Isaac's & Lillian's Newest diapers! Cute Print Pocket diapers....

Here are 5 of the 10 diapers I made for Isaac yesterday and today.

He will only wear "cool" print diapers or else will throw a fit...
So...rather then fight it, I got busy and made my life easier at diaper changing time!

I also made 4 diapers for Lilly and can I just say, Minky is the best best bestest PUL EVER!!!

In my last batch of DIY PUL that I sent in, I had 4 different minkys in it and this purple bubbles is the first diaper I have made from them and WOW I LOVE LOVE her cute little bottom in such a fluffy soft diaper!

my next diy will have a TON more minky in it!! LOVE IT!!!

Angie's Free Cloth Diaper Pattern Nb-Lg

These patterns are JUST patterns with no instructions, no elastic markings and only approximated the snap and hook/loop placements. I am making posts on this blog with instructions.

These patterns have two drawn lines--a trimmer line at the crotch for day diapers, a wider line for night pocket diapers or covers.

At the back of the diapers there are two lines drawn, one for a front snapping and one for a side snapping.

This is a trim, nice fitting diaper on my kids and a few testers. I did not do a very intensive testing, but would love to hear any feedback on these, especially on the newborn and small sizes. I feel those two sizes are off some, but I do love my side snap that I made as a tester on my now 4 week old. I need to get some pictures of her in it. She is abou 10lbs and fits in it in nicely.


Newborn pattern 1
Newborn pattern 2

Small Pattern 1
Small Pattern 2

Medium 1
Medium 2
Medium 3

Large 1
Large 2
Large 3

Sewing your first cloth diaper

I have someone who I may be helping though the process of sewing her own cloth diapers and decided to start a few pointers, helpful hints on how to begin and refine the process to end up with nice diapers that look nice, work great and don't waste wonderful material that you probably spent a pretty penny on.

First....find a free pattern, sewing machine and old cotton garments/towels, elastic and thread

don't use snaps or velcro/touchtape/aplix--on the first, wait until you like it for those things. Your first diaper might be unusable for you --and if you really want--you could use it as a fitted using pins and a cover.

depending on the thickness of the fabrics, I would use only 2 thicker "body" layers and with thinner fabrics you could use 3.

Cut out several layers for the soaker layer and zig-zag the edges or serge if you have a serger.

Sew the soaker pad to the inner layer of 2 or middle layer of 3.

Place the right sides together (if using 3, make sure the hidden layer is showing on the outside) and pin together. (use more pins if using knits or stretchy fabrics)

Sew around the edges from one side of the front to the other side of the front, leaving the top of the diaper open for turning the diaper right side out.

Turn the diaper and pin the opening closed.

Two options here... some people sew all around the diaper--which is called topstitching. You can see this diaper here is like that. At the legs, it makes a "casing" around the elastic.

Some people don't like to topstitch the legs because the extra holes might encourage leaking.

Some people don't like to do the extra work.

But I *usually* do it b/c I feel the explosive or runny BMs are usually contained better this way then by not "casing" the legs.

Below if a picture of a fitted diaper where only the wings/back and the front have been topstitched and the legs have not. This was b/c I was lazy....plus my machine doesn't like to

sew through several layers of fabric and gets rather grumpy when I do.

At this point, make your decision about what you are gonna topstitch and do it!

You are done...try out the diaper on your wonderful child, who I am sure is gonna hold perfectly still for you to see how the fit is on them.

Once you have found a diaper pattern that you like, start making the diapers you want to make.

Stay tuned...sometime in the next week I plan on talking about how to sew the other types of diapers and the pros/cons of different diapering systems!

Self Made Longie Pattern

Here is my little show off in her newest first try longies made from a pattern to fit her measurements. I went a little to short on the rise and since she isn't in diapers, I used measurements with panties... I love these. SUPER easy to make your own pattern. Super easy to make these longies. SO glad Stephanie on www.diaperswappers.com shared this with us and gave me permission to post the how to tutorial to make your pattern for perfect longies!

Look at all I got done tonight!!!! Projects finally finished!

What you are seeing is all detailed below, but they have been sitting for me waiting...waiting....waiting for me to finally finish them!!

Fitteds of my own, HHS, frankendipe pockets and then on the bottom are my LCT sprightly soaker out of recycled wool and the pull up trainer from LCT stellar transitions.

My Frankendiapers--pul pieced and cloth tabs

These are my own personal pattern that I used to make these cute diapers. I used my pul that was too narrow to make a full diaper, but then used scraps of DIY

pul for the tabs or for the backs/tabs...work great and are adorable...but I do only have a boy in diapers right now...hopefully I will have a girl the next time! :) or to be sold they will go!

