Cloth Diaper Pattern Link

Just after posting about the savings of using cloth diapers, a baby magazine arrived in the mail and had an article on 'going green'. Their article stated that the average family spends 1,600 dollars per child on diapers! Goodness, that is enough to buy some sheep!


http://fernandfaerie.com/sewing_fitteds.html After trying a few different patterns, this is where I found the pattern for the style of diapers we liked the best.

I used the pattern that is on the above link, but made a few changes regarding materials used, and a few changes to the method of making them.

Since I was using a serger, and the serger would could the material for me as i sewed, I did not cut out the pattern precisely. A pattern was cut out of an old pizza box. I then transferred the pattern onto the liner material using an ink pen. (The line would be cut away by the serger) For the inside of the diaper, i used cotton flannel -one yard made approx 10 diaper liners.


The material here is folded, so once I had all the patterns "drawn" on the right side of the material, I cut them apart and would then turn the material over and then mark the pattern on the other piece of fabric. (by cutting the material while it was folded, it saved cutting each liner individually)
For the "soaker" part of the diaper, I used a washcloth. (purchased in a multi-pack at wal-mart - they look thin at the store, but once washed and dried, they really fluff up) You can tri-fold the washcloth and serge the edges, or just tri-fold and go!
You're now ready to sew it to the diaper liner. Place the soaker under the liner and center it between the sides and position it where you want it front to back. Flip it over and pin in place.


Now sew around all the edges of the soaker.

Now it's time to sew the liner to the outside of the diaper. For the outside of the diaper, I use 2 layers of t-shirt material. Pin the liner to the t-shirt material and serge the side edges only - leaving the top and bottom open. It is not necessary to mark the outer layer with the pattern, I just lay the pattern on the material and cut it out a large square...the pattern is already marked on the liner and that's all we need.

With the sides serged, we're ready to sew in the elastic for the leg openings. (this is marked on the original pattern) You might want to experiment with the length of elastic to use. The first batch of diapers i used 5-1/2". It worked fine, but made the diapers seem a little smaller, so I used 6" and the diaper fit much better.

Place a mark approx 1/2" from end and again at the length you want. Do not cut the elastic until it's sewn in the diaper.

Mark on your liner material with a pencil where the elastic will stop and start. Place the elastic inside the diaper from either the top or the bottom. (this is why we serged only the sides earlier) Pin the end of the elastic (at the mark) to the mark on your liner material. Using the sewing machine now, sew from edge of diaper across elastic to hold it in place. (I reverse over it too) Once you have sewn across the elastic, turn and sew along the elastic to the other mark, being careful to catch the elastic in the stitching. (we're making a "pocket" for the elastic)
When you reach the mark on the liner material, pull the elastic until you see the mark you made indicating the length. Back the elastic up so that the mark on the elastic now matches up with the mark on the liner. Raise the pressure foot, turn and stitch across the elastic to secure in place. Cut the elastic now approx 1/2" from where it is stitched.
Repeat stitching the elastic in the next leg, cut the elastic and you're ready to serge the top and the bottom of the diaper closed. That's it!

I use snappies to fasten the diaper. You could use velcro, pins, etc. I like the snappies because they are simple and easy to use. .

http://www.earthbums.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=173&osCsid=tikj6lajm6qh1f5q13q101d3h4 is the link for the 'snappie' diaper fasteners. (also a great link for purchasing cloth diapers if you prefer to buy your diapers!)

Keep in mind these cloth diapers do need a cover. I haven't had them to "leak" out the sides, but they will soak thru. We have been using a wool cover, and have been pleased with both the diapers and the cover.

A stack of savings...

I love to recycle. Just recently, we went thru our closet again in efforts to make space.

Most of the clothes will hopefully be worn again. However, there were a lot of t-shirts and such that wasn't of quality to give away -most everything i've worn around the house has paint on it! I had been planning to make cloth diapers anyways - so this was a perfect project to use up those old shirts.Just an idea of the savings that can be had with cloth diapers - if you replace just one pamper a day with a cloth one, in a years time, you've saved right at 100 dollars. That's amazing, isn't it? (the diapers we're using now cost 26 cents, but it could be more or less depending on the size and brand and quantity purchased) That 100 dollars might not sound like a huge savings over a years time, but if you multiply that by the number of diapers you use a day, say, 10 a day, you're now looking at a sizable savings! If you keep your kid in diapers long enough, you can probably convince your husband that you have saved enough to buy a large flock of sheep. lol.

Of course, you do have the laundering with the cloth diapers, but it is simple, and much easier than I expected. I just rinse them out in the laundry sink. I have diluted laundry detergent in a pump bottle and if the diaper is dirty, a bar of natural soap gets them sparkly white again. (it's only gross if it's some other kid's diaper..lol) I wring them out and hang them on a hanger to dry, and just throw them in the dryer the next time the dryer is running. (we don't have to deduct any cleaning expenses from the savings now :) it's very minimal)

Buying cloth diapers can require an up front investment. but it will pay off in the long run. Initially, I purchased just 6 cloth diapers at a price of 94.00 - (some were up to 17.00 each) The price of making diapers is pennies on the dollar compared to buying them, especially if you have a stash of old t-shirts that can be used. I bought 100% cotton flannel for the inside of the diaper and cotton wash cloths for the inserts, and spent less than 10 dollars for 14 diapers! These cotton diapers are not waterproof, so do need to be covered. We are using wool covers.

