tushie wrappers.

I haven’t abandoned my knitting and turned this into a sewing blog – I promise! But here at Casa Del Welford, there has been a sweat-shop equivalent of sewing projects on the go lately. Surprisingly, I have actually accomplished quite a bit on my knitting, but that in another post. And it’s completely selfish knitting (per usual) – no baby knitting happening here!

But the sewing. Lots of it. If you have no interest or need to know about cloth diapers, you may want to stop reading now :) I promise there will be knitting again soon – I appreciate your patience as for those interested in cloth diapers, there seems to be a slight lack of information out there on the internets, so I wanted to share what we are working on.

I finished the diaper bag and was already working on a cloth diaper prototype, wandering The Interwebs, looking for some information/ideas about cloth diapers. I decided with the wealth of information available from personal experience stories to data to support cloth diapers for more than just environmental reasons that it was time to consult the most knowledgeable person on the subject of cloth diapers that I know: My own mother.

As there were no alternatives to cloth diapers when I was toodling around in diapers, I figured that she would have some sound advice. She did. And she’s even helping me make them!

Based on her experiences with my brother and I, advice from friends who’ve also made/used cloth diapers, as well as feedback from a local sewing store that sells a great book, “Cloth Diapers Made Easy” from Babyville Boutique, we decided to make pocket diapers. The reasons are simple: They are easy – dirt easy to make. The soakers are inserted inside the diaper, then pulled out and washed along with the diaper, and this makes night time a little  more flexible in terms of how much padding to place. No pins (although I don’t see the big deal with pins but if we can keep this simple and not be fiddling with pins in the middle of the night, I like it already). I’m going to say that they are cheap as well, but I will give you a breakdown of what I spent to give you an idea and you can decide for yourself if they are in fact ‘cheap’ (I think that’s a personal decision and for us, we decided it was economical compared to disposables).

The cloth diaper ‘world’ (for lack of a better description), when I started looking into it, has made them into a profit industry. By this I mean that the marketing around these simple things is quite amazing. Babyville Boutique, for example, has matching Velcro, labels, buttons and snaps that accompany all of their PUL fabric line (PUL is the waterproof fabric that serves as the outer layer). While it’s all very cute, but also very expensive … and there needs to be an element of pure practicality with these: The kid is peeing and pooping in said diaper – it’s going to be washed a lot. Ideally, these will see us through at least 2 children – I have the time and energy now to make them. I’m not naive to the fact that baby no. 2 is going to be more challenging in terms of getting things done prior to said child’s arrival (if we are so blessed to have another) so I want to put the work in now but also, have products that are going to last and wear well. Even if that means they are ‘dead’ when we are finished with them, as a friend’s mom put it after her daughter put her 2 children through cloth diapers :)

So, what are they like? How long do they take to make? Are they easy to sew?

This is the prototype I mentioned earlier that started this whole thing:

I started off with matching Velcro, manufactured by Babyville Boutique, which I quickly abandoned due to expense. The diaper below is has standard 2” Velcro bought in bulk off the roll in white. Using stiffer Velcro was a concern at first but honestly, I can see how this Velcro will actually stand up a bit better over time, as well as create a better ‘seal’ – it is ‘stickier’.

Below you can see the pocket at the back where the soaker is inserted. Those I have decided to buy, which are available from Target and Fred Meyer. Unfortunately, the price outweighs making my own as a pack of 10 is $10. A meter of white flannelette at Fabricland is $6.50 per meter (for a decent weight. The thinner stuff is cheaper but also won’t last).

To make the pocket diapers, there are 2 major seams: 1. Sewing the flannel lining right sides together to the PUL fabric and 2. Top stitching around, creating the inner leg elastic casing at the same time, to finish. Everything else is just fiddly short seams: Folding over and stitching the casing at the back where the soaker is inserted, stitching in/securing the elastic, and sewing on the Velcro. One diaper, start to finish (regardless of the size and not including the cutting out), takes 35 minutes to complete.

When Mom and I sweatshop the diapers, meaning set up a bit of an assembly line together and pass the work back and forth, they are significantly faster. I can have 4 made in an hour with her help.

This is a pile of 20 mediums that I am working on this afternoon. I have finished 6 in the past hour and a half. To get them to this point, I pinned and she sewed the Velcro. Then we did the same for the lining to the PUL. Then again for the inner leg elastic and casings. Honestly, it seems a lot of work but it was only a day and we made … 18 completed plus these 20 that are ready to finish. The goal is to have 48 assorted sizes when we are finished, the majority of which will be mediums.

(Left to right: Small, Medium and Large)

The sizing, as with all baby sizing, is based on weight. We aren’t making any newborn sizes as they are from 6-10lbs. The small size is 8-20lbs. The medium size is 15-28lbs.

