Any Spare Minute ... to knit

Waldorf Hat Pattern Now Available

2012-01-04T18:58:00.001-08:00

I just wrote down the instructions for a baby hat that I designed over 4 years ago. It is available on Ravelry!!! I am so excited! My very first pattern!

Happy knitting!

Hourglass Sweater Finished

2011-01-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

It took me about a week to finish this project! YAY!

No picture of it on me... have no one to take a picture for me.

In the meantime I have knit a hat as well... :)

Can't put it down .. step 2 knitting

2011-01-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

Maybe I have a problem? I just cannot stop knitting!!

Step 1 of Sweater Completed (Dyeing Wool)

2011-01-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I got as far on my Hourglass Sweater as to divide up 10 (50g) balls of yarn from 3 skeins of Lion Brand Fisherman's wool for my main color.

After weighing these balls, I arranged the yarn so that the dyeing process would reach all of the yarn. I did this by wrapping the yarn around the legs of a chair and securing it slightly by wrapping the remaining 4-6 feet of yarn around.

I will have to get some strawberry lemonade flavored kool-aid to dye my main color (pink/redish "20"), therefore I won't get to this until I go shopping down the mountain! :)

Update: I experimented a bit too much with my color and it didn't come out just as I would have wished, but it still looks good.

Note to self: when dying yarn for one single project always dye in one lot - otherwise you are going to have slight color variations! :D

Look at me! I'm back to blogging!

2011-01-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

It really has been a while, and life just seems to happen when you least expect it. My kids are growing up, I am taking classes, and have very little time for my hobbies. However, I do wish to keep this space for my ideas and inspiration when it comes to knitting, sewing, or any other crafts.

What inspired me to write today was my post about dying wool. I am very lucky to have written all of that information down, because now I can easily refer to it, to find colors for my very own sweater! I am actually going to attempt a knitting project for myself, something I have never done before.

Let's see how long it will take me to complete the Hourglass Sweater by Joelle Hoverson (pattern published in "Last Minute Knitted Gifts"). Link on Ravelry: Hourglass Sweater. Anyone up for a knit-a-long? :)

Of course I will post back my progress over the next few days and weeks.

If it is not one thing....

2009-10-13T06:49:00.001-07:00

of course it is another. I have completely put off cloth diapering indefinitely.

Between taking two graduate courses and freeing my home from ringworm spores, there is just no time left for the fun stuff.

School has started!

2009-08-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

Soon, very soon, I will be back to cloth diapering with new ideas. I also hope to start a little shop offering some patterns. Sorry about the summer lapse in creativity!

I think I will be revamping the blog as well, get it up to speed with all of my projects. I will not confine myself to just cloth diapering anymore I think, seeing as my only little one in diapers is already 1 1/2 and we are not planning on any more children.

Confessions...

2009-07-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

I have not sewn or knitted in months. I feel so out of the loop and wish I could find the inspiration to jump right back into it all. Right now my son is even in disposable diapers! Can you believe it, I am so lame.

Summer had taken over my obsession!

2009-06-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

With all of the kids home all day every day there is not much time left for sewing, knitting or anything fun like that. I hope to get things more organized soon and have more time for experimenting, but for now it seems a bit hopeless.

More dyed Wool! :-)

2009-05-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

So I am ready to make a nice wool cover with this yarn! And to show that I can recreate the results of my kool-aid and food color dyeing experiment a while back: here are a few pictures...

It has been a while...

2009-05-20T14:06:00.001-07:00

I have been so busy with our garden and getting the plants in that I have had no time to pursue my diapering passion.

Today I finally got around to cutting out another Tighty White Hipster diaper. I made it with the same materials as mentioned in my previous post and had a harder time of it. It is a size medium so it fits my little guy really well, but it was just really hard negotiating the stretchy fabric this time around. For now, I am thinking this is not the ideal way for me to make my prefolds into fitteds. It is just so time consuming, but the end result is a cosy and nice-looking diaper, so it is a shame.

