Pocket Diapers

Pocket diapers are something I had heard of but never tried. I just made two of them (identical), and they are amazing! Well, they would be amazing if I had my kid in cloth diapers all day and night.

They are great because:

1. They are made of PUL on the outside so they are waterproof
2. I made these with snaps so you could take them off without waking your child (velcro noise!) or you could pull them up and down if need be (sometimes that is easier if there is no poop and your child is older and wiggly)
3. The inside is made of black suedecloth. It is not the black that is so fab (except for style, of course), it is the suedecloth. This fabric wicks the moisture so fast from the baby to whatever you stuff it with, it is amazing. It feels dry to the touch, then you feel inside and the soaker is soaked. I hear that Wazoodle's diapermaker and microfleece do the same thing.

I made these using the Wee Weka Side Snapping Pattern. I stuffed them with the white flatfold diapers we have and they worked great.

Too bad the little guy is nearly a graduate (EC lingo for "potty trained") and we don't need them.... well, not really too bad....

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Swim Diapers

So after a bit of research, I learned that a re-usable swim diaper is simply any diaper or trainer pattern made out of waterproof material. Its goal is to keep the feces in and let the urine out. If it kept the urine in, it would also keep the water in...

So I tried making a couple. I used the Wee Weka pattern for a side snapping diaper (http://www.thenappynetwork.org.nz/images/WeeWeka_MLSideSnap.pdf). I used PUL on the inside, but flipped over so the knit side is facing baby and the plastic side is facing out. I used swimsuit stretch lycra on the outside. It is bound with FOE and the snaps are resin.

I made the bottom one with flowers first. After putting it on the baby, I realized that a trimmer fit would probably make for a better swim diaper and this would be best loved by someone who also used prefolds and covers (in addition to swimming-- then it could be both a diaper cover and swim diaper).

I had already cut the other fabric so, instead of switching patterns, I edited my fabric to try to make up for the huge-ness of the bottom one. I folded it in half and trimmed the crotch narrower and cut about an inch off the top. This meant that the bottom one has two layers of snaps and can be adjusted to fit better. The top one only has one layer of snaps. I am quite happy with it and looking forward to trying it tomorrow at swim class!

If I would do this again, I would use a trainer pattern and close one side and do snaps on the other side. I love how they look, though, with the white PUL on the inside and the lycra on the outside.

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EcaPants Knockoff/ Drop-Flap Training Pants

In search of the elusive drop-flap trainer, I looked and looked all over the internet. I found a pattern for one (http://www.nooneewilga.com/DIY/sewingpatterns.html) but couldn't find a photo of what it looked like when open. I found another one that was called an EC Diaper and looked really cute and like a great idea (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24071806). But I kept being fascinated by the EcaPants (http://www.ecawarebaby.com/products.html). The problem was, with all of these styles, I didn't really get it. I couldn't really see what was going on to make them drop-flap without touching one. The EC Diaper photos were pretty good, but I wanted better. So I ordered a pair of EcaPants to try out.


The EcaPants are really cool. They are basically a trim pocket training pant with long tabs and an open piece of FOE across the middle. The one I bought was made of PUL on the outisde and with snaps (they sell a velcro option, and they sell a nonwaterproof option). On the inside, they use cotton, and I think it is birdseye 100% cotton. It is surprisingly thin and absorbant.

So on my knockoff, I traced the pattern, and used PUL on the outside and unbleached cotton sherpa on the inside. I did a one layer soaker, and another layer in the middle to serve as a pocket. I used snaps and an open piece of FOE. On the EcaPants, they have an extra snap on the FOE to make it smaller, and I copied this, too.

I like these. I am hoping to be able to make my pattern into different sizes at some point so I can use it for other trainers. It is a really nice, trim fit, especially when I snap the tabs nice and snug. I have been using them at night (the pair I bought and and pair I made), and they are a nice compromise between velcro and nothing. Sometimes it is a challenge to snap them up tight in the dark after taking my son potty, but I still think it is easier than just using a snapping diaper or trainer.

