Remember those “Baby on Board” placards that used to be so popular? They spawned an entire line of bizarre copycats; I remember seeing everything from “Mother-in-Law on Board” to “Alien on Board”! The original baby idea as a warning sign was a good one, and is similar to today’s ScrapBusters project. When baby is finally asleep, gently shut the nursery door, then slip this sweet door hanger over the knob to warn the rest of your noisy family it’s time to tip-toe because, “Baby’s Sleeping!” This project is fast and easy to make and uses just a few tiny bits of fabric, batting and trim. It would make a wonderful shower gift.

Remember those “Baby on Board” placards that used to be so popular? They spawned an entire line of bizarre copycats; I remember seeing everything from “Mother-in-Law on Board” to “Alien on Board”! The original baby idea as a warning sign was a good one, and is similar to today’s ScrapBusters project. When baby is finally asleep, gently shut the nursery door, then slip this sweet door hanger over the knob to warn the rest of your noisy family it’s time to tip-toe because, “Baby’s Sleeping!” This project is fast and easy to make and uses just a few tiny bits of fabric, batting and trim. It would make a wonderful shower gift.

We used the adorable Cloud9 Organic Maman Les Petite Filles print on the front of our door hanger since we simply couldn’t think of a cuter motif than two curious girls peering into a baby’s bassinet.

For more ideas using the Cloud9 Nursery Basics and Maman collections, take a look at our Petite Purse, Baby Quilt and matching Big Sister Dolly Quilt tutorials. The look is vintage, yet the color palette is totally today, and the result is simply adorable.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome Skyline S5)

Fabric and Other Supplies

• Scraps or THREE coordinating ¼ yard cuts of cotton fabric: we dove into our scrap stash and picked out three pieces from the recent Cloud9 Maman projects:  Nursery Basics from Cloud 9 Organic in Shell Speckle (accent band and handle), Maman from Cloud 9 Organic in Les Petite Filles (front), Maman from Cloud 9 Organic in Rose Motif (back)
• Scrap or ¼ yard of medium weight fusible interfacing
• Scrap or ¼ yard of medium weight batting
• Scrap or ¾ yard of coordinating piping; we used brown
• Scrap or ⅓ yard of tiny rick rack; we used pink
• Three pom poms; we used white
• All purpose thread
• See-through ruler
• Fabric pencil
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Hand sewing needle
• Seam gauge
• Straight pins

Getting Started

1. Download and print the Door Hanger Template
   IMPORTANT: This pattern consists of ONE 8½” x 11″ sheet. You must print the PDF file at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page.
2. Cut out the pattern along the solid line.
3. Using the pattern, from the front fabric (Les Petite Filles in our sample), fussy cut ONE piece.
4. Using the pattern, from the back fabric (Rose Motif in our sample), fussy cut ONE piece.
5. Using the pattern, from the batting, cut ONE piece.
6. From the fabric for the handle (Shell Speckle in our sample), cut ONE 3″ x 13″ strip.
   NOTE: The front accent band is optional and dependent on your motif. We show you below how to figure out this cut should you decide to add it. It takes just a tiny scrap.
7. From the interfacing, cut ONE 3″ x 13″ strip.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

The optional accent band

1. I wanted to completely isolate one adorable “peeking in the bassinet” motif from the Maman fabric as the focal point of my door hanger. In order to do this and still fit within my pattern, I needed to add an accent band at the top to conceal the bits of the repeating motif above my chosen motif.
2. First, draw a horizontal line across the front piece right below the motif you want to conceal. In my sample, this was right below the little shoes of the peeking girls.
3. Measure ½” ABOVE this line and draw a parallel line. This will be your cut line. The ½” accounts for the seam allowance.
4. Measure ½” BELOW this line and draw a parallel line. This will be the guide line to cut the accent band.
5. You can transfer these lines onto the paper pattern or simply use the marked fabric as your guide to cut the band fabric. The drawn guide line is the bottom of the accent band. Use the top and the sides of the front piece or pattern to complete the rectangular cut.
6. When done, you should have a piece that matches your front piece but extends ½” beyond the top edge.
   
