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I can still remember the odd look on the ultrasound techs face when we asked during our 3D ultrasound if we could see our sons ears. She remarked that in all her years, no one had ever specifically requested to see the baby’s ears before. Sure, they asked to see to see fingers and toes, but not the ears. I have to admit when my husband asked, I thought it was strange too but what a remarkable feature to have been so ignored. During the ultrasound we discovered that his ears are perfectly round, as are all his facial features. I had no way of knowing how completely obsessed I would become over my children’s ears and how strikingly different they all are. So, my oldest son has perfectly round ears, my oldest daughter has slightly pointy ears that are close to her head, my youngest son has round ears that stick out ever so slightly from his head (cutest little dumbo ears you have ever seen) and our newest sweet baby girl has both a round ear and a slightly pointy ear. It was the first feature that I noticed about her when she was born. Well, that and she has the same button nose as her brothers and sister.
So these are her beautifully unique ears at 6 days old.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have stubborn nature to “do it myself”. I have always had a hard time paying someone else to do something, that I know I can do myself. Case in point, {newborn cheesecloth wraps}. They are sold on etsy for 8-15 dollars per wrap (a wrap is around 1.5 yards of dyed fabric). I love the soft, artistic look that they add to a newborn image. It’s a hint of cover and color, yet it allows you to see the tiny shape of the newborn body. It was something I knew I really wanted for my upcoming newborn session but not at 8 dollars a wrap!
I decided to make my own and it was really easy–as easy as dyeing Easter eggs!
- First I picked up a package of cheesecloth from Walmart (cost was 5.oo for 6 yards) and then I picked out my dye colors (I used RIT liquid dye and it was between 2.79 and 3.79 per bottle).
- Ritdye.com has a great color guide that gives you the recipes for different colors. I did mine a little backwards, I recommend looking up colors first and THEN buying the specific colors you need for your recipes.
- The color guide will tell you exactly how much dye you need per ounce of fabric. Weigh your fabric, do the math and then you are set.
- I used old bowls to dye the fabric in and chopsticks (they were all I had handy) to “stir” the cloth. I stirred the cloth several times during the 30 minutes (each wrap took around 30 minutes–a few times I got distracted and left it for an hour but it didn’t seem to matter).
It really is that easy!
I spent a total of 13 dollars on 15 yards of cheesecloth and I spent around 30 dollars on dye (would have been much less had I known about the color guide before I went shopping) and I made 10 wraps with it.
Total cost: 43 dollars for 10 wraps
Total cost for 10 wraps at 8 dollars each (the lowest price) is 80 dollars plus shipping.
I saved just under 50% on my project and the best part is, I have enough dye left over to make another 20 wraps.