Our kNee Cap Gallery

I have now set up a gallery of our fall 2007 styles. View all of the available styles here: http://flickr.com/photos/8617932@N07/sets/72157602242804189/

Now you can see all of our past and current styles. If you see something you don't see listed in our shop just email me and I'll see what I can do for you. It seems that the Skull patterns are very popular right now and are very hard to come by. So if you see them listed in our store and you want them, don't hesitate because if you sneeze you might miss them!

Spark People!

For all of you new moms (and seasoned moms) out there trying to get back into shape or just trying to live a healthy lifestyle, the answer is Spark People! The site is 100% FREE! I use it all the time and have told all of my friends and family about Spark People.

What is it? It's a free site that helps you track all of your goals! You can track your daily calorie intake, exercise time/calories burned, weight loss goal, you can even add your own personal goals such as spiritual goals, savings goals, education goals etc.

The best part about the nutrition tracker is that you can ask for meal plans (free!) or you can just input the things that you eat each day. It gets even better though! There are already thousands of foods listed so all you have to do is look them up, and if they are not listed you can add them yourself! Say you forgot your lunch and went to McDonald's for lunch. Want to know how many calories that Big Mac has? Look it up it's already in there!

Another cool feature is their sister site: Spark Recipes
Here you can upload your great-grandmas famous meatloaf recipe and find out all the nutritional info per serving! How cool is that?! You can even play around with changing the ingredients to see how your nutritional values change. Substitute 2% milk with Fat free and see the difference!

Go on give it a try it's free! ... and no I'm not getting paid for this! You owe it to yourself to at least take a peek!

kNee Caps are here!

I have created my own line of baby legwarmers, which seem to be the latest craze and the new "must have" items for babies and toddlers. "Leg warmers?" you say? "What, are we back in the 80's?" Believe it or not these legwarmers are actually very useful and way more fashionable than their 80's counter part!

What is so unique about our kNee Caps™? They are super stylish and are available in great colors and fun prints. They add warmth while being soft on baby's skin. Our kNee caps have 2 finished edges so you can choose your look. One end looks like a finished sweater, the other end looks like a sweatshirt cuff. Our cuffs are super stretchy and will not bind those chubby baby legs!

OK I get that they are unique but how do I use them? Our kNeecaps™ have various uses!

1) Use them as leg warmers that reach all the way up to the thigh (newborn-4t)
2) As leg warmers they are great for crawling babies - no more red, dry, skinned knees!
3) They make diaper changes easier because you don't have to pull them off!
4) They make super cute tights/leggings for girls without pulling their diaper down!
5) They are great for toddler's that are potty training because they don't have to pull pants down.
6) Because they are snug they won't ride up or down the leg, but they are stretchy enough to be comfortable and not pinch.
7) You can use these as arm warmers too!
8) They are a great and easy way to extend your kids' summer wardrobe into fall and winter. These will give t-shirts that cool double layered look. They are also a great way to add warmth under pants without adding bulk!
9) These are cute for dance classes!
10) They are big enough to fit 5t-adults as arm cuffs or traditional legwarmers too!

See our extensive collection of kNee Caps™ baby leg warmers at Petit Debutant: www.petitdebutant.com

Vintage Re-mix

I love vintage textiles. There is something special about them. I especially like vintage pillowcases. There are many vintage pillowcases that have been hand embroidered with such attention to detail that no machine could ever reproduce.

I'm lucky enough to live in the south where there seems to be an abundance of vintage pillowcases. I've seen them everywhere from flea markets, yard sales, antique shops, and second hand shops. Some are embellished with simple embroidery, others with crochet trims, and some are just spectacular and blow your mind away!

I found a pair of matching pillowcases at a local antique shop and I turned one of them into this beautiful peasant top for a little girl. The embroidery is done by a machine but it was in such wonderful condition that I couldn't resist them.

Here's some tips for buying vintage pillowcases:
- Check for yellowing. Sometimes you can only see these spots in natural light.
- Check for tiny holes
- Check for stains
- Flip the pillowcase inside out and check to see if the embroidery floss is still in good condition.
- Check for fraying threads especially along fold lines.

Have fun browsing and enjoy the art of days gone by.

Reversible Pinafores

We've added some reversible pinafores to our shop. We only list a handful (2-5) of each design so if you see one you like snatch it up before someone else does! Here is our latest one, perfect for those memorable pictures to the pumpkin patch! The two pictures are of the same dress. You get 2 looks in one. Visit www.petitdebutant.com to see more pictures of the dress.

Here are some helpful tips to get some great shots at the pumpkin patch:
Take lots of pictures!
Take close-ups as well as distance shots.
Some of the best shots are when the kids aren't even looking at the camera.
Try: holding pumpkins, sitting on bales of hay, surrounding your kids with pumpkins, sitting on the giant pumpkin (if your kids are small enough!)