In the meantime, I have set up a little online shop on hyena cart called Cozy Dozy. I have nothing to sell as of yet, but am currently trying to gather testers for a little hat that I created.

I also have that knitted wrap idea that I am going to get into more now that I have a bit more time on my hands.

Using the expensive stuff! YAY!

2009-05-06T09:01:00.001-07:00

Well before finding the rash on my son's belly, I had pretty much decided that I liked fitted diapers with some kind of a wool cover (longies, shorties, wool soaker, whatever). So I got to looking at a few patterns and making my own pattern. I wasn't too satisfied with what I created, but maybe I am just too critical of my own work! :D I found a link to the free Tighty Wighty Diaper pattern and tried it out on scrap fabrics. Wow, what I nice fit! I love it! So then I got brave enough to cut into my organic bamboo velour and cute interlock cotton knit from Joann's and came up with a great diaper. It is so soft and cozy!!! I cut up a prefold for the soaker pad, I may do a tutorial on that soon. Too bad it is way too big! I didn't want to make something my son would grow out of really fast so I did the next size up. Maybe I will donate it to my sis, who has a bigger baby than I do! ;-)

Bad news!

2009-05-06T08:51:00.001-07:00

Well after wearing the longies for a whole day, my son got a little rash on his tummy. I assume it is from the wool rubbing on his bare skin, I don't think it is because he is allergic. My husband hates wool, so this is a good argument for him. I don't know what I am going to do now... He is slowly growing out of medium-sized prowrap covers, and I really don't feel like buying some more covers. I would rather sew them. I just don't know what materials I am going to use... PUL? Fleece? Nylon?

Ideally I wouldn't want this material to be touching his skin. So I would have to make a hidden layer of the water resistant fabric. But if you want to avoid wicking from the inner fabric to the outer-most fabric this is really a difficult task to accomplish from the sewing aspect.

I will figure something out. :)

Capri Longies!!!

2009-04-29T08:00:00.001-07:00

I used my favorite Curly Purly soaker pattern for the waist band and figured out the gusset and legs on my own! :) The yarn is from my dyeing experiment. This was a size large before slightly fulling / felting in the washer (warm for 10 minutes or so and rinsing on cold). Large was too big for him, so I thought felting would not only make them a tad bit smaller but also help with keeping the moisture in! :-D

He has worn them already - that is why the knees are a bit buldged...

Dyeing experiment results..

2009-04-23T16:36:00.001-07:00

Well, I dyed some yarn to try to recreate the results with a larger amount of yarn (not just 2 grams). So, I multiplied the amount of dye by how much yarn I wanted to dye each color. I figured since I had a 100 gram ball to dye, I would use four colors and so I was dyeing about 25 grams per color. This means that I used 12.5x the dye as I used for a 2 gram sample.

This is done with food color only, so I am not sure if you can recreate the colors with kool-aid yet.

The colors are very much like the samples! YAY!

Rainbow of Colors

2009-04-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

How did I do this? :-)
Well, with kool-aid and food color!

Kool aid is specified by flavor. All flavors Kool aid brand unless marked WM for walmart store brand. Numbered samples are Kool-aid. Letters are food coloring.

Each sample of yarn weighs approx. 2 grams. I used 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 cup of water for the Kool aid samples. I used about 3 tablespoons of vinegar (since there isn't any acid in the food color like there is in Kool aid) and 1 cup of water for the food coloring samles. Everything was cooked in mason jars and on the stove top.

Because I used 2 grams every time, I am think you could just add more for a larger amount of yarn. I have not yet tried this, but will be doing so this afternoon!

