Bottom's Up!

I use cloth diapers, and when my SiL Kathy mentioned that she couldn't find any cloth diaper covers big enough for her son Ikey, I was so happy to sew a pair for her, as I've already sewn quite a few for my Ella.  (Ella has sensitive skin and reacts to wearing disposable diapers - and yes, I've tried different brands).

I've used a lot of different styles of covers, including wool knit covers as well as purchased diapers from several different brands.  This style is my favorite, and best yet, the pattern is free online as a really well-written tutorial.

I use Velcro as a fastener because the cost for investing in a plastic snaps kit was just too much for me to justify. 

The Velcro works just as well, perhaps better, but I do have to remember to refasten the diaper before washing it or the Velcro teeth can snag onto other clothing in the wash.



The pattern printed only goes up to a size large (which in my opinion should be more like a medium, as it perfectly fits my average-size 7 month old), so I copied the pattern pieces on my printer at 130%.

This meant that I also needed to adjust the length of the elastic in the legs, front, and back.

 

 The pattern can be somewhat overwhelming at first if you're new to cloth diapering.  I chose to sew the "sham" pattern, which simply means that there's a pillow-sham like opening inside where you can slip the absorbent lining if you don't want to mess with a pre-fold diaper and snappis.

The fabric used for a diaper cover is very important, as it is the final line of defense between disgusting-ness and your unsuspecting self.  The lining inside is a microfiber fleece that doesn't absorb moisture very well so the uh - stuff - travels where it's supposed to, the absorbent insert.  There's also the added benefit of it being ultra soft on baby's silky smooth bum cheeks.



Finally, the outside fabric is called PUL (poly-laminate something-or-other) that is waterproof and lightweight.  There are lots of cute design options out there, but when I purchased the fabric I knew I needed something that was unisex in case I sewed diapers for a baby other than Ella.  I got mine on sale at Joann's with a 40% coupon plus free shipping, so I've estimated that the final cost for each diaper is around $3 (not including time spent sewing it, of course).

Not too bad, considering that they will last through baby's diapering cycle and is much better for the environment AND your pocketbook!

Do you use cloth diapers for your kids?  What brands do you prefer?

Twins and Tutus

My cousin's wife Jenny is due with twins, and so as a baby gift I decided to knit coordinating sweaters.

(I hate my camera.  It takes awful photographs, but especially of greens and purples.  Grrrr....)

I used this pattern here from Sirdar.  It was a quick knit, but because I changed colors for the edging and trim there were a lot of loose ends to weave in, so that took a lot of time.

The embroidery flowers took a bit of time too, but I think they're worth it, especially as it ties in the coordinating colors.

I love the buttons I found, because they're a rather pearly light purple that went well with both cardigans.

It was the color of the buttons that gave me the idea to make matching tutus.  After all, what baby girl doesn't look adorable in a tutu?

 

There are so many good tutorials out there for making tutus (here's a good one), and it was so easy and fast! Mine took perhaps a bit longer that it should have, because I purchased my tulle from a bolt instead of already cut into strips on a roll, but since the strips didn't have to be perfect, I just eye-balled the width and cut away.

I found some cute ribbon that went really well with the color scheme, and used that as the adjustable waist.

Okay Jenny, you have my permission to have those babies now!

Overkill.

When the kids and I were visiting my family in Michigan, I had the chance to go shopping (ALONE!!! SKIP SKIP JOY JOY!) at a fabric store that had a closing sale.  I got several cute fabrics to sew things for the girls (poor boys, there just isn't much out there for them).

I had such high hopes for this fabric.  It has such wonderful colors (very Dutch) and looked so vintage.

I had some yellow gingham fabric in my stash that I thought would make the perfect trim, but unfortunately, I fell victim to my usual designing problem, knowing when to stop. 

Oh no, trim wasn't enough. I had to add rickrack. 

 

And white lace.

 And more white lace.  LOTS of lace.

I think if I'd just stopped with the yellow trim it would have been fine.  Unfortunately, I didn't, and even the adorable baby inside the dress isn't enough to save this fashion disaster.

