Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Craft-tastic Tuesday - Etsy Pattern Review - Brindille and Twig Baby Yoga Pants


photo from the Brindille and Twig Etsy shop
One of her more trim fitting diapers
Well, I have been very very busy sewing but that didn't add up to another tutorial this time. I have sewn up a few gifts so I can't give the surprise away just yet, instead I have decided to share a story about Thursday and finish off with a review.
It all started on Thursday morning when I again became frustrated with Meara's pants. Being a cloth diapered baby we had a common problem - Bubble Butt. Her pants are hard to put on, even the larger sizes. I usually hold her by the waistband and jostle her into her pants. A dressed Meara looks a little silly, her pants are only fitted to her diaper, and no matter the inseam we always have to roll up the legs, and turn her around and the diaper will play peek-a-boo.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Special News...


If you stopped by the blog at any point this weekend you may have noticed some cosmetic changes. As much as I like the dynamic templates on Blogger, they do limit some of the features (unless, I just don't know what I am doing). I decided to go to a more classic layout so I could put up a few badges on the page, like the "I sell on Etsy" badge.
Yes, that is right, I finally set up my shop and listed a few items. It has been a long time coming, as I have kept saying I would but procrastinating. But, without further ado, I present:
If you look to the right, there is an Etsy Mini gadget showing some of my listings. The store is a little sparse as I have only listed 3 items so far. I have a few items in the sewing room that are ready to be listed, and a few that need finishing first.
I would love any comments and suggestions you have that could help me improve my shop. If you see some grammatical errors, contradictions, omissions, or anything you think needs clarifying, please let me know. I am still figuring out some of the shipping fees, and what I have asked for shipping fees so far is completely guesstimated based on the vaguery of Canada Post.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Belated Photo Friday


These last few weeks have been eventful. Summer has officially started and the boys are home from school. I am happily congratulating my best friend on her new and adorable baby girl.
The boys have started helping with chores around the house, and in a way that is actually helping. Not like when I used to have to sneak behind them and re-sweep.
Meara has been enjoying the Jolly Jumper, if you haven't seen it yet, we posted this video of her jumping once she finally learned how (took her about 5 days to get the hang of it).
I have spent quite a lot of time in front of my sewing machine too. I have plenty of posts planned for the coming Tuesdays now. So, since my last post, I have continued sewing diapers (I think I am addicted), I made some housewarming gifts for my brother and my sister, a cat bed, a messenger bag for Greg, and a set of pretty little burp cloths for Stacey. Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos of the burp cloths, because they were gorgeous, but I may make another set for a Tuesday post, since it was so easy to do, and they do make a great baby gift.
Anyhow, enjoy the photos and have a happy weekend.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Craft-tastic Tuesday - Plastic Bag Storage


My big brother and my big sister took possession of their first houses at the end of June so I decided I had better get in the sewing room and make up some kind of housewarming gift. It took a bit to figure out just what to sew, but then I settled on plastic bag holders. Just what you need to keep your kitchen organized. Next I might need to design one for storing all the reusable bags (that I always forget to use so the boys just use them for going to the pool and sleep overs).

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Diapers for Sale

This post is more for locals but I thought I might post them here too.

Large Cloth Diaper Lot for sale.
A. Home sewn AIO diaper 12-25lbs, some fraying on one tab $4.00
B. 7 MotherEase EconoMe small 8-20lbs, barely used, one diaper has a stain shown in photo. $50.00 for all or $8.00 each.
C. Sandys Absorbent Liners, barely used, one stain shown in photo $5.00 for all.
D. Kushies Diaper Liners $2.00 for all.
E. Home sewn AIO diaper 8-20 lbs $8.00
F. Home sewn pocket diaper 8-20 lbs $7.00
G. 3 Rickki Slim Wrap small 8-15lbs, barely used $20.00 for all or $8.00 each.
H. Thirsties Duo Wrap small 6-18lbs $8.00
I. Home sewn basic diaper covers $20.00 for all or $7.00 each
J. Home sewn yoke diaper covers $12.00 for both or $8.00 each
K. Home sewn lace ruffle pocket diaper with insert $20.00 for both or $12.00 each

Meara has doubled her birthweight at this point and I need to clean out her stash to make room for some larger diapers. I am also starting to sew extra diapers to sell. Once I have a few made up I will be putting them up on Etsy with some headbands as well and maybe a few other crafts I come up with.


