baby bouquets that consist of only clothes, rolled up and primped to look like flowers. But you can also find ones with real and silk flowers interspersed among the garments.
Make your own
You can buy these creative and useful gifts online and through retailers. But if you already have a whack of new baby clothes, some time on your hands, and want to give your DIY chops a workout, then consider making your own baby bouquet.
As an esthete, you will have chosen clothes with colours that complement each other. Solid colours work best to convey “flowerness.”
- Fold the clothes in half and then roll them up into tight rolls. By varying the tightness, you can have small buds or blooming flowers.
- After securing the rolls with rubber bands or florist wire, hold each one and fluff the top edges, also tugging them downward, to impart the appearance of a bloom.
- You can take floral stems or sticks and place them under the rubber bands or wire of your clothing flowers, giving them a backbone. Then fill your gift basket or container at least 2/3 full of florist foam.
- Press the clothing flowers and any decorations that you might want to add into the foam and, voila! You have a baby bouquet.
Wrap it all in a ribbon and give the baby bouquet to the proud but red-eyed new parents.
