2015-September: Woven Sheet Shorts Turned Baby Pants

This project was kind of hilarious.  Not just because these are made out of an old bedsheet that had ripped.

These started out as SHORTS for E (she was 4 at the time), but were so small, I turned them into baby pants for the not-quite-one-year-old, C.

I used my trusty Parsley Pants pattern, but it was actually not to be trusted!  Not for woven material, anyway!  I had only ever made these pants out of knits before this.  I tried using the size I had used before (I think it was size 7 as per E's measurements -- still huge!), but she couldn't even pull them on as I was fitting for elastic.

I repeat: with no elastic in them at all, she couldn't even get these shorts on!  What the hell??

Pocket lining!

So instead of crying (OK, maybe I had a bit of crying in there), I just turned around and made them into baby pants!  After chopping off about 8" of my prepared elastic, they fit C. just great!

They still do!  They're little summer capri pants now.  And I know I can add more elastic down the road, because they've got the room for it!

My next project was the needed shorts for E., but I figured out that with this particular pattern and these crazy wovens she should be wearing the size 10.  I repeat: my 4-year-old is in a size 10.  Who are these other micro-4-year-olds that these "sizes" are supposed to fit?  Thumbelina?

***Update!  The Parsley Pants pattern is not small!  Read this!!

2015-September: Upcycled BumGenius Pocket AIO

This was my (weird) idea to turn a BumGenius 4.0 into an AIO.  Why?  Because I was so fond of the AIO style, and I had an old "Sweet" color BG that I never really liked much anyway.  Experiment away!

Showing the diaper mid-construction.  I also replaced the elastics.

First, I sewed some OBF (bamboo fleece) to the inner of the diaper.  It wasn't easy!  I scrunched it up like CRAZY to get it through the machine without getting the PUL caught in the stitch.  Seriously, don't try this at home.  I won't again!

Then I added a snap, so that a regular BG microfiber insert could snap in, and agitate out in the wash.

It worked out pretty well, but took way too long to dry.  I still stow it in the diaper bag from time to time.

But I learned that, yes, you can add snaps to a"normal" pocket diaper to make the insert agitate out!  Oh, how I dislike taking out inserts!  With my first baby, I was all about pockets, but with my current  baby and AIO love, this was a great discovery.

2015-July: Birthday Dress for K.

Before we moved across the country, I had to make a "last" gift for my friend K's daughter, K. (Last before we left.  I will certainly make you other things if you want me to, K.!)

So I pulled out my pattern for the Everyday Playdress and made one for K!  Don't be fooled; the bottom woven skirt is a print of patchwork.  I didn't actually do all that patchwork. (But I did do future patchwork, ha-HA!)

I handwrote a tag with my old name idea (DoriNori) on it.

As you can see, at this point I was getting quicker!

2015-June: Summer Dress

This was my second foray into making a playdress for E.  I really, really, really like the way these two prints came together!  The top is an old maternity dress that was given to me, sleeves are my old shirt, and the bottom is woven cotton.

It's funny, to me this screams "SUMMER!" but most everyone else thought it looked like a "Fall" dress.  At any rate, E. liked it -- though not even a quarter as much as she liked (and still likes!) her Winter Dress.

Pattern is again Love Notions Everyday Playdress.  Last time I made the crossover neckline, and I liked that one better than the basic crewneck (for ease of dressing).

2015-June: Cloth Diapers x 2: Strawberries and Ooga Booga Small AIOs

I made two small AIO diapers in June, though I guess I didn't take any process photos OR specific finished item photos.  So, you can see pix of my baby in them!

The first was a strawberry one with snaps.  I sewed a fixed Zorb pad to the inner and added some snaps so that another insert could snap in and agitate out.  LOVED THIS DIAPER.

Second was an Ooga Booga print with Velcro (hook-and-loop, whatever).  I made it the same way, but into this one I sewed a fixed hemp insert.  The snappy insert was a cotton terry.  Loved this one as well, but it did need extra drying time, turned inside out.

So you see a trend -- I really liked sized AIO diapers for my second baby!  They are just so convenient and fit just right.  Now she fits into the one-size ones, but I still like sewing her larges without all the extra snaps.

2015-Summer: Not much sewing

Starting in May, I didn't sew super-productively because we were preparing to move across the country!  A's sister came to live with us and help out.  Also, I was trying to sell off a lot of cloth diapers I didn't need anymore.  And I did a little side job of lettering the local coffee shop's menu board.

I did add two rows to E's layered skirt in June, so she could keep wearing it as she got taller!  She still wears it now, although the elastic just gave out for no reason so I have to put some new elastic in.  I think it was because I was using cheapie buttonhole elastic.

I sewed a small-sized AIO with a woven flower fabric for the outer . . . and I have zero pictures of it!  I gave it to a CD charity in July.

Anyway, we moved on August 2nd, and I was without my sewing machine for a little while after that.

I've got a few more projects to show you from before the big move, though!

2015-May: Owls AI2 Pocket Diaper "Testers" x 2

I know I made 2 cloth diapers in May, but I can't remember much info about them!  Every now and then I make stuff, get excited to use it, and forget to document it.  For some reason I had noted that I was working on these on May 7th (??), though photos don't seem to exist!

In my ongoing quest to be thorough, I will tell you what I can.