From advice online and friends, the adjustability of these diapers (one of the reasons we went with Velcro instead of snaps) means that while the child is between 10 and ~20lbs, the smalls and mediums are interchangeable. We decided to make 14 smalls and 24 mediums.

We aren’t making many large sizes (28-40lbs). While we will need some, experienced friends said that they were into training pants by the time they needed the larges, only used them for about 2 months and didn’t need more than 9 or 10.

I included the photo above because you will see that these diapers have a seam up the middle. The difficulty with these diapers when cutting them out is that they use a lot of fabric so you end up with a lot of odds and ends. Because the pattern is cut on the fold, you can cut two halves, adding room for a 1/4” or 3/8” seam (whatever you prefer) and sew ‘em up! They may not be as perfect as the mono-toned ones but do they ever help to use up the scraps! And they are kinda cute :)

A few thoughts about making these diapers (both based on feedback from people we’ve talked to, information from the internets and things we’ve learned a long the way):

• Don’t get all hung up on perfectly finishing these – if you are a perfectionist, leave that at the door (I had to reinforce this with my mother). They aren’t worth the time to fuss over & they look great even if there are little puckers or not-perfect sewing. Trust me!
• The stiffer Velcro is significantly cheaper and just as effective as the more expensive, colour-coordinated Velcro. You’re talking a difference of about $1.10/meter in cost savings, which when you need 15 meters roughly, that starts to add up ($30CAD total including tax @ 12%).
• Feedback from friends said that the Velcro is much more adjustable than the snaps (yay! more cost savings).
• The flannelette as the lining. The book calls for suede cloth but the cost is prohibitive. White flannel is generally what people use but a friend of mine (having used these herself and loved them) said she was glad she just bought off the sales rack flannel that was relatively neutral for a much reduced price. With washing, non-chlorine bleaching and general wear&tear, the colour will fade and no one’s looking inside the diaper when there are cute monsters and dinosaurs on the outside. I paid $3/meter for ~10 meters of really good quality flannel in a yellow that matched each diaper in some way ($35CAD, including tax ). I also had some scrape flannel that I used up for a few of the smalls.
• The PUL fabric is expensive. There’s just no other way to cut it but here’s how it broke down for me: I bought roughly 7 meters of various prints (mostly monsters as they are my favourite and they were sold out of the dinosaurs) for $15.75/meter. It came to $130CAD (including tax).
• The book cost about $12CAD (including tax).
• To make about 48 diapers, the total cost was $210CAD (including tax). Based on a friend’s calculations, she said they spent in 2011 for 2 children $1800CAD on disposable diapers. Based on information out there on the internet, $2700USD/year is the average a family spends on 7000 disposables/year. I’m rounding numbers just to give you an idea of the cost savings alone. I am fully expecting I will have to make some replacement diapers at various times throughout this process, as they aren’t going to last forever, but I will welcome that in the face of saving over $1500 in the first year alone. For more information, check out this website: Diapering Decisions
• It’s a personal decision about what to diaper our children in and I hope I have shared what we are choosing to do thoroughly and thoughtfully – please, if you have any questions about making these or any details I forgot, please email me! I welcome your ideas too :)

For those interested in this pursuit of ours to cloth diaper our kids, I will keep you posted about how it all goes. I am very aware of the fact that there will be a time and place, as Taryn of Mama Gone Green has attested to, that we will need to use disposable diapers but I hope that we are able to find a balance and minimise the waste leaving our home, as well as the cost of disposables.

baby things.

A friend lent me a neat novel by Emma Donoghue called Room. I’m about 1/3rd of the way through, am enjoying it very much and have laughed out loud a couple of times as it is written from the perspective of a 5-year-old boy. He has a funny/great way of describing things. Without finishing this book just yet, I wouldn’t hesitate at this time to recommend it.

I have projects on the needles but what I am actually excited to share with you is my new diaper bag. I finished it over the weekend so this isn’t a knitting-work-in-progress but I think that’s ok :)

A simple Kwik-Sew pattern (no. 3464), this bag was the perfect use for this fabric. I used heavy weight interfacing on the outside fabric and medium weight on the inside. The pattern calls for fusible fleece, but it just isn’t stiff enough for the amount of wear-n-tear this is going to endure over the next 5 years.

I fussy-cut the front so that the pocket would showcase the bird – otherwise, with such a large pattern repeat, it would have been lucky to see a bird at all. That is one problem with drapery fabric – the repeats are enormous!

The cutting was the most amount of work. It took me a day just to cut out all the pieces. After that, the sewing was fast and easy. About a day saw the bag finished.

The button loop was fiddly – I ended up making it the same way the handles are made, which worked perfectly and scraped the method in the pattern.

