Newborn Shoes: Free pattern

These are the cutest little baby shoes I have ever seen! I made them for my niece for her Christmas present. I used pink Leather for the sole, which I found at Lens mill for $6.00 for a huge piece of it approximate size was 3/4 yard. I then used quilters cotton for the lining and front. I also embroidered her name on the front of them. I found the pattern here. The pattern works out pretty well but it takes a bit of patience when you have to resize the pattern to correct size. The only other thing I would do differently is use a telfon foot to avoid slipping.

Pants for Hubby

These are the pants that I sewed up for my hubby over the holidays. They turned out great although the picture doesn't do them justice! I used the "Copy a pair of other pants" method to sew them up. They cost me about $6.00 to make out of fuzzy red fleece. I will eventually work on a tutorial for everyone in order to sew a great pair of pants.

Cloth Pads: Free Pattern

In recent months I also sewed up a bunch of cloth pads. This is of course before I got pregnant! Although I plan on sewing some more for my postpartum period. After reading about all the chemicals and stuff in disposable pads I decided that I would try them. Society is so mainstreamed into thinking that we need to buy disposables that I never thought about it until after our son was born. I was surprised to read that disposable products (diapers & feminine products) could take up to 500 years to decompose and actually have toxins known to cause cancer and endometriosis. I actually didn't mind using cloth diapers so I thought what the heck. I decided to try and make them myself to save some money (just in case I didn't like them) as cloth pads can cost $7.00 each. Although the price seems high over the course of years that you own them it's actually quite minimal compared to disposables. Say you buy 12 cloth pads for roughly $7.00 each, that totals about $84.00. So if you divide that by approximately 5 years you would be spending about $1.40 per month. Now keep in mind that you could have them longer if you take care of them properly. Now if you compare that to your current disposable pads at say $6.00 per package multiplied by 5 years that's $360.00. I did notice that once I switched to cloth, I didn't have as long of periods, I had less cramping and didn't feel like I had sand paper between my legs by the 5th day!:) I used this pattern for my panty liners. For my larger pads I used another pattern that I found on the net for free. I just can't seem to find where I found it. The only thing that I would advise you to do differently is to is to NOT sewn the middle part of the pad through the pul as if you have a really heavy period than it can leak through the holes (from the needle). What I would do next time is sew the middle part to the front before sewing the pieces together then layering as follows: pul, bottom and front facing each other. Sew all the way around leaving enough of a gap to turn the pad right side out. Then top-stitch all the way around the pad thus closing the turning point. This method will take a lot more practice to master as this pattern is rounded in a lot of spots, but it makes for a much better, leakfree pad! I will make a tutorial in the future to show you what I mean.

Newborn Diapers: Free Pattern

A bunch of Newborn diapers using Darling Diapers Newborn pattern (which is free). All that is left to do is apply the snaps to them! If you are interested in making diapers I strongly suggest purchasing the Darling diapers pattern as it encompasses a variety of sizes and has very detail instructions. It's very easy to sew up and looks great when finished. If you are interested in sewing cloth diapers I also suggest becoming a member of Diaper Divas. It's a great place for researching the types of fabrics etc that you can using in cloth diapering. Just be forewarned, sewing cloth diapers can become additive! :)

Putting elastic into Katrina's Quick Soaker Pattern

I love the quick soaker pattern that Katrina made found here. Best of all it's free! This pattern turns out so nicely! I noticed that some people don't like that it doesn't have elastic. I have made a few minor changes in order to allow for an adjustable elastic waist and legs. I won't lie to you though. It's not the most professional looking way to do it (esthetically that is), if anything it's the most practical way to allow for easy access to change the elastic for sizing. {Please note that you do not have to finish off the seams if using fleece as it doesn't fray}

Supplies needed:
Katrina's soaker and pattern pieces
Elastic (measured to your child's waist and leg circumference) (I used 1/2" elastic) {you can also use buttonhole elastic and sew a button to the opposite end of the elastic}
Marking pen
seam ripper
two safety pins

