KCW Day 5 and 6 - Flutter sleeve dress and baby pants

For KCW Day 5 and 6, I made a really sweet little flutter sleeve dress and matching pants for R. The pattern for the dress is from Sew Chic Kids. I received the book for Christmas and I love all of the patterns. The flutter sleeve dress is style K. I made the size 2 and it is generous sized for R, but I figure she can wear it over the summer and maybe into next winter also with the pants. The material is from a cotton night gown I found at Goodwill. I also made another pair of Monster Bunz pants to go under the dress. The pants are made from sleeves of a knit shirt from Goodwill that I have been saving for a few years. I always planned to make a pair of pants for J but never got around to it so now I am using them for R. The charcoal lycra knit fabric is from Fashion Fabric Club. They had an awesome sale on knits a few weeks ago. The actually have free shipping this week so I am sure I am going to order more good stuff for sewing.

Photo bomb courtesy of little sweets. She crawled right over the pants and ground them into the wood floor. It is no wonder I rarely get a good photo to put on the blog. Oh well, I am sure it would help also if I had a good camera. 

KCW Day 3 and 4 - Hemp fleece baby pants and envelope tee with matching shoes

For day three and four of Kids Clothing Week I made another comfy set of baby pants with a matching envelope tee. The green fabric is the hemp and organic cotton fleece that I use to make the diapers. The gray fabric is a cotton rib knit that I purchased at Fabric.com. I used the same patterns as for KCW Day one and two, but I made the smaller size baby pants that fit from 3 months to 1 year. I would say the sizing for the pants is spot on since little sweets will be a year soon. Yikes! I am definitely in denial about that part.

I also made a pair of matching shoes from the green hemp fleece with a faux suede bottom. The faux suede is from Fabric.com again. I love ordering from there. The shoe pattern is the Cloth Shoe Pattern from Stardust Shoes. I used this pattern for J also when he was a baby.

KCW Day 1 and 2 - Comfy baby pants and envelope tee

It is KCW or Kids Clothing Week. I made a cute and comfy knit outfit for little sweets. I used the Monster Bunz Pattern for the pants. I made the large size without the circle bum. I am very excited about this pattern. It is so cushy and perfect for a little toddler. The size range is awesome also. The large fits from about 1-3 since the cuffs and waistband can be extended. It is pretty roomy on R now and super easy to get on and off for diaper changes. She also fits into the medium size which ranges from about 3 months to 1 year. The fabric for the pants is from a recycled pair of purple sweat pants I found at Goodwill. There is enough fabric to make two pants actually so very nice.

The envelope tee pattern is from one of my favorite books Growing Up Sew Liberated. I used the book to make the fabulous teepee for J's Christmas present. Well, the book also has really comfy clothing patterns. The envelope tee was easy to put together. I made the 12-18 months size and it fits her well though the sleeves are little long. The material is a cotton knit striped polo shirt from Goodwill. I also used this material to make the cuffs and waistband for the baby pants. She looks really cute in her new outfit. I plan to make a cute dress or pinafore to go with outfit. I received the Girls Style Book for Christmas and I can't wait to try out the patterns. 

One size all in two diapers

I continue to make diapers for little sweets. I bought the NykiBaby one size diaper pattern a few years ago and made AI2 diapers for J. I use these diapers for R now which is very nice. I made a few more for R using the same pattern. The outer is sandwich pul that I bought through Swaddlebees. The hidden inner layer is hemp and organic cotton fleece. The liner is bamboo and organic cotton velour. The insert is made snap-in and petal style. The top petal is three layers of hemp fleece topped with bamboo velour. The bottom petal is four layers of hemp fleece. So the total absorbancy is 10 layers which works great for day time use. I also made a super duper night time diaper using the hemp fleece but that will be my next post.