Small and Newborn HHS diapers I made

Here are a few small and n/b hhs pocket diapers and AI2 diapers that I would have otherwise had to use the PUL for small wetbags, so the HHS is a great alternative!

My own pattern: Ladybug & Littleman in size Med

Here are two medium fitted diapers that I made from my own pattern which I call ladybug and little man--which is what I call my little models! :) Both of these are made out of recycled Tee shirts that I found were not being used by my husband or myself, or were grown out of.

Still haven't put on the snaps to finish it, but it is almost midnight and I figure that I have really gotten a great amount of "unfinished" projects completed! :)

Sham Pocket Diaper

For right now, I am just putting up this jpeg for others to see...this is not my creation, but one from the Sewyourowndiapers group on Yahoo Groups. I am unsure who made the jpeg, but if you let me know, I will give her the credit due!

When I make it, I have a smaller front flap (in gray) and longer back (in pink) making the opening closer to the front.

I overlap the two fabric almost an inch, but when I use suedecloth, I add extra width to both parts of the inner fabric so there is more room to open and stuff. I don't actually do the curved edges for the overlap.

I love doing sham with the HHS as I can make the snaps hidden even when sewing the diaper and only putting snaps on at the end by doing the sham VERY far to the front. I have only done this with stretchy materials so far (microfleece/poly velour) but have a diaper waiting to be finished that will be with suedecloth, I hope it won't be too hard to stuff! :) Wait and see and I will post results!

Mini Wetbag from Scraps

We were having a discussion on our sewing diapers group about wetbags, so I am sharing the way I make a few of them. This one is made from 3 scraps. In this picture, you can actually see all three scraps...there is a purple above the zipper that goes along to the back, the purple under the zipper and then the print PUL htat you can barely see at the bottom that connects the two purple pieces.

Here is the picture of the back of it.

I used the zippered wetbag tutorial in my link section to make it. The only difference is that instead of 1 long piece like she uses, I took 3 small pieces (scraps from diapers) and sewed them together to make one long one.

I know...there are 2 more seams for ,leaking, but really it isn't too bag....since I use these mini bags for my purse, I take them out of my purse within 5-6 hrs at the latest, and there hasn't been a leak issue yet.

Such a Soft Soft diaper--and Political thoughts of the day...

So I finally finished a few new diapers for Isaac...
This is the Hippy Hippy Snap pattern and I love it. I plan on and have cut out a TON of diapers to make using this pattern...for his larges to come, and for a few more mediums that I need because now that Alex is goin on the potty, we are not having to wash them so often....so I need more to make it through, not to mention that I have 2 times more inserts for pockets then I need right now...and it drives me crazy having all those inserts not being used!

Anyways...here is his super soft dipe! The outside is a micro poly velour laminated in Saphaire and the inside is red minky...what a striking dipe! LOVE IT!

Other thoughts for the day...Political:
Tomorrow we vote in Indiana, and I will be hitting the polls also...don't know if I will just be canceling out my husband's vote or not, (he always refuses to say who he votes for...and you can just never tell which side he is on b/c he is the perfect devil's advocate!) No matter the topic, no matter what, he will take the other side and defend it against you like he truely belives...he is good...I have been married to him for almost 9 years now and with him for 11 and I have NO idea how he voted in the last election, and still have no idea how he voted for this election! (oh...did I mention he is in Wales right now...he already did absentee ballot!) The only thing I do know for sure about his voting is that he voted to DITCH MITCH Daniels last general election...our IN gov...because Mitch drove huge tractors down a state highway and clogged up traffic to "meet and greet" during people's drive to work...thus making him late...Funny, I am sure Mitch did it to get attention...and he got Jim's...and never got his vote for it!

I am torn on the Demo vote for our Demo Gov. Candidate....serious have a problem with a Gov candidate who says in his ads that he is going to do something about the price of gas...REALLY...I had no idea that the Gov of Indiana had SUCH POWER!!! Wow...I feel that anyone who makes that claim without a very detailed plan that is talked about is just talking like a "politician" or like a "used car salesman"...or that general idea of tell them anything they want to hear to get your sale or their vote...REALLY, am I that stupid??? Are we??? Maybe, but because I feel he is just jumping on that political bandwagon about gas prices, I do feel he might be less then trustworthy and will not be getting my vote!

I will not say who is my Demo choice or who is getting my vote...because no matter what, either one in the White House is MOUNDS better then McCain, so either will get my vote in the Pres. Race....even if it won't count... :) Seeing that I live in IN, I would just be shocked if this state voted for a Demo president, but hey, history is currently in the making with the current demo choices...so maybe IN will make some serious history too by giving it's electoral votes to a Democrat for the first time in DECADES!!