I think I may buy the newborn size or the one size EC Diaper from Etsy to copy as well. I am not sure about that one, though, because of my aversion to velcro and the sound it makes (wakes baby up).

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Sleep Sack

I had a great nighttime EC idea. The problem is that the baby rolls around at night. When he has to go potty, the velcro of diapers wakes him up. Snaps often take too long to re-attach afterwards, and pull-up style bottoms require a bit of twisting. Going naked-bottom on a waterproof/ absorbant mat (aka piddle pad) is our current solution.
I had thought that a solution would be a sleep sack. So I borrowed one and traced it. Instead of doing a zipper, I left it as a V-Neck and did elastic in the bottom instead of closing it. My idea was that I would be able to pull it up and down as needed and he could roll around to his heart's content.
Well, it turns out that he could slip his legs out easily (duh) and got twisted as he rolled. A solution would be to add snaps to the bottom to keep it shut but then we are back to a snapping diaper solution and haven't gotten anywhere.
I was hoping this one, made of flannel, would help me sort out the kinks and I could make another out of a piddle pad material or PUL or maybe do it in PUL with snap-in soakers or something like that. .. because if I left it as flannel and he had a miss overnight, it would be all WET and worse than before (since the idea is that he always feels dry).
Oh well.... maybe the next idea will work. Hope my friend who I gave it to gets lots of use out of it (her baby is in diapers!).

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Baby Boxers

I found the pair of shorts on the left in the baby's pile of clothing, and have been using them incessently. Since we do EC, it is a LOT easier to have one layer to pull down rather than two. And no matter how much I like to put him in undies, sometimes it's not appropriate to go out in your undies (even if you are a baby).

I made this pattern. I traced the shorts on the left, and looked at my favorite pants pattern (http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/search/label/Easy%20up%20and%20down%20pants). Basically, it is the pattern at the top, but narrower through the thighs. And at the waist, instead of using elastic in a casing, it is a 2" strip of four-way stretch cotton (or cotton/ lycra-- or I am currently making some with bamboo stretch material! Very cool -- from Wazoodle...). My guy is now 12.5 months old and the strip for his waist is 16" long. Sew it closed, fold it in half, match up the back to the back, and stretch it as you sew (like this turorial shows: http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/search/label/Non-waterproof%20training%20pants).

I really like these and am making more of them. The striped material is nice and boxer-like, though.

Here is the tutorial I did for them.

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Velcro Toy

We thought it would be a great idea to make the baby a velcro toy, since he can't seem to get enough of eating and touching bits of fabric and opening and closing velcro.

These are made with canvas with velcro, bits of elastic and fleece, and one has a snap.

Alas, he doesn't like to play with them! Maybe he knows they aren't the real thing, and he's not getting anywhere?

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Scandi Mei Tai

I had always wanted to make a baby carrier. I had some fabric that I loved so I decided to go for it. I used this tutorial (http://scanditute.blogspot.com/) and modified it to: 1. make longer by 2" as she suggested (I wouldn't do this again and think I need to go back and cut it shorter), 2. add a pocket and key holder (I would do this in the same as the outer material in the future and make it using a zipper instead of just pleated and with FOE on the top), 3. I used the shortest straps she recommended, and 4. I made the hood wider than she recommended.

I made it using heavy material on the straps and pretty material for the outside. I used one-sided fleece (I think it is called Minky-- it has dots and it super soft) on the inside facing me. On the very inside is a layer of heavy canvas. I modified this to add 2 hidden layers of Zorb. I did this because I carry my son in shorts without diapers, or bottomless, and sometimes he pees and I miss it. I thought the fleece would wick and the Zorb would absorb it and we would be a little more comfortable.

After putting him in it and going for a walk, I would make the next carrier with a few changes. I would attach the hood straps horozontally instead of vertically. I would make the hood taller (you can see in the third photo that it barely covers him). I saw a YouTube video of a woman who had made hers with infant safety loops that the straps lace through on the sides and I may try that to keep the whole thing more stable. I need a better pocket solution. Maybe a strap bag and no front pocket?

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