1. Cut out all of your pieces according to the pattern. You should have the main body panel, two leg bands, a waist band and if desired the soaker piece.
2. Sew the soaker piece to the body panel.
3. Take your waist bands and leg bands and sew a buttonhole horizontally on all three of them approximately 1/4 of the way up. Make the buttonhole large enough to allow for your elastic to go through. (Below is a picture of what I mean) . then use your seam ripper to open up the buttonhole.
4. Serge all of your pieces (main body panel, waist band and leg bands.) You only have to serge the sides as shown as the other seam will be hidden. If your serger with go through 3 layers of fleece you can eliminate this step.
5. Sew your seams on the main body panel, waist bands and leg bands the exact way as shown.
6. Fold down the waistband and leg cuffs with wrong sides together so that the serged edges of the seam are hidden. {make sure that this inside area will allow for elastic otherwise you didn't sew it correctly}Turn the main body panel right side out.
7. Put the main body panel inside the waistband with all raw/serged edges together. {this is where you can use your serger to serge through all three layers if desired} Sew the waistband to the soaker body. *****Make sure that the buttonhole that you made, will be on the inside of the soaker **** (NOTE how the red buttonhole is right beside the foot of my sewing machine, thus making the right sides of the bands touching the right side of the main body panel) Repeat this for leg bands.
8. Now measure your child's waist and cut your elastic to size. (Depending on the stretch of the elastic you may want to go a bit smaller. Just keep in mind that you will be overlapping each end about an inch, so it will reduce the amount of elastic)
9. On the elastic pieces, mark an x on the right side of it and then on the left side mark an x on the underside. The reason being that you want your elastic to lay flat when sewn.
10. Attach a safety pin to both sides of the elastic and then thread your elastic through the waist. (repeat this for each of the leg bands as well)
11. Make sure that you elastic will lay flat once sewn. Match up the x's so that they touch each other {so that the x's are kissing each other} and so that they overlap each other about1 inch. Using a zig-zag stitch, sew the pieces of elastic together. Reverse the zig-zag stitch a couple of times. I put in 2-3 vertical zig-zags to make sure it won't come apart Repeat this step for the leg bands.
12. Marvel at your creation and thank Katrina for this wonderful pattern!

The great thing about this way is that you can adjust the waist/legs if needed by simply taking out the old elastic and putting in a shorter/longer piece. To use the buttonhole elastic inside of the one pictured, sew a button to one side of the elastic for each the legs and waistband. Insert the elastic and do up the button through the buttonhole.

I haven't actually tried this method (buttonhole elastic) but it could leave a button imprint into your child's waist or legs if done up to tightly. If you do try this method please let me know who it turns out!

Review of Snap pliers for plastic snaps

I read alot of mixed reviews of these snap pliers. A lady was selling them on ebay for roughly $40.00 shipped including 450 snaps. So compared to a snap press (which usually is about $120+) I figured I would try them. It took over a month to receive as it came from china but I was just impatient to try them. So when I received them I tried them. I was ticked off as it keep pressing my male connector piece which in turn wouldn't snap into the female piece. No directions were included so after 30 minutes I figured maybe it was the knob on the pliers as it came with another set. I change it and low and behold it worked perfect every time. Once you've figured out what size to use they are really easy to use and don't require a lot of pressure to press them. Plus they don't take up as much room and they were much cheaper then the snap press. A lot less frustrating then applying the metal snaps with a hammer. You tube also has a video on how they work and how to change them.

Serging around outside and inside curves re: cloth pads

It has defiantly been a while since I have updated my blog, mostly due to the fact that I am pregnant. I'm 15 weeks and have suffered through extreme nausea this entire pregnancy more so than my first child. I used Adahy's cloth pad pattern located here to make some panty liners and another larger pad similar to the that pattern make a super pad. I do admit I am a sucker for cloth pads and hate when I have to use disposables (like when we go camping). Laundering them is as simple as throwing them into the diaper pail and washing them with cloth diapers or if you don't have cloth diapers throw them in a small pail of vinegar and cold water until wash day and then when ready to wash, I prewash on cold then do a hot wash. Hang to dry for longer life and environmental reasons or throw them into the dryer if needed.

Serging:
I just figured out how to serge around tight inside and outside curves. I won't lie to you though it takes a lot of practice. Don't expect it to happen overnight. If you are new to serging first practice doing outside curves. these are easy once you get the hang of it. Make sure that you are watching both where you're stitching and where your cutting blade is. GO SLOW at first and then speed up when you feel comfortable. Next get some cheap flannel (I found some in the as is section because it frayed easily, you can also use old tshirts or scaps) cut out your pad shape x 2 pieces. Start at one of the outside curves and as you near the inside curve pull your fabric away from the cutting blade (almost as if you are sewing straight) go really slow here and if needed lift the presser foot to reposition the fabric if you need to. Keep this up until done. It does take practice so don't be upset if you don't get it right off the bat. Hope this helps others!