T-Shirt into Baby Pants

There are a LOT of tutorials out there on how to turn an old (or new, in my case) t-shirt into baby pants. There is also a lot of information about how to recycle old clothing into baby clothing.

After reading a few, I thought I might try something fun. I think baby pants rank among the easier of the projects, and the baby gets lots of use out of them. So when my husband came home with a promo shirt for me from work, I knew this was my chance (it was a promo for Vid, the video voice over IP software he'd been working on for Logitech - check it out at www.logitech.com/vid).

On the left is the shirt and the right is the baby pants. The back is in the top photo and the front is in the bottom photo.

I basically used the pants pattern I love and have made a lot of (http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/search/label/Easy%20up%20and%20down%20pants) and made sure to line it up with where the writing was on the shirt. There was writing on one sleeve that I put onto the waistband. I had enough left over to make a pair of trainers out of the extra material and used the neck band of the shirt as a waistband for the training pants~ very cute. I had to shorten it, but the contrast of the materials looks nice.

One trick I like but didn't use was lining up the bottom with a seam that is already there so you don't have to hem the pants.

Here are some of the links that inspired me:
http://www.rookiemoms.com/make-some-easy-kids-pants/ (shows the hem re-use trick)
http://www.rookiemoms.com/categories/craft/ (T-shirt to newborn gown-- but still inspiring!)
http://nikkishell.typepad.com/wardroberefashion/2009/05/back-for-6-months.html (this website is a bunch of women who refashion clothing)
http://thismamamakesstuff.blogspot.com/search/label/sewing (she does interesting tutorials every now and again)

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Drop-Front All-in-Ones (for home use)

I saw a posting on a French Blog for a prefold belt with an attached front with elastic on the sides. It was made of wool and the blogger used what looked to be a prefold in it.

I thought this would be a great idea for night-time. Night-time EC has been a dance for us, of finding the right attire and set-up to keep the baby peeing in the toilet at night, and not sitting in a wet diaper when there is a miss.

When I saw the French Blog, we were using a prefold belt (available at the EC store - http://www.theecstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1464- or you can make one or use a headband) with a cloth diaper between and having him sleep on a waterproof mat. This system was lacking as he got bigger and started moving off the mat while sleeping. I thought this item would save us having to use the mat.

So-- I made the one on the left. It is cotton on the outside, PUL film from Wazoodle on the inside (which makes a crinkly noise when it is used that PUL doesn't, and I don't love this film), then 2 layers of Zorb, and fleece on the inside. The elastic had to be on the inside instead of buried. The belt is made of cotton around elastic. I had thought it would be ok, but it leaks! It is ok when he is asleep in the Ergo, because he is not moving around, but when he is moving around, it is too loose around the legs. The snaps were added later and did not help. Also, there was too much material. The excess length did nothing to help.


The one on the right works better. The fit is nice, because the waistband is a comfortable stretchy fleece. There is a snap on the waistband so he can use it as he gets bigger. The back panel snaps up and down to let him use it longer. The middle panel is cotton/ PUL film/ Zorb, and fleece, then elastic. The front panel snaps up to meet the waistband. This one works great-- until there is a miss. It is quicker up and down at night and there is less moving the baby around (compared to using trainers-- as an aside, we can never use diapers because the velcro sound wakes him up). BUT-- when there is a miss, it leaks. It doesn't leak as badly as the one on the left, but it is lacking.

The other (obvious) issue with these is that they look weird. We really only use them at home, and only when he is sleeping...

I think I am going to design the one on the right again but make it a cover to use with prefolds. Stay tuned.

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Bibs: Better than Ever

So after using the original bibs for a while it became clear that instead of food staining the clothing, food was going to stain the bib instead. That's not very cute! The original bibs were made of a layer of flannel on the outside and terry on the inside. And, being summer (i.e. plums are juicy!!!), some foods were leaking through and making the baby wet.

So-- the improvement of the bibs is to have them made out of PUL. This way, the food slides right down into the pocket. White is another improvement, because it can be bleached to stay clean.

