Nappy covers

This is a start on some nappy covers. I'm not a big FOE fan, but thought it would make the whole process faster. It has, but figuring out the pattern is another matter! I wanted to add gussets (the traditional half-moon style), since I think they make for a better fit while still providing good coverage for the nappy underneath.

The greencover was my first try, intended to be newborn size. I based it on a small La Di Da, thinking it would then fit over some of the larger newborn nappies, such as the orange edge DDNB. I don't like the bulk of the FOE on the crotch area (non-gusset part); perhaps I should have stretched here as well as on the gusset? I think the gusset also looks a bit too deep. In any case, it turned out looking useable but too large, so I labelled it a small and tried again.

The fingers belong to my 'helper'.

The lavendar cover is based on the larger DDNB. Even though I scooped out the front and back a bit and angled the wings up (made it look a bit like a LDD), because it is FOE-bound with no seam allowance removed, it actually still fits over a large DDNB.
I added gussets again, but instead of using FOE to join them to the body, sewed the PUL pieces together and the microfleece (lining fabric) pieces together, topstitched the PUL seam, nested the layers together and bound the whole cover in FOE. The FOE is only on the edge this way, which eliminates some bulk - much nicer result IMO.
I think if the same pattern was turned and topstitched, it would be about the right size to go over smaller newborn fitteds. It would need seam allowance added to the outside edge of the gusset.

Jump Rope Dress

This is my first Jump Rope Dress, and my first try sewing an Oliver +S pattern. Helen was pretty excited about modelling for me!

 The fabric was more difficult to work with than I expected - a loose weave that kept wanting to fray and twist off grain. Got there in the end, but the plaid isn't matched well in several places.

Going by the pattern sizing, Helen measured as a size 4 with a size 5 waist. I wanted a bit of growing room (we're barely past the middle of winter, after all), and I had also read in reviews that the fit can be a bit slim. So I cut out a size 5 top, tapering the body to size 6 at the waist. The end result has plenty of room - I probably didn't need to make the waist larger, but it's not ridiculously enormous.

Helen wanted the view B pockets.

I can see why some people rave about O+S patterns. It was nicely presented and the instructions were clear. I did feel like the pattern was simplified to suit less experienced sewists, which kind of clashed with my impulse to try patterns and techniques that are too advanced for me. However, simplified means easier to finish when sewing time is limited, so that's probably a good thing.

The pattern sheet was enormous which made it harder not to get marks, folds or tears during tracing. It would be nice if it was split over two sheets, but I guess that would increase production costs.

The collar is a bit uneven, but seems to sit ok when worn. I rushed the placket a bit and the overlap isn't in quite the right spot at the top, but again it's not glaringly obvious. The placket instructions were pretty clear, but I still found it hard to fully enclose the bottom of the cut edge and I think it might fray out over time. I have found a tutorial for another technique to try next time, which looks like it should work better.

I had read that the belt loops were on the long side, so I made the sash before attaching them, and cut them to suit the width of the sash.

Plenty of room for spinning and moving!

Louise to the rescue!

Not long after my recent post about wanting the out of print O+S Jump Rope Dress pattern for Helen's school photo dress, I bumped into Louise, who last year lent me some patterns to use in the EB kids' clothing swap. It turns out that she owns a copy of the JRD pattern in the size range I need and was happy to lend it to me. Thank you Louise!
I have started on a tester dress already; the fabric isn't Helen's favourite and I'll make another if I get time (ha!), but being soft, light cotton it should still get some good use over summer.

Some progresss on the newborn stash

While there is still quite a bit to do, I am pleased to have these fifteen newborn fitteds completed. (There are also some other newborn nappies lurking in my sewing desk and in storage, but only a few).

I had/have plans to make mostly snail shell nappies, but found myself paralysed with indecision about the details, so decided to make some little fitteds, something I'm more familiar with. It means there is a good chunk of the stash completed, even if they're not exactly what I originally had in mind.

The ladybird fabric is from a flannelette sheet set that I bought on sale at Target. I used Target flannelette sheets for some of Heather's stash too, and they held up really well, so I hope this new set proves reasonably durable too.

Some of these are a bit wonky, but they should all work for the first little while. All the nappies have two body layers of flannelette and a layer of bamboo fleece in the bum zone, (as newborns, H & H's nappies got very wet at the rear because they spent a lot of time on their backs). There are two lay-in inserts/soakers per nappy, each has two layers of bamboo fleece and one layer of flannelette.