* I wanted to try an "envelope" style pocket, much like Applecheeks.  There was a difference in construction between the two, but I don't remember what.
* I made the two diapers simultaneously (assembly line style).
* One had white star snaps, one had red heart snaps.  Both had owls PUL.
* Both came out a bit wonky, aesthetically.
* I sent away the red heart snap one to a CD charity in July 2015.  Why, I don't remember!

I still have the white star snap one -- hold on, here it is! (pardon my floor backdrop)

Inner is microfleece with an envelope pocket and snapped-in "charcoal bamboo" insert I had laying around (that I got for cheap at the consignment shop).  I figured it would be a good choice for not being fully covered by the pocket because it has a stay-dry layer itself.

Pic of C. in the red-heart-snap diaper:

I still keep the white star snap one in the diaper bag.  It's not my favorite, but it is really cute.  I'm not a big fan of the mysterious "charcoal bamboo" insert (seems to me that it is microfiber encased in gray microfleece), but it does the job.  And additional inserts do agitate out.

I'm glad I made these because they gave me more diaper-making practice, but I wasn't super excited about the results.

2015-April: Small Guitars AIO Diaper

I made this when C. was fitting her old BumGenius Smalls and I wanted more AIOs!  The PUL was a free gift; I wouldn't normally choose guitars but I wanted to "practice" on this diaper.  As usual, the practice diaper became a go-to diaper, so I should have just used some of the cool PUL I actually bought!  (Future posts on those . . .)

The pattern is Arfy's Small AIO.  I LOVE it.  I just think this size and style is the winner for babies this size/age.  I added a snap so that some of the absorbency would agitate out (and dry faster) and snapped through a small microfiber insert I had laying around.

Back flap to cover . . .

This snap, which snaps onto . . .

This insert.

Also I sewed a spare hemp insert to the body.

Awesome diaper!!

Awesome kid!!

2015-April: Crazy Animal Undies

Here's just a pair of undies for E., made with That Darn Kat's undies pattern.  I have since found a pattern I like better, but these came out just fine!  Made with two old shirts and some crazy print knit fabric!

2015-April: Winter Kimono Shirt

Lest you think that ALL of my sewing has been for E. at this point, let me show you the first shirt I made for baby sister C.!

 It's a kimono style wrap shirt from the Opulent Monsters OM-agami Kimono pattern!

I used the same fabrics for this shirt as for E's Winter Dress, so they could be matchy-matchy for 5 minutes till one of them spilled something and needed to change, or ran away from the camera.  Ha ha!

I did manage to take a few cute pictures!

So, this was a super cute shirt, but it wasn't my favorite to make.  It just seemed like too much effort for what I got.  Of course I got a great top for C. (wrap shirts are convenient when babies are very little), but I feel like it would have been just as cute and perhaps easier to do if it was just a cardigan style.

The snaps with their backings looked wonky to me.  I know that snaps need a backing, but in this shirt the placement was just . . . weird.  All wrap shirts are somewhat like this, of course.  I just don't think I want to make any more wrap shirts.

I'd like to try out a pattern for a cardigan variation on a tee shirt and see how I like that.  For this shirt, the trim and the snaps and the tutorial instructions were a bit too much for me.  I still don't think I got the bottom band quite right!  

My timing was off as well; she outgrew this pretty fast!  Not a pattern for the long-torsoed (and my cuff material wasn't the right kind of stretchy).  This is how we learn, right?

2015-March: Fuzzy Luxe Undies

A quick project: E. asked me to make some undies with a "supersoft" (basically minky) lining.  I whipped these up from some old shirts and shorts, but they didn't fit her for long.  They were pretty cumbersome to get dressed in, too!

Pattern: Fishsticks Little Fishies Undies

2015-March: Winter Dress

Oh, this dress!  This became E's favorite garment the moment I gave it to her.  She wore it ALL THE TIME and got lots of compliments on it! ;)  I called it a winter dress because it just seemed wintery to me.

This dress (Love Notions Everyday Playdress pattern) is basically perfect as far as girls' dresses go.  Even though the crossover style seems to waste some fabric (it really does cross over and make a little pocket . . . ask me how I know . . . E would stash things in there!), I prefer it to the crewneck top.  It's just easier to get on and off, and will fit for longer.  Apparently head size is a limiting factor in sewing for growing kids!

Choosing fabrics . . .

I really liked how I could use knits for the top (bodice) and the skirt could use wovens.  Because I have a lot of woven fabric, too!  I prefer knits for clothes because they are 1,000% comfier, but I can't help buying all the beautiful wovens, too.  Well, it didn't matter on the skirt part: this dress was plenty comfortable!

 

2015-March: Sunnies Shirt

Having so much fun sewing these clothes, I jumped right in with another shirt for E!  This time I used a nice big piece of her beloved "Sunnies" (Lillestoff Sunny Sky).  This was the Fishsticks Charlie Tee pattern.  It came out great!

Happy girl!

I liked the option for mixing up fabrics on the front.  I was able to get Sunnies on there, while using more of an abundant rainbow stripe I had.

The back

I was REALLY proud of how I matched up those stripes!  I don't think I've done as nice a job since, ha ha!  That is what practicing is for.

She still wears this one, though she says the neck is getting hard to put on.  Wash and save for Baby Sister!