I don't have much energy lately

Big brother and baby sister are going to be big siblings again. I have been struggling with morning sickness and really haven't been up to making diapers or even putting my kids in cloth diapers. I feel bad that they are in sposies and it makes me gag at the smell of dirty sposies but I don't have much energy to deal with another 2 loads of laundry a week. I know I'm taking the easy way out but I'm ok with it for now. I think I'm going to eventually have 3 kiddos in diapers soon - big brother really has no interest in potty training. That is fine with me because he is still little (a few months past his second birthday). I hear Baby sister up from her nap (I guess I should call her little sister now - nah I'll wait until I know what I'm having first).

Babylegs Tutorial

First you start out with a pair of knee high socks. These are girls socks but the adult ones work great too.

Then you cut off the heal and toe of the sock.

Then you fold over the "foot" piece so that it is right side up

Next put the folded piece over the leg part of the sock and line up the seams.

Sew then together on your machine with a straight stitch. I tried on one pair a zig-zag stitch and it made the seam pucker.

Now unfold the seam and you have some cute baby legs for your baby or toddler.

The finished product on Baby Sister.

Here are a few others I made:

Some Halloween goodies

Some baby legwarmers. A tutorial for how to make these is coming very soon.

matching fleece soakers.

Giveaways!!!

I get really sucked in to the giveaways in the chance that I could win one of them. I haven't yet but one never knows. Right now Newly Wed, Newly Bred is having a giveaway for 2 items that I really want to try out. The first one is for an amber teething necklace. I am having a really tough time with Baby Sister teething horribly. She is getting 4 top teeth right now and I heard that the necklace has analgesic properties just by wearing it. Right now I feel so bad for numbing up her whole mouth with Orajel.

The second thing that Newly wed newly bred is giving away is Rockin' Green laundry detergent. I have heard great reviews about the soap and that it is great for hard water (tons of issues here with that). I also heard that it doesn't have a strong scent and that it is great for sensitive skin (which I have).

I tried the pants again before I tried it on some wool so I used the Katrina's longies pattern in size large and medium for my kiddos.

Then I decided to be brave and try out the longies from a wool sweater
before

after

Just a few more Pooligans pictures.

Recycled material covers

I found a great tutorial on how to convert old sweaters (mainly their sleeves) to longies that I have been wanting to try out. I followed the directions but got a little confused on a few directions. It says to cut the extra material off so I cut it and then ended up with a really small waist plus I sewed it together and then pulled the other leg out the seam was wrong. Think about a pair of fleece pants with the seam inside on one leg and the seam on the outside of the other leg. That's what I did *oops* Anyway after unpicking and trying again I got a pair of fleece longies from the sleeves of a fleece sweatshirt. Then I decided to use the cute Mickey Mouse embroidery on the shirt as the back of a cover. Here are the finished pictures.

Pooligans Update

Well after trying out the diapers last night I have to say that I really like Pooligans diapers. Super soaking Big Brother didn't leak at all and neither did Baby Sister. She even had an extra middle of the night feeding (ok technically 2) and the diaper was pretty wet on her but they didn't leak out of the cover. They didn't smell too bad from the stong ammonia smell I get with all of Big Brother's night diapers. I give the diapers 2 thumbs up! We shall see how they hold up to poop soon too.

Testing Pooligan's Diapers

A fellow cloth diapering mama is starting a cding business and asked for testers to test her diapers out. I told her I would do it and was able to get 2 diapers to test (makes sense with 2 kids). Anyway they are Pooligans for your lil' Hooligans diapers. They are made with a cotton knit outer material and bamboo velor and a trifolded snap-in soaker made from Bamboo velor and bamboo hemp fleece material. I received them a few days ago and they are sooooo soft and fluffy. I tried them on my kiddos after prepping them twice. They held up pretty good. Little Sister's diaper lasted her a few hours (because she wasn't wet when I put her down for a nap) while Big Brother's diaper I changed after wetting once - we are trying to potty train and he told me he needed to pee but had already gone and I didn't want to put the wet diaper back on him. Anyway I was able to get some pictures of the kiddos wearing their new fluff.

It works great with a snappie

Cute kids in their matching Ooga Booga diapers. Big Brother calls them "Booga Booga"

It would have been the perfect picture if Little Sister didn't move.

Nice and trim in the back and in the crotch. The back elastic does a good job.

They are currently wearing them to bed with a fleece cover over the top plus pj's. It doesn't look as bulky as the pockets stuffed with 2 inserts they normally wear to bed. They are pretty trim in the crotch and the elastic in the back stretches nicely for a tight fit (no poop running out the back on these I'm sure). The biggest test for me is night-time. Big Brother soaks through many of his diapers at night (that includes disposables).