Even if you don't feel comfortable with sewing, you can still use cloth diapers and save big! That is, if you have a use for cloth diapers.

I'll be sharing the link to the pattern i used along with some diaper sewing tips in an upcoming post.

Spring Cleaning..

The weather was beautiful out today! We thought it would be a good time to start some spring cleaning.. in our pastures - not that the house didn't need it, but make hay when the sun shines, right?

We're working on cleaning up the new pasture that was fenced in last fall. There's a lot to do, but we've started with an area that has a lot of trees down. This stump reminded me of a tombstone....

Maybe it's a memorial to all the trees that have died here and are resting in peace. (well, until the chain saws started up today)

We took time out for a family photo.. (put the camera on "auto") Wyatt wasn't ready for his picture to be taken when the light stopped flashing, but we can't expect him to smile for all his pictures. I think this is actually the first picture that i have of him crying! Despite his expression in the picture here, i think he had a fun day. (we all did)

This picture was taken at quitting time, the girls stopped by to see how much we got done. It's hard to tell that we got much of anything done, but it's a good start.

Au ooo ah eeeh

That's right, it's me, Wyatt. Mom has been busy, so I'm taking over the blog- well, just for tonight. Since Mom last posted, I've been learning how to use the computer. I get really excited when i can sit at the computer and play. I'm getting big, but my head isn't as big as it looks in the picture. Who took that anyways?

. This is our new calf, Petey. Mom said we weren't going to have any calves this year, but what did she know? (hope she doesn't read this) I would have thought someone would have noticed the heifer is getting big, you know what i mean? The first clue they picked up on was a heifer in the holler - hollerin'. They caught on pretty quick then. My Dad saved the calf, and the heifer. Mom was holding me, so couldn't help. (i think that was convenient, don't you?) Well.. she did get the sheep book, the one with pictures on how to pull a lamb, (don't you think they could use a book on cows?) but Papaw got here just in time to help Dad. We didn't know if Petey would make it, but he's a week old now and doing just great.

I don't sleep much during the day, but Mom is grateful that I sleep during the night now. If I do take a long nap, when I wake up, she's making pottery. She said there's a wool festival coming up in May that she needs to be getting ready for. Maybe I can go too.

Mom took this picture of me in my camo. I'm hard to find, but if you squint your eyes, let them go out of focus just a bit, you'll see me - I'm in the center.

Well I have to go, i think I hear my Mom coming.

Oh Where, Oh Where..

Oh where, Oh where has my little boy gone?


Seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital.. now he's learning to drive!

We'll have a hard time keeping up with him now.

Bread and Roll Recipe

I enjoy trying recipes that other bloggers post, so thought I would share a recipe that I've been enjoying.


This is a recipe for bread that I started making this winter. It is labeled "sourdough", however it doesn't taste like traditional sourdough to me.

I think it's much easier than the standard bread recipe, because you don't have to heat the yeast. Just dump the ingredients in a bowl, stir and let it rise overnight - then knead it the next morning and let it rise again a few hours and it's ready for the oven. It will take several days to get the starter going, but once it's established, you just need to feed it every 5 days. When you feed the starter, you remove enough starter for 2 loaves.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sourdough-Starter-I/Detail.aspxail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sourdough-Bread-I/Detail.aspx

I have been using Gold brand "better for bread" flour and have had good results. Occasionally, I have substituted a bit of wheat flour for the white flour.

The recipe works well for cinnamon rolls too.


But my favorite is the regular rolls and loaf bread.

This is 1/2 the recipe (1/2 cup starter, 3 cups flour, etc.) After the dough has been left to double overnight, divide into 16 equal parts, roll and place in greased pan and let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for around 25 minutes.. just til the top begins to brown and when tapped, they sound hollow.

Two things that I will note, it does take quite a bit of flour to knead the dough, and the longer i let it rise, the better. The last loaf i made rose overnight initially, then after kneading it and shaping into a loaf, I let it rise for about 8 hours and it was the best loaf yet! (i know it sounds like a lot of time to make a loaf of bread, but i really had only about 10 minutes or so invested.. the rest of the time it was working and doing it's thing without me.)
I had to sample a few rolls as they came out of the oven... I'd hate to serve them to anyone if I weren't absolutely sure they were ok. (it's hard to tell by just trying one.. or two.. or...goodness, how many did i eat?)

Coming Soon... more snow!

Looks like they're calling for more snow here in a few days.

This picture was taken before the last 9 inches came this week. (taken a few miles from our place)

The next picture here was the road after the snow... It was a level 2 snow emergency, which means you can be on it only if you need to feed sheep and the hay is up the road.

So, after the sheep were fed, we stayed in!

Wyatt has started to laugh more in the past week. The first few times we heard him laugh, he was sleeping and apparantly dreaming about something funny :)

He thinks we're funny now.