Most importantly have fun!

Etsy Tools

website that gives you lots of useful information as a seller on Do you have an ETSY shop? Ever wonder when the best time to list is? I just found the coolest ETSY. Etsy tools is an unnofficial website that has of useful real time charts. So visit etsyTools to learn more!

Presser Foot Organizer

About 1 week ago I moved my 2 children into the same bedroom. That left me with an empty room to finally have my own space for sewing. Right now my sewing room is a mess as I try to reorganize everything and get new furniture in there.

Not knowing exactly where to start my mission, I started in my presser foot box. It was just one of those small Rubbermaid type of bins with a lid, about the size of a small box. It starts out with just presser feet in the container but by the end of the month I've got pins, scissors, thread and what not in the box. Plus I always spend 5 minutes searching for the right foot. I had seen a "sewing supply bag" on the Sears website for $30, but I have never actually seen it in the store and looks rather bulky to me. I really like the way the pockets are clear. That's about the only thing I like, so I decided to make my own.

Here are general instructions for making your own presser foot/accessory organizer. Enjoy!


You will need fabric and some vinyl. I used one of those bags you get when you purchase a comforter. for fabric I used some upholstery fabric I had lying around.





Step 1: Lay out all of your presser feet/accessories you want to put in the organizer. Group them by size.

Step 2: Decide how big you want your organizer to be mine measures 7"x30" (add seam allowances.) Hem all edges of your organizer (I used my rolled hem foot)


Step 3: Cut out pieces of the vinyl larger than the size you need, you can always trim it later. Starting at the bottom (with your largest pieces) sew the plastic on. Then sew channels to form more pockets. Pin the plastic often and sew slowly to avoid puckers.

Start sewing at A (back-stitch) go to B, then, C, then D (back-stitch.) Then sew from 1 to 2 and back-stitch at both (Repeat this if you want more channels)


Step 4: Sew the rest of your rows. Make sure you fill the previous row with your presser feet before you determine where to place the next row. This way you can tell how far away to stitch your next row with out having puckers.

Finish it off anyway you want! You can add grommets to the top so you can hang it on your wall, add a magnetic clasp so it stays shut (this is what I plan to do) or tie it with a ribbon. This conveniently fold to about 5"x7" Mine is about 2" thick.



Tuck this baby in with your sewing bag and you're ready for your next class!

Twinkle Toes Baby Booties™

We've launched our new line of reversible baby booties! These super cute reversible baby booties feature stylish 100% cotton fabrics, thick soles, enclosed seams, and an elastic heel so shoes stay on.

Twinkle Toes Baby Booties™ are easy care. Just toss them in the washing machine with the rest of your laundry. The fabrics are pre-washed so they won't shrink!

They are available in the following sizes:
S (3m) - 4"
M (6m) - 4.5"
L (12m) - 5"


**These shoes are not meant for outdoor use.

We'll be adding more styles in the upcoming weeks. So be sure to visit www.petitdebutant.com to see all the new styles.

New Logo!!

I have been working long and hard to create the logo for Petit Debutant(click the image to see it full size.) It took several weeks to tweak it and get it just right. The great thing about it is that I can change the colors around with the seasons or when I get bored with thte color scheme. Feel free to let me know what you think!

Imaginary alter life

So my 3 year old son, EJ (nickname), has decided that he will live out at least a third of his day as a cat. Why? I don't know why, why does a 3 year old do anything at all. I thought this is supposed to be the age of imaginary friends maybe even an imaginary animal friend, but to be a cat? That was a little beyond my expectations. He has his share of imaginary friends as well (lately it's the Little Einsteins, yes all of them even rocket.)

At first I thought it was just a phase he would outgrow. He has been fascinated by cats since he met my brother's cats during Christmas of 2005. He has pretended to be a cat on and off since then. First it would just be meowing, but now he is a full fledged cat! He crawls on all fours, meows instead of talks, scratches at the door, and has even gone as far as licking my arm! He asks for things for "the kitty." "The kitty wants some water," "the kitty wants a snack." My all time favorite has been, "the kitty wants to watch tv." To which I was able to respond with a straight face (he was on all fours and in full cat mode at the time) "kitty cats don't watch tv, only little boys watch tv." He very quickly changed back into a little boy after that.

All in all I guess I can get used to the constant meowing, and hopefully I've made it clear that licking is not allowed. At least my husband is not allergic to this "cat." As long as he doesn't try scratching anyone, I guess EJ can be a cat! Hopefully not for too much longer because 3 hours of meowing a day can really get to you! I wonder what the family dog thinks.

Welcome to my new blog!

Hello and welcome to the new Petit Debutant blog.
Here I will post about our latest products, special promotions, product reviews and any helpful ideas and links that may be useful to other Mom's out there. Don't forget to visit the Petit Debutant store for stylish handmade products for babies and moms too!