Seven DDNB (red/smaller pattern). I overlocked the first few but it was hard to do curves neatly with the flannelette, so the rest are turned and topstitched.

Opened up, showing the gusset with inserts in place. the gusset is a strip of microfleece sewn around the insert area, with fold over elastic sewn on the free edge. While the FOE is fast to apply, I found it difficult to get the amount of stretch correct. Most of them are too loose (I hope they tighten up with washing - I didn't pre-shrink the FOE). Sewing a casing is more fiddly but more adjustable.

Opened up, showing the two inserts to the side. You can see I've sewn some satin stitching with purple thread - this is to help match up inserts and nappies, since the inserts from different patterns I used look very similar at first glance.

Eight La Di Da. These are bit neater, being sewn after I ironed out the kinks with the DDNB above.

Opened up with inserts tucked in. Rather than a full gusset, I just did a small one under the back edge, to catch those poos that shoot up the back.

Close up of gusset and green colour-coding satin stitching.

Opened up with the inserts to the side.

Cute tags, from a co-op on Diaper Sewing Divas. Possibly overkill for newborn nappies that might be outgrown very quickly, but I think they give a nice finish to the nappies. I already had the size tags.

You can see I chose to use hook and loop rather than snap closures. The intention is to make the nappies easier to use (bleary-eyed night time changes, anyone?) and more intuitive for others, who may not be used to cloth (e.g. midwives, relatives). I hope it works, because the hook tape is a pain to sew!

It's a gamble making smaller newborn nappies (LDD runs smallish), but this baby will be born about three weeks earlier than the last two, so there's a reasonable chance they'll fit her for a few weeks. The next batch, though, will be smalls that adjust down to newborn size, which will definitely fit for longer.

Another project...

I just realised today that school photos will probably be in September, right when I'll be having/busy with a newborn. I would love to make Helen a new dress like I did last year, but I would need to start pretty soon and have it finished well ahead of time. Not sure whether to attempt it or not! I love the look of the Oliver & S jump rope pattern, but it is out of print. I could borrow or buy second hand, or pick something else from my Ottobre collection.

In the time since my last post I haven't done a great deal of sewing. There is a batch of seven flannelette DDNB fitteds (red/smaller pattern) completed, and I'm about half way through eight LaDiDa newborn fitteds, also flannelette. I don't know whether to expect a small, average or large newborn, since she will be born around 39 weeks - much earlier than my last two. If she's large then these fitteds won't last long, but will be nice to have while they fit.

Sewing desk cover

My sewing desk is in a nook near our front door. The entry area and adjacent stairs are tiled, the walls are rendered brick and there is little in the way of soft furnishings, which means there's not much to absorb machine noise. To reduce noise, I have been using a towel under my machines, but it's annoying, catches lint/thread etc and is ugly.

(The rest of the area doesn't look too hot either)

So for a while now I've been wanting to make a padded cover for the desktop. Yesterday I decided that I was unlikely to actually make the cover if it required buying the padding/quilted fabric, ordering nice quilting fabric for the top, preparing it, etc.. So I pulled out some calico I had lurking in a box, cut it to size, overlocked the edge, sewed a casing around the edge and threaded through some thin elastic. Done.

Since it's just a single layer of calico I still needed to put a towel underneath, but it's functional and even though it's plain it does look neater.

Supplies

I'm itching to get sewing for the baby. I think a stash of AI2 snail shell nappies would be a great start. To make them last longer, I'm considering making the size adjustable from newborn to small - hopefully then bub will be able to wear them for a few months rather than a few weeks. This would mean getting some button hole elastic, which I think I'd prefer for leg fit (vs. traditional snap-down rise).

I'm a bit nervous about the snail shells possibly not working, so my plan is to make them in such a way that they'll be easily converted to fitteds if required.

Last night I went ahead and ordered supplies for making snail shell nappies:
11m hook tape
50m loop tape
22m FOE
200 sets size 14 snaps.
Can't wait for the stuff to arrive!

Also, another Aussie member on Diaper Sewing Divas is very kindly sending me some FOE to try. Check out her website! http://www.clothish.com/

Jeans

RTW pants and jeans are almost always too long for me (yes, I'm short and I also have short legs). I bought a pair of maternity jeans last weekend, and they were, of course, too long. Last night I hemmed them. It feels good to have a slightly annoying sewing job out of the way, and also to be able to wear jeans again!
I'll spare you a photo - it's just a couple of hems.

