Sew Fun!

I have been having a ball lately sewing gifts for a friends baby shower. The shower was last weekend (I know I'm late putting up pics, busy week). I have had an enormous number of custom orders from the store, so I've had to steal minutes here and there for fun baby sewing.

I have embroidered, appliqued, made up new patterns, and played with adorable boy prints. I love customized gifts. They mean so much more when someone puts their love and effort into them. Some of my favorite gifts over the years have been handmade. A painting, a quilt, an afghan, all so lovely. I remember those gifts very clearly. Hopefully she loves handmade items as much as I do.

Did I mention she is having a boy? This is particularly fun for me, because I have a new girl. I love being able to do projects for both! As luck would have it, another friend of mine is having a boy soon too. So I get to make even more fun boy stuff. Both moms are going to be cloth diapering--Woo hoo! Grizzly doesn't understand why I get so excited about this, but it means more people who will kinda sorta understand my passion.

So, here are my fun baby gifts!

Ok. First up is a Grab Rag! Britches loves hers. It's the "can't get it away from her" kind of love. I designed and embroidered the little man's name on bamboo velour and sewed it up with a cute cotton print and ribbons. I make cloth wipes with the same materials, so it is perfect to use as burp cloth, chew toy, or any other whoops rag. Plus, it's pretty the boy equivalent of pretty.

Next is from a scrap from the Grab Rag, an appliqued t-shirt. I love the little ties on shirts.

Another scrap from the Grab Rag is this Grab Ball. I looked at a beach ball and thought, "Yep, I can make that." It is actually 6 leaf shapes sewn together with ribbon. Not nearly as difficult as it first appears.

Here is a wipes pouch. I love to keep things organized. That way when I am searching for wipes in a panic, Tater can say "It's in the bag labeled WIPES mom, geez." This is a simple pouch made like an envelope. (It's lined with firefighter fabric, you will eventually see a pattern)

Wipes. Boring, but oh so useful. I swear you can never have enough.

More wipes. Seriously, never enough...

A matching changing mat is so necessary. I made this with PUL, cotton, and hidden fleece (to make it squishier). Because I had to play with my embroidery software and machine, I made a cute baby too, with a little A on his helmet.

Here is my favorite! I love this wetbag, it does everything. Well, not everything, but more than you can ask of a wetbag. It has the nice large wet pocket, plus a dry pocket, plus a shoulder strap, plus it's shrinkable. I will do an entire post on the evolution of this bag later. But for now, isn't it pretty.

Here is a newborn fitted. It is so tiny and squishy! It's all bamboo with a knit outer. It almost makes me want another... Almost...

Here is a one size all-in-2. Bamboo velour inside so it's soft.

And my favorite diaper. This is an impossible to find print. I even talked to the designer trying to find more, even she doesn't have a scrap left. Needless to say, I'm glad it turned out!

Here is the whole shebang! I threw in some wipe cubes and organic coconut oil too. Did you know that coconut oil works wonders on diaper rash? It does! Hopefully she likes them as much as I do. Even if she doesn't, I have really loved making everything.

I need to get to work for the other new little boy now. I can't wait to cut into the motorcycle fabric I have saved for him!

Update: $100 Challenge

I have an update to my $100 Challenge! I have recently tried a couple more options that I think everyone should know about.

First up are Alvababy diapers. These are similar to Sunbaby diapers. I find the fit a little larger, so they might be better if you are starting with an older baby. They are very affordable. I found a 20 diaper package for $84.00 and free shipping. 20 diapers should be enough for every other day washings for many babies (not my lovely frequent wetter though).