I changed the lining significantly. Rather than 2 zippered pocket inserts on each side, I made the same pockets as the outside (instead, I interfaced with medium weight rather than heavy weight and lined with a yellow cotton rather than the same striped drapery), then stitched up the center to create 2 side pockets (4 in total). Worked beautifully. If I were making this again, I would absolutely do that again.

I can’t wait to see what you are reading and working on! Happy Yarn Along :)

yellow affliction.

In an effort to escape from purling, seed stitch, colourwork, lace, and pretty much anything else that resembles any variation of the knit stitch, I decided to go back to my one true love for my next project: Garter Stitch.

Garter stitch is a funny thing.

When I first picked up knitting again, I thought garter was such a simple, ugly and laborious stitch that only beginners were taught because it was ‘easy’. As I have continued on my knitting journey, I have come to appreciate this simple stitch more than anything. There is something about it that is incredibly pleasing – and not just the simplicity of working it – the finished item always looks great too. Clean edges, simple lines and a beautiful showcase of the yarn. Especially when you have some gorgeous madelinetosh in my favourite colour.

Pattern: Audrey by Jane Richmond

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh DK (formally Tosh Worsted) in colour Olivia (4 skeins)

Needles: 4.5mm circulars

I actually saw Jane from a distance at Fibres West and she was wearing her Audrey. I didn’t get a chance to compliment her on it as I spotted her and quickly became distracted by the above-mentioned project yarn that came home with me – then I didn’t see her again. It looked great on her. As I was driving home, I thought What a perfect project to take a break from the more difficult stuff I’ve been working on lately.

It’s been the perfect escape.

There are a few things about this that I have to admit, I don’t love. I did no waist shaping (I was keeping things simple!) so the back looks like just a big square-rectanglish block. Because I knew this would grow like mad when I washed it, I knew I could do something about it afterwards. I’m actually thinking – especially while I’m pregnant and belts seem to be super cute on my right now – of knitting a 1x1 rib belt. The body is about 20” long, so long enough to belt for sure.

Also, I didn’t do button holes. I was going to do snaps instead fronted by buttons. I found these super cute buttons at Fabricana (just cheap Countess ones). I sewed on 7 but I’m wondering about taking them off and re-spacing them to add more. I have 14 to play with … so at present, the cardigan does not close. But the belt idea would fix that … I will keep you posted as to what I decide and photo it with the belt if I decide to go that route.

Overall, I think this will get a lot of wear as the weather warms up. Already we have had many jacket-less days :) I hope Spring is warming you wherever you are!

jacket of Inuit.

I was born in Northern British Columbia, where my parents had been transferred around for years due to their jobs at the time. Growing up, I remember their Cowichan sweaters, which were so warm that you really couldn’t wear them down in the Southern part of British Columbia at any time during the year. If it was warm enough to wear them, then it was Spring or Fall and of course, raining. You needed a rain jacket more than a sweater (although they do repel the water really well because of course they are 100% wool).

I have had a wool-acrylic chunky blend in my stash for what seems like forever. For many reasons, namely the thickness of the yarn, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Do I make a Cowichan-like sweater and risk not wearing it? Do I make a jacket-like cardigan and again, risk not wearing it? Or do I knit it into something to give away? Do I take a deep breath and give the yarn itself away (maybe someone else will use it?) and move on? Do I continue to stare at it on the top shelf of my bookshelf indefinitely? What to do? What to do?

Jane Richmond released Twiggy, which is a super neat sweater. But I wasn’t totally sold that that was what I wanted to do with this yarn. I have mentioned before about my wrists – the chunky weight wool-acrylic would wreak havoc on my poor joints.

A blog that I thoroughly enjoy reading, MOONSTITCHES, has been away from her PC for the past year, coping with the devastating effects of the tsunami in Japan. With her return to the blogosphere, I had a look at her projects over the past while and stumbled by chance on this little gem.

Can you believe I have not actually knit a DROPS pattern to completion before? I have a few printed and in my pattern binder … but I haven’t actually committed and knit to completion.

Thank you to Alex for her inspiration both on her blog and pattern page because otherwise … this yarn would still be on the bookshelf staring down at me, longing to be something!

It was difficult to find buttons I liked but I stumbled on these at Fabricana. They are plastic but they washed nicely and they suit the yarn so score! And I quite heart them.

So … you can see that I modified the pattern to a top-down raglan. I did this for two reasons:

1. The bulky weight yarn in a bulky seam around my shoulders would not be flattering on me (plus the thought of sewing through all that kinda put me off), and
2. I wanted something I could try on as I knit since I wanted this to be relatively close-fitting due to the weight of the yarn … the look of an extra 15lbs was not enduring me to this knit!

On 9mm needles, my gauge was 2.5stitches x 3 rows per inch, washed and spun in the washer, then laid out to dry. I calculated for a 38” bust jacket (3” of positive ease for long-sleeved shirts and a scarf beneath).

