1st Sewing Projects: Diapers and Such

We made the switch to cloth diapers around the same time we cut satellite. It was more of an effort to save money in the long run than being "green". The fact that it's good for the environment is a bonus! And my babies bums! Anyway, the prefolds that I have are just a little too long for the Raiden so I'd have to either fold it in the back or front. This is fine during the day but a night when I have to add doublers it was just too much bulk. I thought about buying fitteds but didn't want to spend more money. I started thinking about what I could do with my prefolds. I got out my scissors and a needle and thread. The covers hold the diaper in place so I don't have to fasten them but trifolding is a little narrow and fat and you can fold in half because the padding goes through the center and it would be too wide anyway. I cut some off the length then folded the sides in and stitched them together at the width I wanted. Trimmed off the excess, and sewed up the raw end, turned it (inside out/outside in) so the seam was inside. I couldn't get my sewing machine to work so I did it by hand. I left one end open so i can put doublers inside.

I had bought a wool cover for nighttime but really didn't like the fit of it. I came across an article about upcycling wool sweaters to make pull up type covers. So I dug in the closet and found an old one of Scott's that was 100% wool. Here I go trying to be frugal again and being green in the process.  The pattern is simple, cut a triangle from the waistband, bring all the points together at the center of the waistband, sew leaving the holes open for the legs. Then I used the neckband to make the cuffs for the legs holes. Simple. I then decided to make longies out of one of the arms. These are like a diaper cover a pj bottoms in one. I cut straight across from the armpit. Split the seam starting at the wrist to the desired inseam. I laid it so it was centered and cut through the other side. Stitched up the inseam and made a casing in the waste for a drawstring. Wah La!

But now I have another problem. I have to be able to fasten the diaper in these type covers.  First I just snipped the seam on one of the inserts I made that I didn't close the end on and cut wings. Then I fasten with snappies. This works fine but I came across another article on turning a prefold into a fitted so I thought I'd give it a try. I bought a new sewing machine but got a cheapy at Wal-Mart and it hasn't been particularly useful. So this is a combination of machine and hand sewing.