Abbreviations: WM = Walmart Brand of Kool-aid, teas. = teaspoon

Yellows
A: 5 drops Yellow
17: 3/4 teas. Lemon-aid WM
E: 1 drop Yellow
9: 1/2 teas. Lemon-aid WM

Greens
L: 5 drops Yellow, 1 Green
10: 1/4 teas. Lemon-lime
F: 1 drop Green, 1 Yellow
K: 2 drops Green, 1 Blue
B: 6 drops Green
18: 1 1/2 teas. Lemon-aid WM + 1/2 teas. Lemon-lime
11: 1/2 teas. Lemon-lime
O: 14 drops Green, 6 Yellow

Blues
13: 1/4 teas. Berry Blue
19: 1/4 teas. Berry Blue + dash Orange
N: 6 drops Blue, 1 Yellow
14: 1/2 Berry Blue + 1/8 Grape
J: 1 drop Blue
T: 2 drops Blue
C: 5 drops Blue
15: 1/4 teas. Berry Blue + 1/2 teas. Pink Lemon-aid

Purples
G: 1 drop Blue, 1 Red
R: 3 drops Red, 2 Blue
S: 3 drops Red, 5 Blue
P: 5 drops Red, 15 Blue
2: 1/2 teas. Grape
1: 1/4 teas. Grape

Pinks
23: 1/2 teas. Pink Lemon-aid + sprinkle Grape
20: 1 pkg Pink Lemon-aid + dash Berry Blue
I: 1 drop Red
22: Sprinkle Strawberry
8: 1/4 teas. Pink Lemon-aid

Oranges
21: 1/4 teas. Orange + 1/2 teas. Lemon-aid WM
H: 2 drops Red, 1 Yellow
3: 1/4 teas. Orange
4: 1/2 teas. Orange

Reds
6: 1/4 teas. Strawberry
7: 1/4 teas. Cherry WM
Q: 10 drops of Red, 3 Yellow
5: 1/4 teas. Black Cherry

Browns
Example of the original color
M: 3 drops Yellow, 4 Red, 2 Green
D: 8 drops Red, 3 Blue, 2 Green, 4 Yellow
12: 3/4 teas. Lemon-lime + 1/4 teas. Strawberry
16: 1/2 teas. Pink Lemon-aid + 1/4 teas. Lemon-lime + dash of Cherry WM

This is an example of what you get when you add more food color to the same amount of yarn... darker!

Left: 1 drop
Middle: 2 drops
Right: 5 drops

Another example. The grape Kool aid is very intense.

Left: 1/4 teaspoon
Right: 1/2 teasoon

Orange Kool aid

Left: 1/4 teaspoon
Right: 1/2 teaspoon

I guess I am going to be experimenting further with a combination of kool-aid and food color. I have also seen pastel food colors at the super market, so you can be sure I will be playing with those as well! :-D

Another fleece wrap...

2009-04-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

So I modified my pattern once again, but unfortunately am still not completely satisfied with the fit. I think maybe it is either a bit too large for him, or too wide? I do like how the elastic on the legs hold everything nice and snug... no gaping at all. If I leave the pattern as is, he will probably be able to wear this size until he is out of diapers, which is also one of my intentions with the wool - get as much use out of it as possible.

He is wearing a fitted under this wrap.

Anyways this was only intended as an experiment - before I cut into the fancy wool I have!

A new idea for a wool cover!

2009-04-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

I have this great idea for a wool cover, and if it works as well as I hope, I think I may be able to sell it really well. Therefore no major details here until I have things figured out, but I am excited about it!

Besides that I have been playing around with figuring out a pattern for knitting little baby shoes, but got discouraged when they didn't turn out they way I wanted them - after ripping them out about 1o times! :D I hope to eventually perfect on my pattern and be able to offer it online.

Today, I finally got enough courage to just through the 100% merino wool fabric into the washer at 50 degrees Celsius. I think it felted up well and I am satisfied with the thickness, so I will not be washing it again.

In response to Shawn...

2009-04-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your comment! :) Glad you find the blog useful, that is my intent. Since I have been having trouble finding this information on the web, I thought others could eventually gain from it too! :)

About the prefold and fitted issue. I am currently not sure how I am going to go. My son is 13 months old, so he is eating a lot of solids. We don't have the leaking issues we had a few months back. Back then it seemed every time he would poo, we would have to change everything, because it was leaking out of the prefold and all over (we were using prowrap covers). Now it is a non-issue. I would suggest maybe only converting a few of your prefolds to fitteds if you are trying to prevent leaks with a younger baby, because the fitteds do take longer to dry - not as long as an all-in-one diaper, but longer than your prefold.