My weight loss struggle!!! continues!
Last time I weighted myself, I was 195, down from 200.
I worked out for 33 mins today at the Y and burned 370 cal.
Would have tried to do more, but Isaac was crying too much and AGAIN, I was called to the nursery...I guess even Alex was hiding under the tables and crying a little, but she was a big girl and did go to the potty by herself there, although the helpers did have to go in and get her to help her with her pants...*Mental note* Make sure to have Alex wear loose clothing she can control on her own when going to the Y! :)
I haven't weighed myself today, but I am sure I have not risen, but hoping a slight fall. My goal is another 10 lbs before Jim comes home...of course I need to drink more water...I think that is my downfall...not enough water.
I guess I should try and post a picture of me at every 5 lb loss so I can start to see a difference...keep me humble and into the groove of getting off this weight. As an ex runner (ran a 1/2 marathon the summer before I first got prego!) this weight is killing my knees and I hate that I can't run (b/c it kills my knees!!)...so I am trying to control my food intake and do walking and hopefully adding weights...in the next few days....

alright, that is all and I am off for the night!

First Hippy Hippy Snap diaper on Isaac--Medium--at 13months

This is Isaac at 13m wearing a medium Hippy Hippy Snap (HHS) diaper. He is 20lbs and fits it at the medium setting (of the three snap settings on it)
It looked so small when I made it I never thought it would fit! But it did and perfectly...but while I wanted to wake him up to try it on...I held off the urge, but went ahead and made 3 more, but made them larges...he will eventually need those anyways, as all of Alexandra's diapers have been sold off--seeing how they were so girly anyways!!

I love the fit of the HHS.
I love the look of the HHS.
I loved loved the price of the HHS....$5 AND it was instantly here!!! (a pdf file)

Here is a link to the HHS blog and from there you can find where to purchase it!

The other thing that has impressed me the most was the fact that the HHS took the LEAST amount of fabric that I have ever seen to make the same size diaper!!!!

Over the weekend, I printed off the HHS pattern to make a NB and SM diaper pattern and grabbed my box of scraps of PUL. You know you all have them!! Mine were slotted to become either mama pads or wetbags*someday* :)

So I took them outside so the kids could play in the wonderful weather we were having...and I went to work...I made 14 NB diapers and 10 smalls out of my scraps--which were scraps b/c I couldn't get the CT diaper pattern or my own personal pattern to fit in those pieces!

Min Size Diaper cut needed to make...
Large: 14x18
Med: 12x17
Sm: 11x15.5
NB: 10x14

A great pattern to get the most for your buck when it comes to PUL and Microfleece or whatever!

Ebay diaper inners

New Flannel Fitteds for Isaac

These are some diapers that I have cut out this week and will be making into fitteds for "Isaac" our yet to be born babe...due in five weeks...I am saying anywhere from 2-6 weeks, because that is our window for "normal" and not preterm labor.

They are going to be smalls in the Chloe Toes pattern. I am just waiting on my FOE to arrive before I sew them up.

The flannel I am using are recycled from Jim's flannel pants that he never wears anymore. I have only cut up one of the lightest color b/c that flannel is really wearing bad, and I figured it would be best to save that pair of pants for the newborn size as it isn't worn as long.

My first FOE and Chloe Toes Diaper

This is my first attempt at a "pretty diaper" and as well, my first attempt at the Chloe Toes diaper pattern. It is a size large and although it fits Alex, it is SO BIG and baggy on her non butt. I have three total like this that will have to wait at least 6 months till she can really fill them out nicely. I do love the fit of this pattern, it is so nice!

Diaper Organization!!!

Today I went through all the diaper supplies and Sewing supplies I had and made a list of fabrics with no "specific" use in mind right now and projects that I need to work on. I have them all spread out on our formal couch right now. I have made a list of what I need to sew, if there is anything I need for that project and so forth. When Alex (my super cute 18 month old daughter) wakes up from her nap, I plan on going into Lowes and using up some of my GC from christmas to get some storage to organize the craziness on my couch! Those GC were to be used for an instant Hot Water Faucet, all christmas gifts, but we got one free from Jim's brother and SIL (Thanks Steve), but Jim used a ton of the GC for the supplies to get the thing hooked up. It is up and running, and Jim admits that it is a GREAT thing to have! He can have a coffee quickly anytime now...I think he has used it more than I have already! Anyways, once I get my sewing projects organized, I will have to organize how they will all fit into the front closet where I keep my sewing supplies! Maybe once I complete that I will post a picture to prove I got it done!