I think I like it

Today I made my first attempt at a snail shell nappy. The outer is from the free DDNB pattern, using some pink stretch woven I had left over from Helen's school photo dress that I made her last year. For the PUL pouch, I used mad skills' tutorial on Diaper Sewing Divas. The absorbent part is a quad fold pocket insert that used to go in Heather's nappies.

Putting it all together, I had my doubts about how it would turn out, but once the insert went in, the shape looked more like a proper nappy.

This is the first time I've tried using the 50mm touch tape. I quite like it and I think the fit will be better than narrower hook & loop. Proper tabs look neater than just whacking the hook on the inside of the wings, but are slower to sew and I also figured the wings on this pattern are plenty long enough.

The insert could be a touch longer. This one doesn't fully cover the snaps, so even though they are covered by a layer of PUL, they might dig into the skin a bit. The thread on DSD also indicates that a longer insert is less likely to leak.

I didn't have FOE (fold over elastic), so I used a strip of microfleece to make a casing around the PUL and threaded 3mm elastic through it. This seems to work ok, and I'm not normally a fan of FOE, but for something like this I think FOE would be better. It would be less bulky and I think it would also be more comfortable.

The legs on the outer are a bit loose - I was trying not to tighten the elastic too much, but I think I went too far the other way. Snail shell fans on DSD assure me though that the legs don't need to be firm - in fact some snail shell outers are made with ribbing instead of elastic and are quite loose, and if the legs are too tight they can curl inside the PUL pouch and cause wicking. So this one should work, even if the legs gape.

I really like the snail shell concept, but I'm a bit nervous about getting the elastic right. One option is to make casings on the back and legs and use button hole elastic, which is now available in a 10mm width for nappy making. So my nappy making shopping list is building up: 50mm H&L, FOE, button hole elastic...

A few things

First is more maternity sewing. I found a couple of more knits at my local fabric shop to try out. After prewashing them, I realised one was not the nicest fabric so I chose it to test out a maternity top. This fabric also turned out to be a big PITB to sew, because of the raised plasticky pattern that is printed on it - it's almost like puff paint, but more compact. My overlocker was ok with it, but my coverstitch is more picky and just wouldn't do it without skipping stitches. I resorted to using a stretch stitch on my sewing machine for topstitching the binding seam allowance - I think it may have skipped the odd stitch here and there, but it doesn't show/unravel, unlike with coverstitching.

Here is a close up of the fabric and the raised print.

The top turned out too small, so I've left it unhemmed for now and will pass it on if I find someone who could use it. Apart from the size, the pattern seemed to work well enough (with some minor modifications), so the next attempt should result in something wearable.

Here is the fabric I'll use. This one should be easier to sew!

With my hand on it to show the size of the print.

The latest Ottobre magazine arrived in my mailbox a few days ago.

I'm enjoying my subscription so far, even though I haven't sewn a lot from it yet. This issue has some cute things I'd like to make, such as a pinafore that could make a nice winter party dress, and a sun hat. There are also some nice boys' items should I need them, e.g. for swaps or gifts.

The next thing I'll try is a snail shell AI2 nappy. These work a bit like g-diapers in that they have an elasticated PUL pouch for the insert, but you can use any nappy pattern and fabric for the outer shell. I'm considering making these the majority of bub's daytime stash, but need to try one before I decide.

Maternity mock wrap dress

I finished the dress. The slinky fabric was surprisingly easy to sew. My attempt at modifying the pattern into a maternity pattern didn't work out so well though. I added too much room and the dress is quite baggy - also I probably should have based it on the XS instead of the Small. However, I had enough fabric left over to make a sash/belt, which helps pull everything in a bit, and it's quite comfortable to wear. I learned a lot with this and I'm keen to try again.

Very rushed photos (excuse the wet hair):

Something for me

I don't usually have any great desire to sew for myself, but sometimes it's hard to find clothes I like that are in my price range. My current wardrobe is in desperate need of a makeover. Being pregnant means my choices are that much more limited, so a couple of months ago I bought this pattern:

(Yes, you can see crayon scribbles on the cover >:( )

It's not a maternity pattern, but I figure that it won't be too hard to alter for a belly, and I'll be able to use it later for normal tops. I also feel a need to dress a little smarter, including dresses and skirts, so I'm hoping I can use this pattern to make a maternity dress, a bit like this one:

I have a similar (but not maternity) dress from a few years ago, so I can attempt to copy the skirt section from that. I also want to add a horizontal panel under the wrap - I don't like really deep necklines and it will be handy for breastfeeding too. Here is some fabric I bought today for my first try at the dress:

That's my hand there to give a sense of the size of the print.

