sewbaby: one-of-a-kind clothes for your little one

Need a baby or birthday gift? Want to dress your own baby or toddler in something you don't find on the racks? Check out these adorable pieces from Sewbaby.

Moms who resort to shopping via the "add to cart" button on babygap.com or oldnavy.com should especially take note: Sewbaby onesies, tops, pants and other offerings make a far more unique and personal purchase and can be customized. That's something that's hard, if not impossible, to do elsewhere. Whether it's choosing your fabric or your design, Sewbaby can do it all.

Rachel Weiner, a graphic artist turned preschool teacher and now the mom behind the line, started making baby clothes a couple of years before she had her now 2.5 year old daughter Ella.

"After I quit teaching and had Ella, I wanted to use all of my background interests and started sewing presents for my friends who were having babies," she says. "I started doing T-shirts and then people started asking me to make some for their newborns, and that's how it began."

It's no surprise that Weiner has a passion for clothes. "I grew up as the only girl in a family of four kids, so I owned 25 Cabbage Patch Kids. I would act like their mommy and dress them up all the time!"

Weiner searches the garment district and online for amazing fabrics and uses her Upper West Side Manhattan apartment as her workspace. She says, "My customers are mainly friends and family who have babies/toddlers themselves or are giving presents to others."

While all of her pieces make you stop and admire, some of the most popular include the gift sets which may include a letter shirt and bib for a new baby, or a number shirt for a child turning one or two. She makes clothes for Ella and recently made her a personalized doll stroller too. She explains, "I wanted to make her doll stroller stand out amongst those of her friends at the NYC playgrounds."

Remarkably, her biggest challenge isn't creating the designs or giving customers what they want but finding the space to sew. "I only have one table in my NYC apt so I have to clear everything off to use the sewing machine! And finding storage space for all the onesies and fabrics I buy isn't easy either!"

But when a customer sends her a photo of her baby wearing Sewbaby clothes, it's all worthwhile. She hopes to one day expand her business from blog to website to make it easier for customers to order. For now, check out her entire collection at http://sewbaby.blogspot.com.

get comfortable

You go out of your way to find super-soft clothes and accessories for your baby--from onesies to blankets, even baby wipes! The creator of the Little Pharo clothing line can relate. Monica used 100% Extra-Long Staple Egyptian Cotton, an extremely luxurious and rare fiber. Her 18-month old son wears Little Pharo jammies or shirts and leggings whenever he is home. He also wears the onesies (sleeveless or short-sleeve in the summer, and long-sleeve in the winter) underneath his clothes because, she says, "what more important place would you want something ultra soft, than against your baby's delicate skin?" Not only are the pieces extra soft, but Monica claims she's washed them dozens of times and they're totally durable. She says they actually get even softer with each wash! "I am still trying to figure out what my son is going to wear when he outgrows the line later this year--it only runs up to 24 months for now!" she says. Choose lightweight summer pieces like rompers or leggings, or pick out your next baby shower gift (try the adorable onesies!) A portion of the proceeds from each Little Pharo garment purchased goes to benefit underprivileged and orphaned children in Africa. Go to www.littlepharo.com to order and enter the coupon code caboodle for a 20% discount off your entire purchase.