But, and I know I am contradicting myself here!... but those fitteds sure do look cute on baby's bum! :-) And I think they make for a trimmer cloth diaper - with a cover over top - than the prefold folded any way you like!

So as I said before, right now I am not sure what I am going to do about it! I have only about 4 or so diapers that I have converted, and use them when they are available. But when I run out, I don't mind using the prefolds either! :)

Just for your information: I bought my prefolds at Nicki's Diapers. Though I didn't shop around at all, I think $21.00 for 12 regular prefolds is an ok price. If you wash often, this is a good amount. I have 24 of each premium and regular and I have way too many diapers! But I don't have to wash that often - maybe once every 4 days.

Got a little sidetracked!

2009-04-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, Easter is less than a week away, and I a fellow knitter shared link to a wonderful free pattern on Ravelry (you have to be a member to view) for an "Easter basket." It is supposed to be for a knitting tote, but works as a basket as well. I just could not resist dyeing some wool to make these felted baskets. I guess you could argue that it goes along with my felting experiments! :-)

The first one is done, two more to go!

100% merino wool interlock fabric

2009-04-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Felting:
I thought since I didn't find much information about this on the web, that I would do my own experimentation and post it here on the blog.

I received my 100% merino wool interlock in the mail a few days ago, but have been tossing and turning at night thinking about how to best felt it, without ruining the $20 /yard fabric. I have read that you are just supposed to wash it on hot a few times and it will take care of itself, but it just seemed to be the opposite of what I have learned all of these years about wool, that I couldn't get myself to through the whole 2 yards into the washer and just hope!

Just a few things beforehand: I have a German front-loading washer. It has temperature settings, and heats the water with a heating element. So the cold water goes in and is slowly heated up to the desired temperature. I wasn't sure what to call a warm or hot cycle, so I just picked 40° C (104° F) as a warm cycle and 60° C (140° F) as a hot cycle. My washer also only has a cold water rinse, so the wool is always going to be shocked after warming up.

So, I decided I would try small swatches first, to see what the results would be. I cut three pieces of the fabric, each 3 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" long. First, I threw a piece in with my shower curtain on a warm cycle (104° F). I used normal detergent and a cold water rinse. It didn't look like it had changed very much, so I just left it and didn't put it in the dryer. I think one of the reasons why it didn't get much smaller, is because the swatch got hung up on the glass of the front loader and didn't get as much agitation as it would if it had stayed in the drum of the machine. The result wasn't much thicker that the original. This is what it looked like compared to the original unwashed swatch on the left:

This is the results of the same swatch (on the left in the above picture) being washed again on a warm cycle (40° C). I can't see much difference, really... but again the thing to hung up and didn't agitate much at all.

Next , I threw one unwashed swatch in with my normal diaper wash at a temperature of 60° C (140° F). The result is much smaller and thicker than the swatch that I had at the warm temperature wash.

Then I threw it in the hot dryer for about 40 minutes or so. I don't think it changed much in size or thickness - maybe a bit fluffier and softer. This is what came out:

Now just to see how much further the "hot-cycle" swatch would shrink/felt, I put it into a second hot water wash cycle. Results (not much difference - maybe a tad bit smaller):

And finally same "hot-cycle" swatch, after 40 minutes in the hot dryer:

So in conclusion, though I have not attempted to felt all of the fabric yet, I think that one hot water wash would be fine for the 100% wool interlock fabric to make diaper covers. You could even venture a second hot wash, without over felting.

After felting 100% merino wool interlock, I would not attempt to wash the finished product (diaper cover) in the regular wash... I would still recommend hand wash with a homemade wool wash and lanolin.

Prefold to fitted!

2009-04-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

While waiting for the 1 yard of merino wool to arrive, I have been turning my attention towards converting my prefolds to fitteds. I have now tried two variations on this theme.

