Making One Size Cloth Diapers & My Newborn Sizing Hack

Little by little I'm starting to make things again now that life is settling down and my daughter's feeling better.  Even though I've got a long list of various projects I want to tackle, I'm starting with stuff I need for the baby since our new arrival is just a few weeks away.  I've only just gotten started on getting all the things we need together so prioritizing that is key.

One of my big must-haves is diapers.  This will be my 3rd cloth diapered babe (I didn't even realize it was an option for my first).  Despite that, I'm starting my diaper stash from scratch this go round.  It's been close to 6 yrs since my youngest child was in diapers!  

I dusted off a pattern I'd used back then and so far have made these cuties:

Even though it had been ages since I'd made cloth diapers, it was easy to get back in the saddle.  I used a diaper PUL panel called Bee My Little Honey (bought from Diaper Sewing Supplies/Sahara Fabrics) to make this one:

For this diaper I used a panel called Little Lion Big Hug (also from DSS/Sahara Fabrics):

I love how both have cute large design backs.  Adorable baby bums are a must!

I used the NykiBaby One Size Pocket Diaper Pattern to make them all.  This pattern's design is one of my favorites.  It fits 8-40lbs.  It's a simple-to-follow PDF pattern and offers both pocket & fitted styles.  The finished results are just as good as store-bought cloth diaper brands I've used over the years, since there's a 2 setting adjustable rise and loads of snaps to get the right waist fit:

My third diaper is a variation of the pattern that will fit a brand new newborn (closer to 5lbs) and still fit up to about 15lbs...maybe even more:

I also added a snap down feature in the front like other newborn diapers have to dip the top down while the umbilical cord heals:

I decided to make a newborn hack version when I found the last piece of this Woodland Gnome print PUL I had left in my stash was too short to use the pattern in its normal full one size:

I tweaked it to work as a newborn-15lb version by folding the full length, longest, snap rise up so that I only kept the smaller rise adjusting snap settings:

I followed all the pattern directions like normal, except I made the back wrap-to-front closure wings slightly narrower and added my own center snap settings slightly above and below the main front rows to create the umbilical cord snap-down feature:

Years ago I invested in a snap press and it's been a worthwhile investment.  I've used it to make loads of diapers, training pants, on clothing, bags and all sorts of other stuff.

It's been way easier to use than pliers or setting tools, which is key when you have lots of snaps to set like on these diapers.  

I also always use plastic clothespin to hold my micro fleece lining and PUL together while I sew to keep from having any pinholes, then dry the finished diapers in the dryer on high to seal up the stitching holes.

Here's how my newborn version compares to a store bought newborn-15lbs diaper:

Here's how my newborn version compares to the same OS pattern, unadjusted, at the smallest snapped-up sizes:

And with both fully opened at the maximum size settings:

I still want to make a few more, but I'm excited to have some that'll fit baby right away and some that will last through to toddler time, when I'll need to switch to making some training pants.  Luckily, I've got a pattern for those too (which is my own Sanity Saving Training Pants Pattern) and have a gnome-y pair already waiting:

And a matching wet bag to make a full gnome-themed set too:)  It's nice to finally be feeling the baby-stuff making vibe!

Small Business Saturday: Great Fabric+Craft Deals Round-Up

I normally don't post on Saturdays, but it's Thanksgiving weekend and it's never been a better time to scoop up some sales.  In celebration of Small Business Saturday, here's a round-up of great deals at shops Sew Can Do loves that are good from now through Cyber Monday.

At my Heavenly Fabric Shop every purchase of fabric, buttons or notions from now through Nov. 27, 2017 will receive a FREE half panel of Made With Love Sewing Label fabric.  No coupon code needed!

Sugar Pink Boutique has a special 99¢ sale on select trims and is offering a free surprise yard of ribbon or trim with every purchase through Nov. 27.  No coupon code needed!

We've also got our joint Holiday Shopping Spree Gift Certificate Giveaway still going.  A chance to win a $20 gift certificate to BOTH our stores!  Enter HERE.

Sahara Fabrics & Diaper Sewing Supplies are both having a big 20-50% sale with lots of knits, PUL, waterproof oxford and FOE, as well as an EXTRA code for 10% off everything in the store, including all other knits, panels, organic & plush fabrics, snaps, hook & loop and elastic:

At The Green Hedgehog use the code TURKEY10 to save 10% off all PDF Patterns & Soft Soled Baby Shoes. 

Nature's Fabrics has a giant sale through Monday on knit and PUL fabrics, elastic, aplix & more:

And New Horizons is offering 40% off all patterns! Valid 11/26-11/27. Use code HOLIDAY.

Get your craft shopping on & support some small businesses too!

Mommy & Me Leggings, a Free Pattern Find & DIY Matching Top

This winter I'm getting totally into making & wearing fun prints.  Nothing helps get rid of the dullness of the cold & clouds like putting on something that makes you feel good inside and out.  It's even better when you can do it together!

