Have I not posted about these diapers yet?

We're on vacation, so I'm not sewing this week. I am, however, putting up tons of vacation pictures on my personal blog. And I noticed that my "Sewing" folder had some pictures that I don't think I've put up here yet.

So, here are some more diapers. Apologies if any of these are a repeat!

Pattern: Darling Diapers Unlimited, size medium
Outer: T-rex polyester knit print, from the Top Shelf Fabrics destash
Hidden layer: PUL
Inner: Alova suedecloth from Joann's, modified welt pocket
Closure: Snaps. I was running low on black snaps, so I did sockets on the wings and studs on the body -- usually, you do the opposite. But it works fine this way, too!

Front:

Back:

Inside:

I made this diaper mostly to see whether doing a poly print outer/hidden PUL layer would work OK, without any Chelory Method type stuff. And... it does!

One other thing I learned with this diaper is that when sewing with a hidden PUL layer, it's good to use microfleece for the inner. This diaper is kinda hard to stuff, and I think it's because the outer is a tiny bit thicker and less stretchy (with the two layers of fabric), and then the suedecloth doesn't stretch at all. My Cowboys diaper is also a tiny bit harder to stuff than my other diapers, but it's easier than this one, and I think that's because the microfleece inner helps a lot.

The other thing that doesn't help with the stuffing issue is that with suedecloth, I like to turn the edges of the modified welt pocket opening under slightly. (Microfleece is a little too thick to do that with.) That cuts down slightly on the total width of the pocket opening. After doing this diaper, I started adding an extra inch to the pocket opening when doing a suedecloth inner, and that does help a lot with stuffability.

Anyway, once I get this diaper stuffed and onto Noob, I love it. So cute!

Next up... pattern: Darling Diapers Unlimited, size medium
Outer: Winter Giraffes printed PUL, purchased directly from another sewer
Inner: Periwinkle microfleece from Wazoodle. I'm curious to see how this holds up. The white microfleece I've been using (from the Swaddlebees Clearance section) gets pilly and dirty, fairly quickly.
Closure: Tabs are aplix hook. Front strip and laundry tabs are touchtape loop. Both from Wazoodle. I love this combination! I've always found aplix to be not quite sticky enough, and touchtape to be too sticky, so I like using hook of one and loop of another.

I used DiaperMaker elastic from Wazoodle for the first time on this diaper. (I normally use regular ol' Dritz elastic, which I buy in bulk by the yard at Joann's.) I didn't like it at first. It didn't seem to be very strong. In these pictures, taken right after I sewed the diaper, the rise on the diaper seemed to be much higher than usual, as if the elastic wasn't strong enough to gather the diaper enough.

But I think the elastic shrunk slightly when I washed it, and now, it fits just like my other diapers that use this pattern. I'm actually starting to prefer the softer touch of this elastic. It seems less harsh/less likely to cause red marks on Noob's thighs. I haven't sewed any new diapers for Noob in a few weeks, but I do plan to try this elastic again when I do.

Finally, probably the ugliest diaper I've ever sewn :)

Pattern: Very Baby Basic AIO, size medium/long
Outer: woven cotton print (Joann's remnants bin)
Hidden layer: Zorb II (Wazoodle)
Inner: minky (Soft n Comfy fabric from Joann's remnants bin)
Soaker: trifold with one layer minky/one layer Zorb II

I actually started this as a Fourth of July diaper. I was putting the finishing touches on the soaker when I ran out of thread on my serger. Now, this was right after I got the serger... and it took me until well after the Fourth of July to figure out how to re-thread it :) Haha! In my defense, the serger does have four separate threads that need to be threaded, and one of them has eleven steps to thread it! The serger I have does make it as easy as possible, but it's still not easy, especially the first time.

Anyway, I eventually figured it out and finished the diaper. (And now threading my serger really is easy!) But, it turns out that Zorb II doesn't work well as a hidden layer for a fitted. It is really thick, making the diaper bulky, and also, the elastic isn't strong enough to gather it well. So, this diaper is huge, and the inner minky rolls out at the legs and looks funny.

That said... I actually love this diaper. The Zorb II might make the diaper ugly, but it also makes it super absorbent. I use it regularly overnight, and it still has dry spots in the morning. Also, I've always had recurring ammonia issues in overnight diapers... not this one. Zorb II seems to be much less prone to stink. I usually alternate overnights between this diaper and the camo Rainy Days diaper, so they get used equally often -- well, I've already had to strip the camo diaper because it was getting ammonia-stinky. This diaper has never even had a hint of stink.