7. Cut the front piece along the drawn cut line. Be careful you are keeping track of all these lines. The cut line is your top drawn line.
   
8. Place the accent band right sides together with the cut front piece and pin along the top edge.
   
9. Using a ½” seam allowance, stitch along the top edge. Press the seam open and flat. Double check to make sure your new two-piece front still matches the paper pattern and the back piece. Trim if necessary.  
   

Make the handle

1. Find the 3″ x 13″ fabric strip and interfacing strip.
2. Following manufacturer’s instructions, fuse the interfacing strip to the wrong side of the fabric strip.
3. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, right sides together. Pin in place along the 13″ side.
4. Using a ½” seam allowance, stitch along the 13″ side.
   
5. Trim back the seam allowance to about ¼”.
   
6. Turn right side out through the open ends.
7. Roll the seam to the back and press flat.
   
8. Lay the batting piece flat on your work surface. Lay the front piece on top of the batting right side up and with all edges flush.
9. Pinch each end of the handle into a fold with the seam to the inside.
   
10. Place the handle onto the layered batting and front piece so each end is ½” in from the raw edge of the fabric/batting, the folded edge is facing out, and the handle loop in hanging down.
    
11. Staying close to the top raw edges, machine baste across the entire top of the layered front/batting to secure the handles in place.

Making and placeing the pom pom dangles

1. You can certainly buy pre-made pom pom dangles, but since this is a ScrapBusters project, we used what we had on hand: some tiny rick rack and a length of pom pom fringe.
2. Cut three random lengths from the tiny rick rack. You want the poms to hang at different levels, so each length should be different. Ours varied from 1½” to 2½”.
3. Cut three poms apart from the pom pom fringe.
4. Make a tiny fold in one end of the rick rack. Place this folded end against the pom webbing next to the yarn bits that hold the pom itself to the webbing.
   
5. Roll up the webbing to encase the yarn bits and the end of the rick rack within the webbing. I used my mini hemostats to help hold the roll in place.
   
6. Thread a hand sewing needle with thread to match the pom pom and stitch the roll closed.
   
7. Repeat to create three pom pom dangles.
   
8. Pin the handle up out of the way.
9. Place the three pom pom dangles at the center bottom of the front. Adjust them so they are staggered and pin in place.
   
10. When you have the “dangle” they way you like it, carefully flip the poms around so the ends are facing down and the poms are facing up. Re-pin in this new position. Hand stitch the poms in place and trim the ends if needed so they extend just beyond the edge of the fabric.
    
11. Set aside.

Attach the piping

1. Find the back piece and your length of piping.
2. Starting in the middle of the top edge, pin the piping to the right side of the back piece, clipping at the corners and around the curves to get the piping extension to lay flat against the fabric with raw edges flush. You should leave a loose tail of about 1″ overlapping the head of the piping.
   
3. If you are new to piping, check out our tutorial on this subject.
4. Switch to your zipper foot and machine baste the piping in place, staying as close to the piping cord as possible.
   
5. Cut back your piping cord and overlap the ends to finish. Again, you can review our tutorial for a step-by-step of finishing.
   

Finish

1. Layer the completed back with its piping over the completed front with its handle and poms basted in place and pinned in the middle to keep them out of the way of the seam.
2. Make sure all the edges of the front and back and the batting are flush and pin all the way around. Use plenty of pins.
3. Leave a 2″ opening along the top edge for turning.
   
4. With the Zipper foot still on, stitch all the way around, staying as close to the piping cord as possible, and starting and stopping at either side of the 2″ opening. Remember to lock your stitch at either side of the opening.
5. Very carefully turn the doorhanger right side our through the opening.
6. Insert your finger or a long, blunt end tool, such as a chop stick or knitting needle through the opening to poke out the corners and smooth the curves.
7. Press well, pressing in the raw edges of the opening so they are flush with the sewn seam.
8. Hand stitch the opening closed with a slip stitch hidden along the edge of the piping.

Project Design: Liz Johnson and Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation: Liz Johnson