When I was younger and my mother needed something to keep my siblings and I occupied, she’d make water babies. Filling balloons with water, she’d hand us markers and we’d go to town, decorating our water babies, taking boxes lined with tissue to make beds, and making various outfits for them. Inevitably, though, we’d drop the balloon on the grass, or it would brush up against the edge of paper or something else sharp, and our beloved water babies would be gone – popped in a rush of water.

Being an enterprising young child, I decided that my water babies needed an outfit, a protective cover to protect it from the world. Being handy with a hook, I made small bags that my balloon would rest in, to be protected. Over time these developed into quite elaborate creatures in their own right.

And then, I grew up and forgot about them.

Recently, however, these water baby costumes were brought back to mind. I have two young girls in my life, and they were playing with water babies the other week. Inevitably, one got dropped on the hot asphalt, and burst… leading to some quite natural tears. I decided it was time for me to break out my hook and an old idea, and give it a new twist.

And so, I present to you, a modern twist on my 20 year old water baby pattern.