.

I had read a lot of good things about slings and the benefits. Found a great website with a pattern, and once it was made, after a few days of being puzzled over it,,, I finally figured out how to use it. There's apparantly 4 or 5 different ways that you can carry the baby in these, but i had trouble figuring out a single way! ( i know, it looks so simple)

I'm starting to enjoy the sling now...

and I think he is too!

More of winter...

Well, another week, a little more snow. We can't complain though.. you might have had 3 feet of snow!
.



.

.

This picture made me think of a bear.. but it's just harmless Andy.

.

Cody

Now this picture of Rosco might sum it all up. He almost always smiles for his pictures. I think he's starting to get a little tired of the snow.

Shades Of Grey, Blue and Sepia of course..

Shades of a winter day.

We had a little snow overnight, not a lot compared to what the storm is capable of, but it was enough to cover the ground here.

The little rams (and Myrtle) are in the same pen with the ewes now, but they choose to stay in the little sheep shed instead of the barn. (They tend to get a little more attention and feed away from the big girls)

Roscoe was out romping in the snow.. of course.

Took this next picture on the way to the mailbox.. our fence is brown, but it had a makeover last night.
I finally made it to the mailbox - doesn't look like the mail has ran yet, but it was a nice walk to the mailbox anyways!

Color photos...

I love sepia photos, but if we're talking about dyeing wool, they might as well be in color.

I experimented a little this week with dyeing wool for the first time. I love the natural colors of wool, and had not planned on getting into "colors" ---but my hats need flowers....or something! I had heard a little about dyeing with kool-aid, so I wanted to give it a try. I was pleased with the results of the dyeing, and it was as simple as could be.

This is the 'flavor' orange. I love the varigated color here, but of course, when i carded the wool i lost that varigation. I'm guessing that if i want to keep the look of different colors, I should card the wool first, then dye it? I'm wondering too how it would work to make the felt first, then dye it?

This is a flower that was made from the carded wool. I made a piece of thin felt and cut it into strips and shaped into petals while the felt was still wet. Not sure if this will be used on a hat, but thinking of crocheting a green "vine" to wrap around the hat and see what happens.

I tried making another wool cap to replace the one Wyatt has outgrown... this one isn't quite what i was going for, but he seemed to be "smitten" with it. :)

He had his 2 month check up this week and he is doing just great. I sometimes look at him and wonder where our baby went? Like in the picture here - he was sitting up so big in the recliner .. taken quite captive by the television. Then he put his arm up on the armrest and i had to get the camera.

"My favorite show is on.. could someone please bring me a glass of milk?"

.

And back to sepia pictures... here's our little guy in his sheep shearing outfit. Which, by the way, it won't be long before that time rolls around! They may be calling for snow today, but spring is on it's way.

More Wet Felting..

I've started a few more hats... they're all just wet felted. I have patterns that I would like to try that are knitted then felted, but these hats are just made from layering the roving over a simple pattern (hood style). The roving is hand felted with soap and water, then shaped over a mixing bowl. These hats still need to be adorned with... ? something. Ribbon, felted flowers... that's the next step.



The little "cat" hat I made for Wyatt back before the holidays. (to match his Daddy's favorite hat). He's already outgrown it. The felted hats have a little give to them, but not enough to keep up with a growing boy :)



Speaking of hats ... I have a link to share of an etsy shop that has the most adorable hats ever. The artisan behind these hats designed them using a pattern that she came up with - (i've been everywhere looking for the pattern - then found that it was her own design) they are crocheted and then felted - a must see! http://www.etsy.com/shop/THELittleBlackHat

A lot of catching up to do..

I haven't posted in a week, so here's a quick update of the week. The above picture is how the week ended. Weather has been very mild the last few days.

But that is after what seems like 2 weeks of freezing temperatures! I'm not sure if it got above freezing the first 2 weeks of January.

Mid week the snow was beginning to melt.

The sheep have been getting out this past week into the new pasture (the pasture with burrs.. ) This pic was just taken while looking for them. hm, no, they're not here.

He's doesn't know where they're at. He's actually sleeping. I don't know how long he was sleeping like this, but i had time to go and get my camera before he woke up.

"I wasn't sleeping! Sheep?? What do you mean they're missing?"

(little disclaimer for him, he's here to protect them when they're in the field with him, he's not going after them!) And, in his defense, these pics were taken a few days after the sheep first got out, yet they were out again. I'm sure he was more concerned the first day it happened. :)

All is well with the sheep.. they are not staying in their pen, but so far, no one has got into the burrs. I'll update on that here soon i'm sure. But meanwhile, I can't keep them from walking through their temporary fencing. It's not all of them yet, just 4 rogues in the group. (But you know what that means.. the others just haven't caught on yet)

Temperatures got up in the 40's mid week and I took Wyatt for a walk outside. Wyatt hasn't been out much other than to the doctor or grocery store, so it was nice to get him out for just a little bit.

Hope everyone had a great week!

Still Snowing..

This guy sort of looks like he was meant for the snow.

And this one does too! (Sweet Ziggy.)