I cast on 50 stitches (11 front, 6 sleeve, 16 back, 6 sleeve and 11 front). The first and last 10 stitches were garter. I placed the buttonholes as the pattern had called for. I worked the yoke until I had 21 (front), 28 (sleeve), 38 (back), 28 (sleeve), 21 (front) stitches and an 8” yoke depth. I cast on 4 stitches under each arm and knit another 18 rows of double moss stitch, 5 rows of garter and switched to 32 rows of ST st prior to my 8 hem rows.

The sleeves are 13-14” long – slightly longer than 3/4 length. I cast on 4 stitches under each underarm again, knit 34 rows, then 8 hem rows.

Lastly, the hood. What a brilliant way to knit a hood – so simple! I knit it in one evening of watching Castle (love that show!). I knit 3 rows of garter, then 37 rows of double moss and cast off. The sewing up took about 10 minutes.

M says this looks like an elf hood :) I love this knit though – I’m looking forward to wearing this as we wait for the Spring to warm up … I just can’t button it up now since I am a little too pregnant!

garter autumn leaves.

I’m not really into cute things … honestly? I don’t actually like cute things. I appreciate them, but they just aren’t my cup of tea.

However. I saw this. Then I saw this. Loved both but I didn’t see any notes from no2108’s version to modify Nikki’s pattern in a worsted weight and garter stitch. I thought maybe some of you would want the notes I made as I knit, so I talked to Nikki and we agreed it would be ok for me to tell you what my modifications were, as well as provide the chart that I used.

The original chart from Nikki’s pattern was too long in the yoke for a 6 month size in worsted, so I just shortened it.

I used a stashed skein of Cascade 220 in colour 9420 (Teal). I have about 0.2 of the skein left. My gauge on 5.00mm needles was 18 stitches by 24 rows over 4 inches.

The chart is a 4 stitch repeat (outlined in dark blue) + 3 stitches. The chart starts on a WRONG SIDE row. At the completion of row 7, the stitches between the leaves become garter stitch and continue that way until completion of the sweater.

The first 4 and last 4 stitches were the button bands. I placed these on the 4th row, then again on the 18th row (after 7 garter ridges). I used Nikki’s buttonholes from her pattern.

I cast on 43 stitches and knit 4 rows of garter. Next, I started row 1 (WS) of the chart.

At the completion of the chart, I had 97 stitches total. For a 4” yoke, I knit 1 WS row.

Then, next row (RS): Knit 4 stitches as established for button bands, increase 15 stitches evenly over next 89 stitches, knit 4. 112 stitches total.

Next row (WS): Knit.

Next row (RS): Knit 4 stitches as established for button bands, increase 15 stitches evenly over next 104 stitches, knit 4. 126 stitches total.

Next row (WS): Knit.

Next, I divided for the sleeves as following (RS): Knit 18 stitches (right front), place next 27 stitches on scrap yarn (right sleeve), knit across next 36 stitches (back), place next 27 stitches on scrap yarn (left sleeve), knit 18 stitches (left front). 72 stitches total on needle.

I worked 6” in garter from the underarm, then cast off.

For the sleeves, I used DPNs as follows: Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row, Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row. Cast off loosely. Sew the armhole closed. Weave in ends and place buttons in corresponding place.

I am going to make a 9 month old size next for a friend and I have calculated the stitches needed for both a 9 and 12 month size. Please email me if you would like me to send you those notes, as the yoke is slightly longer as well. If you have any questions about how I made my version, please don’t hesitate to email me :)

pillow talk.

I’m not a very good housekeeper. M is awesome. He’s always making sure the vacuuming is done, that I’m on track with laundry and the dogs are clean/fed. It doesn’t come naturally to me – but my brother is the same so I don’t feel so badly. And apparently M finds it all very relaxing. Go figure.

He’s been after me to make some decisions about the nursery … Mom had me choose some fabric for a baby quilt she wants to make for us (which I am super excited about as it has zoo animals on it). I bought some discount fabric at a local quilting shop for some pillows to make the glider more comfortable on my back. I finally got around to actually buying the pillow forms … and making the pillows themselves.

Super simple but effective.

The backs are 5” overlapping pieces with folded, finished 1/4” seams for easy peasy removal and washing if they get dirty from baby ... or the dogs mouthing them (apparently they are very interesting – it must be the smell of the pillow forms themselves).

The next project is the diaper bag, actually acquiring the crib (we’ve ordered it, just waiting for it to arrive) and other miscellaneous things I would rather not think about … I’m not very good at this whole ‘nesting’ thing. Oh well! M will keep me on track :)

ps. Sorry for the cr*ppy iPhone photos – M is in a meeting so I can’t get the camera from his office!