After tons of research I found a few tutorials that took me in the right direction. I first tried with my premium prefolds (4x8x4 layers / 14.5" x 21" unwashed) but I have to alter my pattern a bit to make it work better. With my regular prefolds (4x6x4 layers / 14.5" x 21" unwashed) I have made a fitted diaper that fits my 13-month-old fairly well. (He is small for is age, so this would probably fit 8-12 month olds as well).

So, I give credit to Shanna for the original idea, and here is my tutorial - with a few alterations that are useful if you want to make a fitted diaper from a prefold.

==================================================

You want your prefold to be washed a few times (not brand new)... The dimensions of this prefold are 12.5" x 17" WASHED.

Here I decided to go ahead and slightly iron the diaper so that I don't have bunching issues when I get to sewing. Fold the prefold lengthwise and make sure that the inner seams line up as well as the edges.

Make yourself a pattern. Trace around all sides of the folded prefold (my pattern is about 17" long and 7.25" wide). Mark where the seam is with a dotted line. Then measure 1 inch from the seam toward the edges. This will be your fold line. Then make the tab lines (I made my back tab about 3" wide and the front tab 3.25" wide). There are two ways to do this. In the example below I decided I wanted the advantage of having more elasticity. So I made my line cut straight to the fold line and only just before the fold line made the curve. I like this better than doing a more gradual curve because I found that even though the gradual curve will cover the bum up better you may end up with bigger gaps where things could leak out... (By the way, the purple line on the pattern is a mistake of mine, please disregard).

Trace the lines you want to cut with a fabric pen.

Make the cut (BUT ONLY TO THE FOLD LINE, not any further - and do not cut down the fold line).

Open up the cut, you will find a bit of left over fabric from the layers in the middle. Trim this extra back to the seam line.

You just have to do this for the mid section, not for the tabs of the diaper.

Now find the seams, one of the seams will be a bit jutted out. It is folded over instead of sewn through. Kind of hard to see in this picture. This will be on the INSIDE of your diaper.

Take a seam ripper and break the threads. Try not to damage the diaper too much, and don't go all the way through, you are just making a casting for your back elastic. Do this just below the surge line of the prefold at the back (if you made a more gradual cutout for the back there will be a difference between back and front).

So the same at the other seam at the top back, but this one is not folded over, so you are going to have to cut a few layers of the diaper slightly.

Here is a nifty trick! Put a small saftey pin on the end of your elastic. Then slide the point of a knitting needle or a BBQ skewer into the clasp of the saftey pin. Then just slide the elastic accross to the other hold in the diaper. If you didn't make a deep enough cut you will have to go back and cut again.

Use a zigzag stitch to hold the elastic in place. Go over the area several times making sure that you also catch any raw edges you made in the diaper - to prevent it from developing holes later on.

Pull the elastic tight, so that it still has a tad bit of stretch, but also so that the fabric of the diapier gathers up. Attach the other end of the elastic to the diaper with a zigzag. Again making sure you sew up any cuts. Put the ends of the elastic tight and snip right at the seam, this way it will not show.

Now you are going to fold the flaps over to the OUTSIDE of the diaper (not the side you were just attaching the elastic to.

Make sure that you have about a 1/4" "roll over" from the edge of the leg opening. (The cut V you see in the picture below is not folded directly on the point of the V, it is folded in another 1/4".) This will be handy later when you are sewing up the raw edges - it will make for a much neater edge.

Pin the edges so they won't shift around.

Keeping that 1/4" edge rollover, pull the two edges of the flaps together and measure your seam allowance. Here I will have a 1/2" seam allowance, this can be different for different types / brands of prefolds.

Sew the flaps together with a straight stitch, using the measured seam allowance.

Lay out flat and cut any extras.

Put your hand through the tube, grab the end and pull through.

This is what you should end up with.

Change back to a zigzag stitch, and tack down the rounded edge of the soaker. Start sewing about 1/2" away from the edge (you need to put elastic in the edge, so you don't want to sew up that opening).

When you come to the other edge, turn and use a straight stitch to make a casting for the elastic down this leg. When you come to the end turn and switch again to zigzag. Sew around the soaker and then back down the other leg with a straight stitch again.

