Craft-tastic Tuesday - Blogger Neglect and Other Projects

I have been a bad bad blogger lately, haven't I?
Sorry for all the neglect, I had intended to post a tutorial or atleast a look at my sons Halloween costume but here we are early December, it's kinda late now (plus he stained it with chocolate!).
So I have been busy crafting, and life in general. It is hard to motivate yourself to write a decent blog post when you are running on your third cup of coffee, four hours of sleep and last nights dinner (I really should eat something) but I am doing it.
My DIY Christmas keeps shrinking and shrinking, before you know it it will look no different than last year. Eek, I haven't even started my baking yet. Last year, I had all my shopping done the day before Black Friday, this year I have hardly started. I really need to get my ass in gear.
I wont be posting any tutorials today, which I am sad about as it has been too long. Today I need to go fabric shopping, and I have an "appointment with Santa" to pick out some Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. So today you get to see a few photos of the kids pajamas that I have been sewing.
All of the pajamas that I have been making used patterns from the Sew Fab Pattern Bundle that I bought earlier this fall. It has easily paid for itself now.

This one will be Greg's, I am contemplating red cuffs.

Greg will be getting Best Harem Pants and a Vintage V-Neck. Joseph will be sporting Fancy Pants Leggings and a Vintage V-Neck. Meara will be sporting Sadie Grace Nighties. It's going to look like a reindeer puked Christmas onto my kids! Joseph tolled me that was gross but I keep saying it.

Not sewn, just started pining and got excited. Love the bum panel!

I am also going to post some gorgeous custom diapers I made, cause, why not!

I made this for a local mom but I wanted to keep it. So pretty. Luckily I could make more!

This beauty is available in my Etsy shop

Did I mention the crawling?

Wow, you know baby is tired when the alarm clock is blaring next to her and she snores right through, why can't I do that :(
Sorry, sidetracked there.
Diapers, yes I have been drooling all over WAHM made Hybrid Fitted Diapers for weeks and weeks but knowing how to sew makes me hesitant to spend 25-45 a diaper, even though they are ridiculously perfect. So I am heading to the fabric store for fleece today. Also, Meara may have 30+ diapers already, but when I found a WAHM selling these on Etsy for $12 plus shipping I bought some for under the tree.
Now she is awake. So cutting the writing short and I will feed her while adding photos to this post. Thanks for stopping by to read my ramble, more rambling soon.

I couldn't find Meara's finished Jammies photo so I will leave you with this random shot of Joseph from last Halloween.

My Argument Against One Size Diapers

I love cloth diapers. I am ridiculously proud of cloth diapering, and every time I sew a new diaper I fight the urge to shamelessly post it up all over my social networks. In fact, I fight the same urge every time I buy a new diaper too (just ordered some size 2 Thirsties, eeeek!). I have an eclectic stash of fluff. My stash consists of all kinds, home sewn, store bought, pockets, AIO's, Hybrids, Contours, Fitted, Prefolds, Flats..... What is missing from my stash? One size diapers.

Cloth Diaper Linings - Is Stay Dry Better

I will add a few links to this article and some punctuation later, my computer is on the fritz apparently

It has been a frustration of mine lately that often when I am getting up in the night to feed my daughter, she has leaked through her diaper, through her sleeper, and right on to her bed. When you have to fully change your child, and her bed in the middle of the night, it interferes with sleep for you and your child. Sleep is very precious to me. I make sure she has plenty of absorbency in her night time diapers, and I try to change them before this happens, when I can, but often times, it has already happened when she wakes for her first feeding. I believe I have found the cause of this frustration in the stay dry lining of her diapers.
This is a very common occurrence in her Happy Heinys and a few of the diapers that I had sewn using microfleece. I guess that means that the microfleece really works, because she stays feeling comfortable and dry until the diaper is so full that moisture has started wicking out by her thighs, and then she wakes. So no more microfleece at night.

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.

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:

The Monkey's Bum

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.

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.

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 - 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

The Dirty Details About the Diapers

I have been cloth diapering Meara and I love it. It is something I feel very proud of. I have made most of the diaper covers and many of the diapers I use for her.
Cloth diapers is something that I have become, dare I say, passionate about. I have been trying to convince some friends to give cloth diapering a try but he response I tend to get is a fear of dealing with poop. So I have decided to write a little about how easy cloth diapering can be to add to your routine, how it can even be painless to wash those diapers (yes, even the poopy ones) and how to start.

The Five Reasons I Cloth Diaper:

1. Money! Cloth diapers may be a big investment in the beginning but in the long run you can save thousands of dollars.
2. It`s Environmentally friendly. With a good washing routine and the fact that I am not putting them in the dryer, think of the energy savings!
3. They are super cute. It is just one more way to dress up my pretty little girl.
4. Less Diaper Rash. For most, when cloth diapering you will find you have less diaper rash, this is partly because your child will let you know immediately when the diaper is too wet, and partly due to breath-ability  If you are getting rashes it is likely an issue with the wash routine.
5. Cloth diapered babies potty train faster. Your child is more motivated to toilet train when they can actually feel that they are wet.

When I first tried seriously cloth diapering, Greg was a few months old. My only prior experience was with Birdseye Cotton Flat Diapers that I mostly used as burp cloths for Joey and only rarely put them on him when I was low on disposables between paydays. I had a lot to learn about diapers. There are so many types of diapers, and so many ways to wash them that it did seem a little overwhelming. Where do you begin?