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!

April resolution

If you have a sewing/crafty blog, do you blog everything you do/make? Pattern or materials purchases?
I know I don't. I can think of some things I've made that I've never blogged about, patterns I've acquired, etc..
Being the first of the month, I figure it's a good time to change that. Starting today I will blog everything sewing related that I make or acquire, for the rest of the month.