This diaper measures about 5" accross the soaker, from one seam to the other. This could vary for your baby...

This is what the diaper should look like now.

Using our nifty trick, push the elastic through one of the legs castings. Don't cut the elastic until it is completely tacked down.

Now you want to turn in the raw edges on the diaper tabs. If you open up the fold this is pretty easy. Just roll in about 3/8." Pins make it easier.

Pin both edges together and sew close to the edge with a straight stitch.

When you get close to the elastic, switch to a zigzag stitch, to make sure that you catch all raw edges that cannot be turned in.

Continue sewing right over the edge of the casting, catching the elastic. Go back and forth several times, making sure the elastic is secured.

This is what you should end up with, a nice neat edge, with no raw cut edges sticking out.

Repeat turning in the raw edges and tacking down the elastic for the other end. Now you can pull the elastic tight and cut right at at the line where it was secured.
Repeat for other leg/side.

To make sure nothing is going to ravel away later, I like to go over the very edge of the soaker once more before finishing.

Secure with pins or a snappi, or you could get fancy and secure with snaps or velcro. I would recommend fitting it on your baby first and also allowing for growth... adding more snaps/velcro where they might be needed later.

Side view.

Bum view!

Comments much appreciated! I would love to hear how it works out for you or if you have any suggestions! :)

Thoughts about better cloth solutions...

2009-04-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Just jotting down my thoughts from tons of research about cloth:

Well I have been searching the web to find out more about diaper covers and possible fabrics for cloth diapering and have come across this page all about the cons of popular artificial materials (such as polyester and polyurethane laminate: PUL) used for sewing diapers and covers because of their water repelling qualities. It is all about how the polys aren't very good for us, and could potentially cause cancer in the long run.

Now, I have come to the conclusion that I would like to try wool fabric. Of course my local Walmart does not carry wool in any form, I would have to drive to the next town to get to a Joann's Fabric store (2 1/2 hours away). I have searched the web, but don't feel very comfortable about buying fabric that I have not touched. I did buy 1 yard of 100% merino wool interlock that is supposed to be great for covers, but it was pretty expensive ($20 /yard) so it is just to try, and if I like it ALOT I may consider buying more. I would like to only have to use one layer for a pocket style diaper, but then there is still that washing issue. Every time the baby poos or wets, the inner flannel layer would have to be washed... not good for the wool.

I think the best solution would be to make a wool cover that can be reused (hung up to dry if only pee) and doesn't have to be washed as often. The idea of converting my prefolds to fitted diapers would then also help to keep the poo in the diaper and not on my cover, so again the cover could be reused more often.

I would love to only have to use a single layer for the wool cover - thus saving on yardage and money, but I don't know how this is possible if I don't want to use fold over elastic. Maybe I will get a chance soon to get some wool fabric used for suits or coats at the fabric store and use a less expensive layer to sew a cover where the elastic is hidden?

I have also considered the idea of using an inner layer of ripstop nylon. Maybe sandwiched between flannel and an outer cover of velour? I think though that the moisture would just wick from the flannel to the velour and it would not be very effective. I would still need a water repelling fabric for the outer wall of the cover to keep the moisture in. Also I have read that the water repelling qualities of ripstop would not hold up against the constant washing that is required for diapering. So maybe it isn't really hepful at all.

My creation: a fleece pocket diaper!

2009-04-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is my VERY own creation! I am surprised at how good it looks and how well it fits. I altered the Rita's Rump pattern to my liking and came up with something much different. I chopped off the end of a prefold for the insert that needed to be a tad bit shorter.

It works well, but I am not sure I am a fan of the pocket diaper. I mean, you have to throw everything into the wash whenever you change the baby. With my prowrap covers, I didn't need to do that when he was only wet and hadn't soaked the cover. This cover's inner lining is flannel, so it will be always wet whenever you change the baby.