I think an improvement on these will be to use another color FOE (fold over elastic-- the binding) so they will also stay cleaner-clooking.

Note: See earlier post for pattern link.

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More Baby Undies

So I have been searching and searching for a good baby underwear pattern. I have tried a few, and tried making one (disaster! way too small and the legs didn't match up). I also tried modifying a trainer pattern to make it without the soaker. It ended up way too big, with the crotch too wide and the waist too big. I guess the thickness of the absorbant soaker makes a difference in how the outer material stretches.

I happened to be on Etsy and found one for sale. After contemplating for a few days, I decided to go for it ( http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27394881&ref=sr_list_1&&ga_search_query=children%27s+undies+pattern&ga_search_type=all&ga_page=&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title). It is sized 2-4-6-8 and there is a pattern for girls' underwear and another pattern for boys' underwear. They are equally cute.

Here are photos of the 5 pairs I have made so far using this pattern. They are perhaps the cutest things I maybe have ever seen.
I was surprised that the size 2 fits pretty perfectly, and I had to modify the leg and waist band length up quite a bit from what she recommends (to 11" and 16", if any of you buy it and want to use it for your 23 pound 11-month old). My next modification is going to be shortening the whole thing at the waist by about an inch, because it sits at the waist and I think it would be cuter below the belly.

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Soakers and Longies

This photo has fleece and wool longies and soakers. The wool items are made from felted sweaters from Goodwill, and the fleece is made from fleece from the fabric store (okay, mostly from the remnant bin).

Both soakers and longies are great (I would think they would be considered more great by someone like me, who doesn't think the baby will poop in them). They are great because all you need to do to use them is to put them on like pants or shorts and stuff a prefold or folded cloth diaper inside (aka soaker). When the baby pees, you just trade out the wet diaper and leave the soaker or longie on as a cover. They provide just enough wetness protection that the floor will likely stay dry, yet you will notice the baby has gone and be able to change him quickly. They are also breathable, so you don't feel like you are doing a science project on the baby's bum with plastic pants.

Downfalls of both are that you need a high level of confidence to use them. You need to be able to put the soaker into the wet zone fairly accurately, and be willing to get yourself or the floor wet if you mess up. Another downfall is that you need to care for the wool http://www.boiseclothdiapers.com/laundrytips.htm (see #5, washing wool covers), and that fleece is less waterproof than the wool.

I actually used fleece soakers without any stuffing as a bridge to undies for a few days (before I realized that the pee really goes straight through the fleece when the soaker isn't in it). I liked that he felt dry all the time in them. But I digress.

An advantage of longies is that they double as pants in cool weather.

To make longies, try http://www.cafepress.com/thatskindacool/864331 or http://katrinassqs.blogspot.com/2008/09/longies-pattern.html or http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/search/label/Recycled%20wool%20sweater%20longies%20instructions. For soakers, try http://katrinassqs.blogspot.com/2007/10/free-soaker-pattern.html or http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/search/label/Wool-in-two%20training%20pants.

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Baby Underwear

In addition to being incredibly cute, baby underwear are nice in the summer, when being nakey butt just isn't appropriate. We are also using them as a transition into staying dry with something covering the privates. This is because it seems to be easier for the baby to tell us when he has to pee when he is totally naked than when there is something there. It is cute-- sometimes he is in undies and pees, and you can see the wheels turning in his head-- he watches the pee go down his leg and looks at it, then looks at us.

So-- the first photo here is for boy briefs, made using this pattern: http://underwear.sew-ing.com/brief.html. I modified it to use fold over elastic (FOE) on the legs and waist. I found that adding a seam allowance like she suggests is unnecessary (probably because of the FOE!). Also, I needed to just barely pull the FOE to get enough stretch at the legs. I made a couple of other pairs of these but pulled them too tight so they are too small.

The next photo is made using Katrina's soaker pattern http://katrinassqs.blogspot.com/2007/10/free-soaker-pattern.html with cotton, no soaker layer, and modified to cut an inch off the front and back to make it shorter. I like these, but they are a bit long still, and a bit wide in the crotch for this purpose. Incidentally, I made a pair with the same modifications but in fleece and it makes a great pair of fleece undies. Cute, too.