I think this may even be the first "Mommy & me" outfits I've ever made.  My daughter really likes the idea of us wearing matching things, so making them was a lot of fun and pretty quick since leggings are a simple sew.

And with a DIY'd matching top we've got a complete look going on:

I'd bought a yard and a half of this awesome reindeer cotton lycra knit when it first was released (it's Golden Dreams by Sahara Fabrics BTW).  I'd planned to make a shirt with it, but making leggings for both of us ended up being a better idea.  The combination of gold, yellow, black and white in the print means we can wear them with lots of different wintery tops and sweaters too.

To make my pair I used McCalls 6173.  They were quick to make and fit pretty well.  I just lowered the rise about 5/8 inches out of personal preference.    

Ready for the FREE pattern part?  This is where I share details on a free pattern I've found and add my experience trying it out. 

For my daughter's pair I used the Classic Leggings Pattern from Naptime Creations.  It covers sizes 18 months - 12 yrs and is super easy to use.  I've tried and bought a number of girl's legging patterns, but none was just right.  This one is ideal for the rise, fit, waistband width and, most importantly, the leg holes.  Big gold star.  I was just a couple of inches short to make hers full length, so I ended up using some of the scrap fabric to make cuffs that gave us just the right amount of length and with the busy print you can't even tell. 



At the last minute I decided a wanted to upscale the basic black long sleeved t-shirt I had for my daughter.  I searched for reindeer embroidery files and found this pretty one (it's called Inky Christmas Reindeer) that was pretty close in style to the fabric design. It stitched beautifully thanks to my new best friend, my Brother PE-770 embroidery machine.  I used gold embroidery thread to really make it really pop: 



Throw in the felt hippy hat we got her for Christmas and my little miss has a total wintertime chic look going on:

The shirt & leggings look so nice together - like an outfit I'd bought in a boutique instead of something I made myself for a lot less.  The shirt alone was only about $5 total, which makes my thrifty self proud.  I feel a DIY leggings & top addiction coming on for 2017.  And I'm planning to share all my machine embroidery know-how in a series of upcoming posts so you can do 'em too and get in on the fun!  

Fave Raglan Shirt Patterns + Spooky Cats for Halloween & Beyond!

Halloween season is usually one of my craftiest times of the year, but there barely seems time to get it all up here on the blog before the big day has passed!  I'd planned to show lots of fun photos for today, but the weather had other ideas, so I've got to settle for the few snaps I took beforehand.

With my kids getting older it's sometimes harder to do holiday sewing.  A lot of prints are too babyish or are so gender specific that I can't use it for both my sons and daughter.  And realistically, I can't see spending loads on fabric that will be in-season for about a month and then be out of season and outgrown by next year.

For Halloween this year I was determined to find my perfect fit and I think I found it.  One of my favorite places for great knit fabric, Sahara Fabrics, released this awesome Spooky Black Cat Cotton Spandex and I knew I had to buy some and make some fun shirts for the kids:

It's got the Halloween vibe, but can still be worn long after the pumpkins get put away and the solid Lime knit I also bought was a perfect match to those green cat eyes. Most importantly, it's a print both my little 7yr old daughter and older 10 and 14yr old sons can wear and enjoy:

Custom print knit fabrics like this are typically more expensive than the stuff you can get at the chain stores or bigger fabric websites, but the quality is hands down better.  I'll admit I used to only buy the cheap stuff, but it was temperamental to sew with and the weight was always super flimsy or too heavy.  Lesson learned? If you want to make nice knit clothing, get the good stuff.  I bought 1.5 yds of this fabric and, by pairing it with some less expensive green solid for my daughter's and some basic black rib knit for my guys, I was able to make 3 shirts.  I even have about 1/4yd leftover I can use to make undies or doll clothes or some other small projects, so it made it pretty economical.  

To make things easy I turned to one of my new favorite shirt patterns, McCalls 7379, which is quick to sew and really versatile for the bigger kids.  I used it to make this Harry Potter print shirt a while back too:

Fun prints look so good with the style and the cut it makes it easy to match up the sides and seams of directional prints like this one.

I drafted my daughter's smaller shirt pattern myself, modifying my previous Raglan Cowl Dress:

I just shortened the length and switched to a neck binding instead of the cowl.  Next time I'll probably cut the binding a little shorter so it stretches more and lies flatter (neckbands that stick up drive me crazy) - I've notice that's needed when not using rib knit, like I did here:



Now we've got some fun shirts that look spooktacular and will still be fun to wear the rest of the cool weather season too:)



I was not compensated for this post.  Although Sahara Fabrics is an advertiser, I purchased this knit fabric myself and was not required to review or promote this fabric or their shop.  The opinions are completely my own, based on my experience. For my complete disclosure policy, click here.