I find the more I use cloth diapers the closer I get to diaper nirvana or finding that sweet spot where I love the diapers. It takes a lot of trial and error to make diapers and to find the right combination but I feel I am getting close. I really like the AI2 diapers for when I am out and about. They are easy to take off and store in a wet bag. They are also fairly simple to put on a wiggly baby. I say fairly simple because as you know nothing is really easy to put on a wiggly baby. R is definitely on the go these days. She is not walking yet, but she crawls really well and can stand on her own for small periods of time. It is exciting to see her learn all these new skills.

Back to the NykiBaby pattern. It is supposed to fit up to 40 pounds but it is already getting a little snug on R on the largest setting and she is around 21 pounds. She is average so I don't think the size goes up that high. From my experience with using it on J and now on R, I would guess closer to 30 pounds depending upon body type. I also measured the pattern next to the Rocket Bottom one I used for the bunny diaper and it is medium size as compared to that pattern. Since it is getting snug and I really like the pattern, I decided to increase the size. I added an inch to the overall width and length. I also added an additional inch to the wing and increased the size for the smallest setting. The larger AI2 has a fun space pul outer, a hidden hemp fleece layer and bamboo velour liner. The insert is snap-in and has eight of layers as the smaller size. I will give the smaller AI2 size diapers to a friend in the next few months so it is good to start sewing now. The larger size should fit R until potty training.

A note on the hemp and organic cotton fleece. It is dyed a lovely green color. I bought it from Pickering Hemp since it was on closeout after the holidays. It is usually $8.75 a yard and I purchased it for $7.50 a yard which is great price for hemp fleece. Shipping was an additional $1.25 per yard but still a good deal. I haven't used hemp fleece in a while so it is really nice to have some again. I love the softness and drape. I made R a pair of awesome pants from the material and will post about it soon. For a little hint I made the pants from the new Monster Bunz pattern. Really cute if you are looking for a baby and toddler pants pattern.

Baby harem pants

If you are looking for sewing patterns for little ones then you should check out Too Sweets! I found out about them through a friend on facebook. The shop had a giveaway a few months ago for three new pdf patterns and I was lucky enough to win. I received the best harem pants, circle tank and wide leg pants patterns. I just made the harem pants in size 12 months for my little sweetie. I took off about 3 inches of the length of the pants to make knickers. They fit awesome over her cloth diapers and are a cinch to make. I used recycled t-shirt scraps for the pants. The pink is a lycra cotton blend and the yellow is all cotton. The waistband is from a turtleneck. I plan to make longer ones for the fall. So cute and easy for diaper changes.

Peasant tops from mens shirts and baby sleeve pants

I found after little sweetie was born that I wished I had made more nursing friendly clothes for myself. In the winter time I wore a tank top under most of the shirts but it was really hot in the summer time. I had a few cotton men's dress shirts left over from from last year and decided to make peasant shirts. I wasn't sure what to do with the leftover sleeves so I made baby pants. Here is my little sweetie modeling the pants at around 3 months. I modified several shirts and have been wearing them all summer. I need to add photos of the shirts I made for myself, but here are photos of my sweetie in her cute sleeve pants.You may also recognize the t-shirt she is wearing. I made newborn baby gowns for her out of recycled t-shirts before she was born. I decided to cut them off and make t-shirts.

Valentine newborn fitted diapers

Here are few more velour fitted newborn diapers to add to my stash. I used the same free newborn diaper pattern from Darling Diapers. I added rise snaps for size flexibility and also made snap-in inserts.The diapers are made with red recycled cotton velour on the outside and hot pink bamboo velour on the inside. The inserts are made with one layer of bamboo fleece, three layers of hemp and organic cotton jersey and one layer of hot pink bamboo velour. The fitted diaper requires a waterproof cover and I made four newborn pul covers a while back. I now have 18 fitted velour and 11 ai2 newborn diapers so should be all set for a few months.

I also made a cute swaddle blanket using the pattern from Lotta Jansdotter. It turned out really cute, but I realized I put the velcro on the opposite side but it will work the same so no problem. I used Amy Butler fabric for the outside and microfleece for the inside. I hope to make one more swaddle blanket before the little girl arrives but not sure if that is going to happen since I am due this Thursday. We will see when she makes her grand arrival.