Monday, July 8, 2013

Advice for Those Considering Cloth


If you are considering using cloth diapers, you are about to be overwhelmed, if you aren't already. Your going to start researching, and you will find so much information, every site contradicting the last, people insisting they know what you need. Now take a breath and relax.
Cloth diapering is not an exact science, you can't really do it wrong, Worst case scenario you over spend on diapering extras you didn't need. Maybe baby got a minor diaper rash because you didn't use the right soap. But life goes on.
The advice I would like to give you is this. No one is right and no one is wrong, so find the diapering philosophy that fits. The biggest place this come into play is in diaper washing. I am laid back, I found a simple routine. I read somewhere the breastfed baby poop is water soluble, so I don't rinse my diapers, I just toss the whole wet pail (minus the pail) in the machine spin, rinse, then wash like normal, with regular detergent. Did I just horrify anyone? Maybe my method isn't for you and that is ok.
How many diapers do you really need? That is entirely up to you. Your baby is likely to mess a dozen diapers a day so how often are you able to wash them? Do you want to have a lot of extra or just enough. I say the more the merrier now that I am sewing my own, but I brought my baby into this world with just 18 diapers to start and a daily wash routine and we did just fine. Not ambitious enough for that, that's ok.
If you are about to start cloth diapering, find some like minded parents that are already cloth diapering and get your advice there. Just take it with a grain of salt and you will do great.
Good luck.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Holy Jumping Babies, Batman

So our little princess has started jumping. Shortly after this video we put a mirror up beside her and she is just in love with herself. If you are wondering what she is staring at in this video it's Daddy.

I Think Diapers are Just Dandy

The firs diapers I ever sewed

So, I was just sewing up more inserts for my diapers and the thought occurred to me that as much as I wish more parents would be brave enough to experience the joys of cloth diapering, the cloth diapering parents should consider sewing.
I learned to sew with cloth diapers so it can't be that hard. Each diaper is a quick project taking as little as 20 minutes for a cover to an hour and a half for an embellished pocket diaper.
I realized that I have gotten to the point where the majority of my stash is hand made. That is something I get to be very proud of. I have only a handful of store bought diapers left (4 Happy Heinys pockets, Flip Day pack, 2 Kissaluvs contours, and a few prefolds and inserts).

Benefits of Sewing Your Own Cloth Diapers

  1. Better fit: When you sew the diapers you can choose a pattern that fits your baby well, or make your own. Best of all your can evolve that pattern as you go fixing any fit issues until you have it perfect.
  2. Custom and Unique: The diapers you sew can't be bought at any store, you will be the only one with that diaper. You get to pick the features you like, the fabric you like and the design.
  3. Style: You may find that you just can't find a PUL in a pattern you like, that's ok, you can use any fabric you like over the PUL creating a truly one of a kind diaper.
  4. Savings: Cloth diapering is a big investment upfront, but we don't mind making it because we know that we will see big savings in comparison to the long term purchasing of  disposables. The investment can be made smaller though. Some moms like to raid the linen closet, and cut up old T-shirts, even wool sweaters, making their stash almost free, not ambitious enough for that, that's ok. I made a dozen fitted diapers, making my diapers for $3.50 a piece. Good luck buying them that cheap.
  5. Pride: There is just something that feels good about being able to say I made that.
I am going to issue a challenge to every cloth diapering mother or father out there with a sewing machine to give it  a try, and sew a diaper. It's easy, I promise. I will even give some advice on fabric, and design.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Craft-tastic Tuesday - One Size Cloth Diaper Inserts


Well, my Simplifi Fabric order arrived Friday and I have nothing but nice things to say about them. The cuts are extremely generous, the fabrics are exactly what I expected or better. I will definitely be ordering there again.
So naturaly, having lots of new fabric to work with, I got right to work. Todays project is a one size cloth diaper insert that is modeled after the Jam Tots One Size Stuffers. My per insert cost works out to just under $3.00 each. I really like the Jam Tots inserts but this project gave me the chance to modify them to fit my needs. You will require a snap press or pliers to make these but if you are going to be making a lot of cloth diapers it is definitly a worth while investment. My pliers were about $18.00 at Walmart and you can order them from Wazoodle or Simplifi as well.


For this project you will require: (makes 6)
1 yard - Hemp Terry (prewashed)
1 yard - Microfiber Terry (prewashed)
Snap Press and 8 snaps (two studs and six sockets or vice versa)
Serger (although you could turn and top-stitch these)
Basic sewing notions


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