Here is the link: alvababy.com

Next up is an ultra affordable option, 60 flannel prefolds for $29.95. 50 cents a diaper! Unbelievable. Free shipping again too. I thought these were too good to be true when I ordered them, but they work! I live by the idea that you can never have enough prefolds, but this will get you close. I have used them with a snappi, folded in a cover, stuffed in pockets, as a soaker in all-in-2s. They are so useful. They are a made from a few layers of flannel and are fairly thin, so heavy wetters might need 2 diapers to be effective. A couple of mine frayed a bit on the edge, but it didn't change the effectiveness of the diaper. You can't beat this deal! Pair them with 4 diaper covers of your choice (econobums, thirsties, etc. can be found on Amazon too), and you are good to go. Here is the link: amazon super cheap prefolds

I will keep trying more options and passing on anything I find worthwhile. Remember, I have personally used each of these options, so they do work for me. Hope this helps!

Cloth Diapers: $100 Challenge

I am so excited! My husband doesn't understand how I can be jumping-out-of-my-skin-excited about diapers. Let alone diapers that I am not even going to use! Let me explain...

Some time ago, I was looking at cloth diapers. I was checking prices on prefolds, because you can never have enough. Seriously, they have so many uses. More about that later. I was looking at different options, when the thought that started all of this occurred to me, "I wonder how cheap I could cloth diaper a child?" It is nice to have a variety, but what if someone needed the most inexpensive option?

Then I thought, "I bet I could diaper a child for $100, birth to potty training." I took this as a challenge. The search was on. I started finding more and more options, and I started realizing that I could realistically do it. There are tons of options for making diapers out of old clothes, towels, sheets, etc. But so many people in my generation do not know how to sew or don't have access to a sewing machine, so I stuck with commercially available items that anyone could buy.

I am so excited about this because I truly believe it can help people. Whether you use cloth for financial, health, or environmental reasons, it is a great thing! We have so many low income families in my community, all over the country really. If people knew they could save thousands of dollars, I have to think they would do it. Added bonus: it is so much better for the baby and the environment!

Onto the challenge. I searched every store, every resource I knew. And. I. Did. It...

Here is how...

Note: I used mostly prefolds because they are cheap, easy to use, and last through many sizes. I have also used each of the other diapers listed (with the exception of Econobums covers, which will be here this week).

In the cart cart above, there are:

24 one size prefolds

7 one size covers

1 wetbag

Total: $96.75

This is enough to wash every other day, and should last from birth to potty training. This option even includes a wetbag. You could easily get by with this option and nothing else. Some will argue that "one size" won't fit newborns, but you can make them work if needed. Many One Size diapers fit my daughter at about 8 lbs.

Next option...

In this cart are:

2 one size pocket diapers

9 infant prefolds

12 premium prefolds

4 small covers

4 size 2 covers

Total: $128.50

Some of these are gently used, but I have had great luck with this company. This option would actually be done better if you purchased the small diapers, then sold those to buy the larger diapers. You do not need them all at once.

Next...

12 One Size Pocket Diapers

Total: $24.00

As you can see, this is a receipt not a cart. This one is elusive, so I used an example that I personally purchased. It is only available a couple times a year, but is well worth it. 12 One Size diapers for $24.00. You are reading that correctly. Pocket diapers are very easy too, similar to disposables. You can see I purchased 6 refresher kits with them, but I didn't even need them. These do not come with inserts, but you can stuff them with old towels if you need to (it works!).

Next...

24 Pocket Diapers

Total: $108.00

This is, again, enough diapers to wash every other day. These are also very easy to use. They use snaps, but go on like a disposables.

You can of course mix and match these options. Sunbaby has a $60.00 option for 12 diapers, and you could get 4 of the Econobum sets (12 prefolds and 4 covers) all for $107.80

If you use cloth wipes, that will save even more. Baby washcloths are an easy option. You can also cut up flannel ($2.49 per yard at Joann's right now), even old shirts. If you use these wipe options, you can easily cloth diaper a child for $100... Total, not a month!

I am taking brochures about this experiment to my local help center, baby closet, etc. Like I said, I genuinely believe this can help people. If this helps even one person, the time and energy I spend on this is well worth it...

*All items were found at Cottonbabies, Jillian's Drawers, and Sunbaby. There are many SWAP boards out there with inexpensive choices too; Diaperswappers and BBC CD SWAP are two that I have had great experiences with.

**New update here.