Newborn pul diaper covers

I am still adding to the newborn diaper collection. I made newborn size diaper covers using sandwich pul that I purchased a while back from Swaddlebees. I used the newborn pattern from Simple Diaper-Sewing Tutorials. I purchased the 1 inch bright pink foe and touch tape from Diaper Sewing Supplies. The covers were pretty easy to make and the pattern has rise snaps so should fit her well for the first few months. I love the colors and hope they work well. I should find out in a few weeks and I am getting excited to meet our little girl!

Newborn gowns

I started making newborn clothing items for our little girl. The first is newborn gowns with matching hats. The gown pattern is the Rockin" Baby Gown from This Mama Makes Things. The hat pattern is from Zaaberry. Both are great patterns with online tutorials. I used recycled shirts from the thrift store to make everything. The flower applique is really easy to add. I used a large circle that I twisted in the center and scrunched. I then sewed a spiral from the outside to the inside of the flower. I also made a pair of ruffle pants with left over t-shirt fabric. The pants pattern is from Handmade Baby Clothes. I added the ruffles to the back. I am going to make more pants and a few shirts to match using the gown pattern. Only 5 1/2 more weeks or so to go. It is going by really quickly.

More baby sewing

 
I am almost 32 weeks and nesting has really kicked in lately in the form of sewing. I am still working on cloth diapers and accessories. I made three zippered wet bags from using my quilting fabric stash and swaddlesbees sandwich pul. I found a great tutorial for zippered wet bags on pinterest at the blog The Mary Francis Project. I made my bags a bit larger to fit a few larger size diapers but the pattern is the same. I also made one large wet bag that uses recycled pul from a bag I made for J. I also quilted the front handle using cotton batting. I really love the handle design along with the zipper. I think these are going to work really well for cloth diapering on the go.

I am almost done with the newborn size cloth diapers. I made the rest of the ai2 diapers using pul from old covers from J and the same pattern as in my ai2 tutorial. I added cotton fabric to a few of the wings to cover a few places in the pul fabric that were pilling. So I have a total of 19 newborn diapers including the recycled velour fitted diapers. I still need to make diaper covers and a few more fitted diapers to makes sure I have enough. I have a few newborn diapers from J and will use those as a back up.  They have actually been used by three babies so far since I loaned them out to friends and are starting to show some wear now but will be nice to have on hand.

I also made patchwork cloth wipes from all of my quilting fabric scraps. I love the rounded shape and they fit perfectly in my wipe cases. I am going to make a homemade wipe solution again and should be all set in that area. The wipes are quilting cotton on one side and either flannel or hemp/organic fleece on the other side. I had a few flannel receiving blankets from J and they worked perfect for the wipes. I love all of the fabric colors and think it will really nice to have pretty diapering accessories for when she comes.

Recycled pink velour fitted newborn diapers

I'm making progress on the diaper stash for our little girl. I just finished making newborn fitted diapers. The pattern is the same as for the one size ai2 diaper. Instead of pul fabric I used recycled cotton velour from a pair of thrift store pants for outside fabric. It is lined with bamboo/organic cotton velour. The snap in soaker pad is lined also with the bamboo/organic cotton velour. It has two layers of hemp fleece that I recycled from older diapers from J. It also has two layer of bamboo/hemp jersey. These diapers require a waterproof cover which I plan to make in a few weeks. I decided to make a combination of ai2 diapers along with fitted diapers that require a cover. I like both styles and find it is nice to have a combination. I have nine ai2 diapers cutout using the pul from older covers from J. I plan to finish those up soon and move on to the one size small diapers. I bought bright red and purple velour pants at the thrift store for the diaper outer fabric so lots of fun colors.

Newborn snap one size ai2 diaper with tutorial

Update: See my latest post on making a one size AI2 diaper.

I started making newborn diapers for our little girl on the way. I have pul covers that I used for J that are a bit worn, but work great for making ai2 newborn diapers. I really like ai2 diapers since are quick drying and very easy to use. I lined the diaper with bamboo/organic cotton velour and made the snap in soaker with bamboo/hemp jersey. The pattern I used is the Darling Diapers Free Newborn Fitted Pattern. I added a snap rise adjustment to allow additional sizing flexibility. Below is a tutorial on how I made the diaper.