I used this tutorial (intended for the Honeyboy pocket pattern) to kind of get an idea of how to sew it up. Espeically important is "overlapping" the fleece so that it turns towards the inside at the leg openings - this is intended to help reduce moisture from wicking out of the diaper and onto clothes.

I may post instructions and/or a pattern for this diaper, if/when I find the time... I first have to decide how much I really do like it! :-)

Farm Fleece Wrap, PART II

2009-04-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

Added a gusset to each of the legs, this makes for a much better fit over a prefold, in my opinion. :-) This cover works great and keeps him dry even over night, I am very impressed by the power of fleece! I bought this print from Joann Fabrics. I have read that Maiden Mills or Windpro are the preferred brands of fleece for cloth diapering purposes, but at $14.00 /yard I am not quite sure it is worth the extra money. I don't remember how much I paid for my fleece, but I am sure it was under $10.00.

This is the Rita's Rump pattern altered to add a gusset. I just traced the mid section of the leg hold on the original pattern and drew a line across the U-shape to make a template for the gusset. Then I added some extra for a seam allowance. The top seam (straight side) of the gusset elastic sewn into the seam allowance and turned to make a pocket for the elastic. Then you just sandwich the gusset between the diaper inner and outer layers when you are sewing up the seam.

Farm Fleece Wrap

2009-04-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks Kei for posting the wonderful tutorial for sewing up Rita's Rump wrap pattern. This is my first try and I like the results, just would like to make a few alterations for the perfect SOFT wrap!!! (Adding a gusset to make it able to hold a little more bulk).

In Kei's tutorial she suggests sewing the elastic to the inner layer of the diaper before sewing the seams up. I don't know if she has a specific reason for doing so, but I have found it easier to first sew up the seam (outer and inner layers, right sides together) and then go back to attach the elastic to the seam allowance. Maybe there is a wicking issue that I am unaware of?

(He wasn't in the greatest mood for pictures)...

Older Knitting Projects

2009-04-02T13:15:00.001-07:00

This is my very first knit wool soaker made from hand dyed yarn. I cannot remember right now which pattern I used, but I wasn't very impressed with it after trying the curly purly pattern and loving the waist band (see below).

And this is the soaker I made from hand dyed yarn. I used the curly purly pattern that I highly recommend!!! (You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the free pattern link to download a pdf file.)

Too much fun with Kool-Aid!

2008-11-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a lot of fun (in between holding the bucket for poor sick N.) dyeing two skeins of yarn! This is how I did it.

First of all it was very important to keep the yarn somewhat under control, so you don't have a huge tangle to deal with when you are done.

I turned a chair up-side down and used the four legs to wrap the yarn around...

Then I used the last 6 feet or so of yarn to "contain" the wrapped yarn in a tie-dye fashion.

This is what the yarn looked like all wrapped up... pretty!

Next I soaked the yarn in a mixture of water and vinegar and prepared my dyes (here Kool-aid) but I also ended up using Easter egg dye as well...

I used 1 package of orange, 2 packages of grape, 1 package of black cherry (for pink), and 2 packages of black cherry (for red). The pink and red did just turn out to be pretty much the same color in the end though.

Then I prepared an old cookie sheet with cling wrap on it to avoid making too much of a mess...

Then I "painted" the yarn to my heart's desire! Well I started out just wanting a few spots of color here and there, but that didn't work out too well, so I just decided to make the whole skein as colorful as I could...

You can see that the colors bled a bit after being microwaved for 4 minutes (resting for 2 minutes in between). This is when I decided to get out the egg dye and fill in the white spaces with blue and green.

Hanging up to dry by the fire place.

Close up of finished product.

Restrung into a "workable" skein - I can pull it from the middle without too many tangles.

What it looks like with 1x1 ribbing... (this will become my next soaker)!

These are the results of a second skein of wool - I just couldn't resist!

Showing off the cloth!

2008-10-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

Going Cloth Crazy!!!

2008-09-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

I just ordered 20 prowrap diaper covers (two sizes), 48 Chinese diapers and a few accessories from Nickis Diapers!

Seriously, I can not wait until the package arrives via UPS!!!!!!!!!!