Sorry to my fellow readers. Life with the 3 kiddos gets busy even during the summer. I'm at a crossroads right now with my kiddos: Big Brother wears underwear most of the day, Little Sister is wearing trainers (cloth and disposable to be honest) and sometimes panties, and Baby Sister is still in diapers. I'm still making things just not all cloth diapers. It has been a while since I made a diaper. I did cut out a trainer and a matching diaper for the Sisters but they aren't sewn up yet. I got a little burned out with sewing for a month or so.

This blog may turn more into a craft blog than for diapers - I'm not sure yet.

Flats Challenge wrap-up

Wow life went a little wild and I never posted about the rest of my week of flats and handwashing. I did it and succeeded in using flats for Baby Sister all week but on Fri Little Sister was crying for a "paper diaper" (sposie). On Saturday, Mr H. watched the kiddos for a while and put her in a sposie - after that she wouldn't go back to a flat. I did have to pick up a pair of rubber gloves halfway through the week to protect my poor hands (the excema was trying to spread on one of them). I found that I liked the pad fold for Baby Sister but every time Little Sister wore a pad fold it bunched up weird and if she pooped in it I had to retire the cover because it was very dirty. So the Origami fold worked the best for her. I did try the origami with a twist on both girls but it I like the original origami fold.

By the end of the week I felt like a pro at handwashing (even though my bucket lid split in 3 places).  I know that if some disaster does happen I will be prepared to wash my clothes using the bucket. I'm keeping my bucket washer for that reason. It was eye opening and definitely doable.

Flats Challenge Day 3

Enjoy! The rules are here.

Today will most likely be the only sunny day during the challenge so I took the opportunity to use the sun. These dried in 3 hours.

Baby Sister in a pad folded flannel (made by me) flat inside a Thirsties Duo wrap.

She is pretty happy

Not sure what Little Sister is doing (excuse the mess in the background) but she is in an origami folded flannel flat covered by a fleece cover I made. The snappi was barely hanging on.

Day 1 and 2 of the Challenge

I forgot to post yesterday. Oops. Here are the rules for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. I was kept pretty busy with the kiddos. I did change the Sisters more often than I normally did because I was mainly using my flour sack towels and birdseye flats. Plus I was dealing with a constipated Baby Sister suddenly not being constipated any more. I think yesterday I was just trying to stay on top of things. I did pretty well and changed a total of 12 flats between both girls and used 4 covers total. I washed my diapers in my camp style washer and had some sore hands. Next time I'm not going to attempt washing that many diapers all at one time. I hung them to dry in the only free area in my house - my basement. I wrung them out as best as I could and then snapped them (getting water in my face when I did that) and thought I did a good job.

Today, I decided to use a different approach when I woke up to discover the diapers that I hung to dry last night were still wet and it was raining and cloudy all day. Last night I finished using an overcasting stitch all around all but 2 of the flats I made on Sunday night. That was my flat of choice today and I used the pad fold and I now love how easy it is to fit in a flip cover or a Thirsties cover. I felt like I could have them in the flats a little longer today because I was using the flannel flats and they seemed pretty absorbent. I still like how trim they are and I may just use pad folded flats in the few pockets I have after the challenge. Baby Sister's flat first thing this morning was pretty bulky but it was a receiving blanket folded in the pad fold and folded over in the front. I love fluffy bums on my babies since they are pretty skinny and petite. In the morning I plan on washing today's diapers and hanging them to dry outside. Tomorrow there will be more pictures too.

Preparing for the flats challenge

Wow things are going pretty quickly and the challenge starts tomorrow morning. I still need to do some prepping on the flats that I made. I cut out the material and I worried about not having enough for the Sisters I decided to make more than I had originally planned. I still need to sew around the diapers so they don't fray as much in the wash.

They are pretty colorful!