 1. Print out the diaper pattern. I added a few adjustments to the newborn diaper pattern as shown in the picture including a double row of snaps to shorten the rise and make the diaper one size. I moved in the wing snaps to allow for the seam allowance. I also marked the snap placement for the snap in soaker. Cut one out of pul fabric and mark the snap placement. Mark the location for the elastic. Cut one out of bamboo/organic cotton velour for the lining and mark snap placement for the snap in soaker. The small circles of fabric are for snap reinforcement. The snap in soaker is a modified version of the one included with the pattern. Cut one out bamboo/organic cotton velour and 4-6 layers of bamboo/hemp jersey. Mark the snap placement on the back of the last layer of bamboo/hemp jersey for the soaker.

2. Attach the snaps to the pul outer fabric using the scrap pul circles for reinforcement. Attach the snaps to the liner fabric and also to 3 or 4 layers of the bamboo/hemp jersey fabric for the soaker. Cut two 6 inch pieces of 1/4 inch elastic for the legs and one 5 inch piece of elastic for the back.

3. Sew the pul outer fabric and the bamboo velour inner fabric together with wrong side facing outwards. Leave a small gap at the top of the diaper to turn. Sew on the ends only of the elastic to the markings on the legs and back.

4. Turn the diaper right side out. Stitch around the entire diaper closing the open edge and making sure to not catch the leg and back elastic. Stitch a half inch casing for the leg and back elastic making sure to not catch the elastic in the sewing. This will form a cute ruffle edge for the leg and back elastic.

5. Add the wing snaps and umbilical cord snap to the outside of the diaper. Sandwich all the layers together for the soaker and use a decorative stitch to sew it together. I used a 3 step zig zag. Diaper is all done!

Here is the inside of the diaper with the snap in soaker.

Here is the diaper on the regular setting without the umbilical cord snap.

Here is the diaper on the smallest setting with the umbilical cord snap.

Very tiny and pretty cute!

Aqua hemp fleece diapers

A good friend of mine had a beautiful little boy a little while ago. I made two diapers for her out of the aqua dyed hemp fleece. I lined the diapers with recycled Polartec stretch microfleece. I made the soaker out of three layers of hemp fleece and sewed it to the liner so no stuffing required. I did keep a pocket on the top so she can add more absorbency. I also made a burp cloth and matching bib set. I really love the aqua color and the fabric is so soft. I used my snap pliers and again and have to say I really love the snap diapers. I am in the process of making a few new ones for the little guy also. I love new diapers and can't help but make a few more for my little guy.

Hemp fleece sleep sac

I made a summer sleep sac for the little guy out the hemp and organic cotton fleece. I used his winter sleep sac as a pattern and added a few inches to the bottom. I made this one sleeveless of course since it is for summer time. I got a chance to use my lovely snap pliers again and put a row of snaps on the front. It is super soft and comfy for sleeping.

Teeny pants - more recycled t-shirt pants

I have gone through a few iterations of the "Teeny pants". That is my new name for the recycled t-shirt pants. I am sure it is not extremely original, but it is cute and fits the pants. So I have made the Teeny pants with both an upward and a downward curving gusset or a smiley and frowny face. Sorry, more cute terms. I have also worked on giving room in the seat portion for movement and diapers. I originally tried making the waistband curved to allow more room, but found it difficult to sew in the the elastic casing with a curved seam. I switched to allowing more curve in the gusset and it works great. The only difficulty is I am not sure if the pattern will work for non-stretch fabric since the gusset portion is a little larger than the bottom back. Well, only one way to find out, so that might be my next project. I also worked on the cuffs and they fold great in the final pattern. I like having cuffs of course since he is growing out of his pants so fast in length it is amazing. So here is my latest and I think final version of the Teeny pants. I have also included pictures of the other pattern styles I have tried during the process.