"I think you're clearly underestimating my cuteness power, Mom".

"On the other hand, this is a rather appalling thing to have to wear . . . "

Well. Hmmm.

Because I couldn't think of a better title.

Because right now my ankles are swollen and resemble Hobbit feet (minus the hair, thank goodness!) and I don't feel like sitting at the desk and typing too much.

Because I'm having trouble breathing because I need bigger pants with lovely stretchy elastic sewn in.

Because I'd planned to announce this in a much more dramatic fashion, but oh well, my energy and creative levels have deserted me.

Because I'm growing another person which (I estimate) will make her/his grand appearance sometime in April.  Or May.  Or perhaps March.

(I'm not good at figuring dates.  That's what my midwife is for, as well as other very useful things.)

Because I'm pregnant, and life is lovely!

Baby Shrug and Booties

 

Just a few items for a baby shower . . .

Christine's Stay-on Baby Booties pattern knit out of Bernat Baby Yarn with a bit of pink ribbon to keep the booties on nice and snugly

 

  Leafy Shrug also knit out of Bernat Baby Yarn

A simple shrug that will come in handy over those adorable sleeveless summer dresses to protect chubby little arms from summer breezes

Everything wrapped up into a simple white bag stamped with pink flowers

Baby Gifts

It's a bit hard to knit baby gifts on top of all the Christmas knitting that I've been trying to crank out, but despite the load I've managed to almost finish Baby Noah's gift.


Everything's finished except his tail.  I know babies have cute bare bottoms, but this bunny cannot have a bare bottom.  That would be embarrassing for poor Bunny.  Besides, if a "tail is the pride and glory of a mouse" (quote from Reepicheep of the book Caspian from the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis), I cannot imagine it being any different for a bunny.

To keep both Bunny and Baby warm, I made a small blanket.  On one side a used fleece fabric, and on the other I sewed a nice slippery washable satin fabric. 

I followed the pattern exactly, but I made a small addition of a scarf.  Bunny just seemed to need a scarf.  It only took a bit of extra sock yarn, and along with turning out adorably cute, it gave me the satisfaction (and internal justification for) hanging on to a small bit of sock yarn that I would otherwise never have used.

Congratulations Niko and Jenny!

Baby Feet

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When Gabe was born, a very sweet blogger friend knitted a pair of booties that quickly became my favorite footwear for Gabe's fat feet. Not only were they adorable and handmade, but they were the only things that would stay. on. his. feet.

So, for my newest nephew, I decided to knit him a pair of booties just like Gabe's. The ribbing on the side allows the booties to stretch tremendously so the baby can continue to wear them through massive growth spurts. (Gabe wore his for a little over a year).
I paired it up with a cute little outfit.
Congratulations Joe and Kathy on your new little man!

Daisy Modified

My friend Nikki started knitting the Daisy baby cardigan from Knitty, and I was so inspired, I decided to do one too.

I have a bit (*ahem, cough-cough* LOT) of yarn in my stash, so I figured this project was perfect for stash-busting.

Although I don't like knitting with ribbon yarn, I have to admit that the finished result is really nice. This stuff isn't really supposed to be knit at such a fine gauge (US size 3 needles), so it was excruciating to work with. The final fabric, however, has a fluffy and wonderfully soft feel, rather like chenille, and so was worth the frustration.

(Yarn: JoAnn Sensations Carlo, discontinued, 3.5 skeins)

I modified the regular Daisy pattern a bit by working the entire bottom section in ribbing, and making it wider than the 12-month size by having a few extra stitches cast on. Also, instead of doing the seed stitch edging, I made a faux ribbed edging by purling two rows, and then knitting three rows. It worked perfectly!
Finally, I pulled out some buttons from my buttons stash. (Yes, I have a button stash, too, although I can honestly say that this stash is manageable. It's really just a collection of buttons from old clothes that I've thrown away.)
Ta-daaa, finished! I'm very, very happy with it, and hopefully the recipient will be too!