It's a slinky knit - polyester at a guess, but my local fabric store where I bought this is pretty hopeless with labelling their stock. It was cheap enough that I won't have too many qualms about hacking into it for an untested pattern. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much that it will be wearable in public, although with the new boots I bought today, and a birthday party to attend on Saturday, it would be great to have something nice to wear!

Gusset mark II

I made another nappy with the new gusset.

This time I left the leg elastic uncased. The waist seems a bit too big - maybe I didn't sew the elastic tight enough.

 

Here I've marked the changes I made. First, I sewed a hem on the gusset strip to create a casing for the elastic (green line) (I cut the gusset strip 2 inches wide instead of 3 inches). This means the gusset is a single thickness of microfleece where it is sewn to the inner. It also keeps the elastic neater. After I finished sewing the gusset to the inner, I sewed a diagonal line at each end of the gusset (pink lines), eliminating a tight and potentially poo-harbouring corner (I was worried the corner was too tight for any 'stuff' to get washed out properly). Finally, The elastic ends (pink dots) are placed further back from the edge. This stops the front curling to the inside (see yellow nappy in previous entry).

Nappies: a gusset experiment

I've been toying with the idea of adding gussets to the nappies I make for the baby, to prevent poo leaks. This is more critical for all-in-two or all-in-one nappies, since other types have seperate covers as a second line of defence.
There are a few ways of sewing gussets into nappies. All involve more work than just sewing up a standard nappy pattern; some methods are more fiddly than others. Some people don't think the extra effort is worth it, given that leaks are only occasional, but I'd like to give it a shot if I can find a simple yet effective method.
This is a possible method that's been floating around in my head for a few days. Got it sewn up today. I can already see several ways to improve the method, but for now, here it is. Note that this mini tute assumes prior experience sewing nappies, e.g. how to sew on the leg and waist elastic.

The pieces cut out: yellow PUL outer; white microfleece inner; extra PUL to reinforce the front strip of loop; and the gusset, a 3 inch wide strip of microfleece. You can see that I traced the shape of the soaker pad/insert onto the inner fabric with a washable marker.

Close up of the inner. Starting where the line of the soaker shape starts to curve around to the front, draw straight lines up to the front edge of the nappy.

Fold the gusset strip in half. Leave the first centimetre or so outside the front edge of the inner and line up the two edges just inside the straight line drawn earlier (the line is the stitching line). Sew the strip all the way around the traced line, pausing to adjust as necessary around the curves.

The gusset strip sewn on.

At the front of the inner, fold the gusset strip on each side towards the centre. Pin and baste in place.

Trim the excess gusset strip at the front edge of the inner.

Place the extra piece of PUL on the wrong side of the outer and sew the loop into place. Sewing the loop on now means it won't interfere with the gusset.

Place the inner and outer right sides together, sew together leaving a gap at the front. Sew elastic in place (on seam allowances). Turn and topstitch, close the turning hole during topstitching. This photo shows the inside of the nappy after topstitching.

Right near the front, snip a small hole in the hidden part of the gusset (the part under the fold) on each side.

Thread thin elastic through one hole, all the way around the gusset and out the other hole. I used 3mm braided elastic. Using contrasting thread, hand stitch the cut end in place. The different colour will help if the elastic needs to be replaced at a later date. Pull the loose end of the elastic so that the gusset is gathered. Adjust so that the gusset is neither loose, nor pulls the nappy's rise down any further than the leg elastic already does. Hand stitch in place the same way as the first end, and trim excess elastic.

The finished gusset. Protection from poosplosions at the legs AND the back. Obviously this nappy still needs the hook tabs sewn onto the wings.

 

Shown with an absorbent insert tucked into the gusset. This insert is a touch too long, but you get the idea.

I'm probably not the first person to think of sewing gussets this way, but I haven't seen it anywhere else so I thought it was worth a try. Please let me know if you try it and if it works for your baby - I don't have anyone to test it on!