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.

Craft-tastic Tuesday - Baby Headbands

This is a really easy craft. Today I am going to show you how to make a headband using FOE (fold over elastic), thread, a button, and a silk flower. You can use a glue gun when making these but I have found that the results are a lot cleaner with thread.

The first thing you need to do is take your flower apart. You wont need the center just the petals. Reassemble using a button to hold the flower together as shown in the photos below. You can use a safety pin to keep the flower together while you ready your headband.