Here is another pattern for little undies: http://www.nooneewilga.com/Clothing/tinyundies.html. I haven't made it yet but I think the time is coming soon. I don't love either pattern I have for underwear yet, and really want to have a great fit on our baby.

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Cloth Diapers

The top one here is an all-in-one cloth diaper I made for a friend (the bottom green one is a pair of tiny undies I was trying to use as training pants by stuffing the front). This is the front view. The bottom photo is the inside view. I made it using the Little Comet Tails Tightey Whitey Hipster pattern http://hyenacart.com/LittleCometTails/index.php?c=0&p=34707. It is PUL on the outside, 2 layers of Zorb on the inside, and single-sided super-soft fleece on the inside. The fleece acts as a feel-dry layer. It closes with velcro.

If I would make it again, I would use 3 layers of Zorb and snaps instead of velcro. Or-- I would make laundry tabs for the velcro.

What I love about all of the free diaper patterns out there is that you can use them to make all-in-ones like this, or diaper covers, or fitted diapers, or pocket diapers. All that changes is which layers are sewn together and where. All of the concepts about absorbency and wicking are the same throughout (see my piddle pad post for a little more detail); it is just a matter of preference of what you want the child to be wearing and how you want to do your laundry.

Speaking of which, this is a great website about modern cloth diapers and how to take care of them http://www.boiseclothdiapers.com/.

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Training Pants

We have been using training pants since we realized they were thinner and could hold a pee just as easily as a cloth diaper (we stopped using disposables when we realized he had no idea when he was peeing in them or not and they were never not peed in). The thinner aspect really appealed to me because I didn't want my baby to have to learn to move with all that bulk. I also think a baby bum is so dang cute!

Here is a variety of training pants made as "nonwaterproof training pants." They are basically stretch cotton with a soaker layer made of 4 layers of flannel or a layer of Zorb. Lately, I have been making them with 2 layers of Zorb because his pees have a lot more volume than they used to. But-- 2 layers makes them thick, so I have been trending towards using all-in-one diapers when he is going to have a miss (during his morning nap, typically), and underwear or pants with nothing else when I think he looks immodest.

I also love training pants because they are elastic waist so when I take him to pee in a public toilet, then I can change him mid-air and don't need to set him down somewhere.

Training pants are really great because they hold one missed pee, and you can make then with a feel-wet liner (flannel or cotton), or a feel-dry liner (fleece or microfleece or suedecloth).

I use this pattern, for the most part: http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/search/label/Non-waterproof%20training%20pants.

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Bibs

It took me a long time to find a bib pattern that fit and that I liked. We didn't even really have any that I liked enough to trace! I finally found this one (http://www.newconceptions.com/patpdf/bibspdf.pdf) and used style "A." I modified it to have flannel on the front and terry on the back. I used fold over elastic (FOE) to bind it and resin snaps to close it. You could use velcro, though, to keep it closed.




















After a few tries, I got a little creative with some flannel scraps (and lace notions on the girl baby gift bib, right), and quilted them together before putting the whole thing together.

I am going to use this pattern a lot, and am looking forward to re-fashioning old worn-out clothing into bibs (especially the back of jeans!).

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Smock Bib

This is the back of the smock bib I made out of flannel.

Here is the front.











Here it is, made out of PUL.











He is ready for action!

















Notice that both versions are made with fold over elastic (FOE) as the binding. If you made it with something that didn't fray, like fleece, you could skip that. You could also cut your own binding or use store-bought binding. The FOE supposedly does not wick (i.e. it keeps the moisture out).

After using these, we learned that flannel is not the best material to use alone for a bib. Wet things go right through. I was thinking of lining the middle section with terry. PUL makes a great bib; food slides right down.

Here is the pattern I used: http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/2008/04/shirt-bib-with-free-pattern.html. The only modification is that the cuffs at the arms are a little tight. After making the first one of these, I modified it to make them a little wider. The pocket is amazing at catching food, and having different neck width settings is great at keeping the goodies from sliding down (it stays nice and tight).

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