So, now I'm trying to figure out a way to make an overnight-worthy fitted exclusively out of Zorb II, since clearly, elastic doesn't work too well with it.. I have some ideas. Stay tuned :)

More wetbags

I made these for my friend C. Her son recently started preschool, so she wanted a bag that she could put his spare clothes in, and that his teachers could send any soiled clothes home in.

This is my standard wetbag with a woven cotton outer (from Joann's), PUL inner (still working through that white PUL I got directly from another sewer), and zipper (from my eBay zipper stash).

I added a snap-on name tag. C's son is going to a Spanish immersion preschool, so it's in Spanish. It says "Ropa de emergencia de J______ R_______." Translation: "J_____ R______'s emergency clothes."

I spent way too long on the darn name tag, but once I figured it out, it was very simple. I designed the graphics/text in Microsoft Publisher and printed it on t-shirt transfer paper. I transferred it to a piece of white broadcloth. Then I took a piece of flannel, reinforced it with interfacing, and added snaps. Finally, I serged together the broadcloth, the flannel, and an extra layer of flannel in between (so that the snap caps wouldn't be visible through the broadcloth).

The reason it took so long was that I kept trying to make the tag almost the same size as the snaps. (There are four of them, in a rectangular shape.) Then I wasn't able to sew or serge, because my presser foot kept hitting the snaps. Finally, I just made the darn thing huge, which gave me plenty of room to work with when sewing it all together.

I made another, larger wetbag for C, to put wet clothes/towels in at the pool:

Again, it's a woven cotton outer (from WalMart), PUL inner (same white PUL), zipper (from my eBay zipper stash). Close up of the print and the zipper:

T's diapers

Back row L-R
Pattern: Darling Diapers Unlimited, size medium, using the Chelory method
Outer: "Save the Planet" woven cotton print from an eBay seller
Hidden layer: PUL
Inner: Microfleece from the Swaddlebees Outlet (no longer available), modified welt pocket opening

Pattern: Darling Diapers Unlimited, size medium, using the Chelory method
Outer: Woven cotton print from Joann's. T lives in Indianapolis, so she wanted a Colts diaper. Randomly, one of the Joann's near my house had this print in stock! Which was great because it saved on shipping. Must've been leftovers from a special order.
Hidden layer: PUL
Inner: Microfleece from the Swaddlebees Outlet, modified welt pocket opening

Pattern: Darling Diapers Unlimited, size small, using the Chelory method. T asked for most of the diapers in a medium, since her son will fit into those longer, but he's a small right now. Since I had tons of Colts fabric left over after making the medium diaper, I offered to make a small as well, so he can wear it this football season!
Rest of the materials are the same as above.

Front row L-R
Pattern: Darling Diapers Unlimited, size medium
Outer: "Retro Owls" printed PUL from an eBay seller
Inner: Butter suedecloth from Hancock's, modified welt pocket opening

Pattern: Darling DIapers Unlimited, size medium
Outer: "Elephant Walk" printed PUL from an eBay seller
Inner: Butter suedecloth from Hancock's, modified welt pocket opening

All of the diapers have aplix hook and touchtape loop. I've found this is a great combination. It's stickier than using all aplix, without being too sticky like all touchtape.

I took pictures to do a little Chelory method tutorial, so I'll post that at some point.

Chapel dress

I have been sewing lately, just working on a big order of diapers for my friend T, and waiting to post till I'm done with all of them. Almost there!

I took a break from that project a few nights ago to sew Littles' new chapel dress for school. As I've mentioned previously, these dresses cost about $50 if purchased in a store, so last fall, I got some fabric from Joann's to make one myself. They offered me the end of the bolt -- basically, if what you request to be cut leaves less than a yard or so on the bolt, the cutter will sometimes offer the remaining fabric to you at the remnant price (50% off the current price). The remaining fabric was nearly enough for another dress, so I got just a little bit more from a different bolt and figured I'd make another dress for her in the next size up.

I actually did all the cutting and everything last fall, and the cut fabric pieces have just been sitting around waiting to be sewn up. Of course, I waited till the night before the first chapel day to do it :) Luckily, it's an easy pattern that sews up quickly. I did find that the fabric frays very easily, so I ended up using my serger on a lot of it, to quickly finish the edges so they wouldn't fray. I love that thing!

Here's the end result. Simplicity 9854, in size 4 (the shirt is store bought):

It's a little big, but that's perfect. The size 3 was a little big on her last fall, and by the end of the school year, it was baaaaaaaaarely big enough.