Here is the plunger with the holes in it and with the bucket for my "washer"

So here is what I've done to prepare for the challenge:

• cut out 10 flannel squares (some are smaller than others because that's what I had on hand)
• bought a plunger and a 5 gallon bucket from Walmart.
• Mr H drilled holes in the plunger and the lid.
• Tried out the washer by washing what I had dirty. I think the full load was 6 flats, 4 covers, an AI2 with 2 inserts, a Flip stay dry insert, and a fleece trainer. It was a bit full in my bucket but I washed them and hung them on the line outside since it was actually a sunny day. I did have to take them in earlier than I planned because it got pretty cloudy and looked like it would rain. All the flats and covers were dry but the others went into the dryer.
• Figured out my covers. I have only a few that the Sisters share and technically I could use 10 covers because I'm diapering 2 kiddos but I don't have that many covers. I'm using 3 Thirsties Duo Wraps, 2 flip covers, and 3 fleece covers as backup and for naptime.
• With all the flannel that I cut out the grand total of flats that I have is 26 for 2 girls. I don't think Big Brother will let me try to put a flat on him for naptime or bedtime.

I also made note of which flats are trimmer and which are more bulky. The flannel flats are bulkier with the origami fold on both of the Sisters. I love how trim the Osocozy flats and the flour sack towels are but the towels get wet quicker than the birdseye and the flannel.

Little Sister in an Osocozy flat Origami fold it is trim

A little bulk in the bum but that is to be expected.

Baby Sister in a receiving blanket flat Origami fold. It's the bulkiest flat I've tried.

And the flour sack towel is the trimmest flat.

Flats and Handwashing Challenge

I have posted before about how much I love flats. They are cheap, trim, and easy to care for. Well I have decided to challenge myself a little bit.

A while ago, I heard about some parents who were trying to save money so they rinsed out their disopsable diapers and reused them and their kiddos got sick. One article is here if you want to read it. So to make others aware that there is still something cheap and easy to use that won't make kiddos sick, Kim, from Dirty Diaper Laundry is hosting a challenge to only use flats and a few covers and handwash them for 1 week: May 23 - May 30.

Why am I doing this?

I started using cloth diapers because they were pretty expensive when Little Sister was born.  Then add Baby Sister with Big Brother not quite potty trained and that adds up to a lot of $$$ for 3 sizes of disposable diapers.  Plus add to the fact that flats are one size and dry faster than other diapers, I can use the flats for the 2 Sisters in cloth full time.  I also make most of my diapers to save even more money. I think that handwashing the diapers in my really hard water may actually get the diapers cleaner than it does in my HE front loading washer.  So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm taking this challenge to save a little more money by making some flat diapers and not using my washer or dryer.


I have only 6 actual flat diapers but I did just pick up some flour sack towels from Walmart and I have some receiving blankets that I use. I also have a lot of flannel that can easily turn into flats. I sorted out the girly flannel that would be big enough and Little Sister has been asking me to cut her "blankies" but was excited when I told her they were going to be pretty diapers. I think I have enough to diaper the Sisters for a day so if I wash every night it might work.

Trimsies

I made my first diaper with the Trimsies pattern and think I'm in love with this pattern. I love how trim these are in the crotch and the combination AI2 shell and the insert (which is technically a double insert) is still super trim. I had some material left over from making a purse and thought it would make an adorable diaper. I got it cut out - outer cotton, hidden layer of PUL, and inner layer of anti-pill fleece a few days ago but got it finished last night during another bout with insomnia.

see how trim they are on Baby Sister?

Crafty Sewing Mama's Blog Challenge

I have tried to do this for the past 9 challenges but never did get them done. Ok so this one is actually for the one that ended last week but I'll still include it. It was to make an Easter item.

I made my girls matching skirts. I really like how they turned out. I still need to get a picture of the entire outfit which includes a white shirt the skirt and purple leggings. I used the Market Skirt tutorial.

Little Sister's skirt is on the bottom and Baby Sister's is on top.

A close up of Baby Sister's white material.

A close up of Little Sister's white.

Look at that cute little skirt on Baby Sister - her fluffy bum makes the skirt stick out more.

Little Sister definitely gave these skirts a "Jingle Bell" which means they are twirly I guess like a jingle bell and like Tinker Belle too.

My Newest Love

I bought some flat diapers recently and I am in love with them. They are pretty easy to use and really trim. Baby Sister can wear jeans over the top of her flats with a flip cover or a Thirsties Duo Wrap. Here is my first try at using a flat. Now I feel like a pro at the origami fold that holds a lot of pee. I even used one overnight with an added booster in the middle.