Homemade stuff

I have been trying to save some money lately because of this economy and to make things more easy if I can make it myself. I've been making different cleaning supplies. I make my own diaper detergent and it is so easy to make. I found all my ingredients in the laundry isle of the grocery store and all of them are pretty close to costing $5 or less and it makes a lot of detergent.
The recipe is:
1 cup Oxyclean Free
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax.
I have a front loading washer and I only need 1 TBS for a light/small load and 2 TBS for a large load or very dirty load. I've been using it for a while and it is doing it's job. No fragrances and it doesn't have soap in it to cause buildup. Plus it doesn't cause bubbles in my diaper laundry so I don't have to keep rinsing until all the bubbles are gone.

I'm also going to make some wipe solution today. I just need to get a spray bottle to put it in. The recipe I'm using is:
2 cups distilled water (I'm boiling my tap water - distilled water keeps the solution from going bad too soon)
2 TBSP baby soap (I'm using Johnson's nightime baby wash)
2 tsp baby oil (I'm using Johnson's baby oil lavender scent)
a drop or two of Tea Tree Essential Oil and you could use a drop or two of Lavender Essential Oil but I figure I'm using the lavender scented oil and wash so I have that already)

Helping others out

I gave some tips in person yesterday when I took baby sister to a parenting meeting in a t-shirt and a Haute Pocket. I think that educating others on the different types of cloth diapers out there now helps them decide whether it is a good idea to make the switch from disposables to cloth. I feel pretty good about the info I gave. I even gave away the diapers I don't really use all the time to let one of my friends try them out on her child. It feels good to help others out.

The reason I started this blog wasn't just to show off my sewing I wanted to help inform anyone about the things that are out there and how to sew them yourself. Now the basics - cloth diapers are very different from the ones my mom used on me and my siblings. They have better covers that breathe so there are fewer rashes - no more plastic pants. There are different styles of diapers out there - prefolds and flats, fitteds, pockets, and All-in-ones (AIO). Prefolds and flats still need to be folded on the baby. Fitteds are my personal favorite they can be made out of many different materials and they do not need to be folded. Prefolds and fitteds need covers so that they don't leak onto any clothes that are on top of them. Pockets are usually made out of Polyurithane Laminate (PUL) outer and a wicking fabric on the inside like microfleece or suedecloth. They have a pocket (hence the name) in them that you stuff with an insert (I use microfiber inserts). The most costly diapers are AIOs but they are the closest to disposables you don't stuff them and you just put them on. The covers are usually made out of PUL but I've seen some made out of nylon (Dappi covers) I love making them out of fleece and I'm on the lookout for some wool to try. I've heard that wool is more absorbant and it has antimicrobial characteristics. Plus you don't need to wash them as often either - another bonus! To start I'd suggest trying out the different styles to see what works for you and your lifestyle.


That's just the basics

My latest creations

I've been a little busy lately. I was so excited to get some snap pliers and snaps to put on my diapers now. I finally finished some diapers and covers. Oh and today I made 10 wipes one side is flannel and the other side is microsuede. I thought I could use the microsuede for the inside of my diapers but it isn't good next to baby's skin. I mixed it up with suedecloth.

2 wipes, 3 Rita's Rump pocket diapers (RRP), and 1 Baa Baa Baby easy cover

An action shot of a RRP

the 10 wipes I finished tonight

My first fleece pocket diaper with snaps



big brother's soaker - Baby sister has one that is already cut out just not sewn together.

Another switch over - my diaper stash so far

Just wanted to show off the cloth diaper stash I have. Keep in mind that I have 2 kids in diapers right now. Plus there are a few that are dirty - 2 more pockets, 2 more mutts, and 2 that I made.
Covers: far left row 3 Bumkins large, 2 small Imse Vimse, and 3 Bumkin small, then the fleece soakers I've made - med row, 1large 2 xl row, and a long large and long med.

2 dozen infant chinese prefolds, 1 dozen premium Indian prefolds and the small (more like newborn soaker I made)

pockets and Kissuluvs size 1 fitteds

one of the diapers I made

all but 2 of the Mutts

some I made, the 2 minky ones are from Cheeky Bum and the nb/smalls

My fabric Stash: Knit patterns

flannel

fleece

cut out diapers ready to sew - when I find time :)

A few more finished diapers

I'm switching this one over from the other blog:

I have tons of material to make my diapers now I just need some motivation. Here are a few more pictures of finished diapers I made and 2 fleece soaker covers.

Welcome to my new blog

Welcome to my new blog. I was getting the feeling that my regular blog was getting bogged (or blogged hehe) down with too much of my cloth diapering stuff. So I decided to start a new one just for the diapers and various other crafts I make. I hope you enjoy!