Trainers

I'm now at a point in my life that diapers are not being used as much for my 2 older kiddos. I've been working on making some training pants for them because they still have lots of accidents. Big Brother is almost in underwear all day but still has tons of accidents and only wears a pull-up at night and naptime. Little Sister has started refusing to wear diapers and wants panties but hasn't quite mastered the potty so lots of accidents there too. I think I found a happy medium where they aren't in pull-ups (you know the name brand ones) yet still have padding and some protection. I tried my hand at my first one today. I made a Trimsies Trainer. I made a size med (around a 2T/3T pants size) in a girly print for Little Sister with her waist and hip measurements but the butt is too big on her. Big Brother fits in the trainer perfectly though except for the leg holes and is currently testing it out for me.

I used a anti-pill fleece (one layer) and sewed the insert onto it. The insert is 4 layers of birsdeye fabric and a layer of anti-pill fleece on the bottom next to the fleece. I had to add leg cuffs because I didn't cut the material generously enough in the legs. I used the quick trainer variation of the pattern too. Next time I'll make a size small (18M/24M/2T) for the girl. The boy gets about 5 new trainers soon in boyish/gender neutral prints.

My new diaper bag

I'm so happy with this project. I have a small diaper bag right now and need something a lot bigger to accommodate 3 kiddos diapers, wipes, toys, and extra underwear. I just made the diaper bag using Andrea's Originals directions. I really like how big it is. If I make another one I w0uld add more material to the handles to make them longer. I had limited material for the 3rd coordinating fabric so I winged it with what material I had on hand and it turned out really cute. No I didn't try to copy her exact pattern for the bag, I had the material and wanted to make a bag out of it before I saw Andrea's diaper bag. I like that it has 13 pockets to put stuff. Now I just need to fill it up with my stuff (the fun part).

Snail Shell

Here is what I've been working on today and last night. Matching diapers for the girls. I used the LaDiDa pattern and turned it into a snail shell diaper so like a hybrid diaper with a snap in liner that I can unsnap and wipe out. I need to make more than 1 liner though. I got the idea from the Diaper Sewing Diva board.
The outside

the inside


Little Sister wearing a med stuffed with an infant prefold (trifolded of course)

Baby Sister showing off her small stuffed with an insert I had laying around

And look how cute they are in their matching fluffy bums.

Today I feel crafty. I have finally gotten around to sewing again. I haven't wanted to sew for a while. Here is what I finished today.

Ok so this was finished a few weeks ago and is a little wonky I need new elastic on there (it isn't the right size for Little Sister). I used Dana's market skirt pattern and tutorial to make it I just didn't add the pockets. I also used an old tablecloth as the top and bottom strip.

Little Sister has a big blanket made from this same material and it is her favorite. I made a smaller one to keep her from carrying the big one all over the house. At least I hope she keeps her big one on her bed.

Fleece pants for 2 of the kiddos I have another one cut out for Baby Sister and I hope to get it done during naptime.

After pics

The desk didn't get started on yet. I had sick kiddos needing my attention all week. They aren't better yet but they were ok enough that I was able to get this done yesterday.

Weekly sewing goals

This week my goal is to organize my sewing space. Notice I said space and not room - I only have a small area where I'm looking at a wall. If I try to sew while kiddos are awake they destroy the house behind me. Big Brother is now refusing to take a nap anymore so I have only when they fall asleep at night to sew. Anyway I have some before pictures and hope to add the after pictures soon.

The sewing table.

This is what is behind my sewing machine - lots of scraps and half finished projects.

The rest of the fabric and various stuff gets stuck on my desk.


Another goal I have is to make my older 2 kiddos some training pants. Big Brother has almost successfully mastered the art of using the potty be we still have a bunch of accidents. Little Sister thinks she can go potty too so she refuses to wear a diaper, then immediately pees in her underwear. I have a few patterns to try out and I'm really wanting to buy the tinkle time trainer pattern. I think I need a few trainers with PUL for outings and some with knit for around the house with a hidden PUL layer so I don't have to clean up so many messes.