My first ever sewing project

Tim wanted to blog about this and brag about my newfound abilities, but he was taking too long and I wanted to share this with everyone!

Now that I'm a mom, I've decided to learn how to do mommy-type things. One of these recent endeavors is learning how to sew. Our ward has sewing night, complete with sewing machines purchased by the stake for the Relief Societies. I never thought this would be something I would even go to, but with a cool project like wool diaper covers, of course!

So... I started these at sewing night, and finished them at Melissa's.




Before I began my research into cloth diapering, I had no idea the endless possibilities. I purchased some pocket diapers and figured those were the ones for me. I never knew how much I would LOVE pre-folds. They seem so old school, but they are the cheapest option (except for flats, which seem way too complicated to put on... but I guess I shouldn't knock it until I try it!) and they are so easy to take care of. Rinse in the toilet, throw in the washer, throw in the dryer. When you get into the fancy fabrics of pockets, there is stripping involved sometimes and I hang them out to dry so they'll last, and at about $17 a pop you definitely have to spend a small fortune to build up your stash in order to exclusively cloth diaper. Pre-folds run between $15-30 a dozen, depending on the quality and if you can find a good deal (you can find a great deal on seconds, here). Buy a couple dozen, a few covers, and voila! You're a cloth-diapering mama and will save thousands of dollars and keep all that waste (literally) out of landfills.

Covers for cloth diapers can be a little pricey, running about $12 for each. The nice thing about pre-folds and covers is that each diaper change, you usually can just use another pre-fold and the cover stays relatively clean so you can use it over and over again until you do the wash. I have two Thirsties covers right now, and that seems pretty adequate for my needs. I handwash them every so often and if they get poopy I throw them in the washing machine with the rest of the diapers.

Since I discovered that wool diaper covers are waterproof and can be worn over the pre-folds, I've been coveting them. Like these. And these. And these. But, wool diaper covers can be pricey! If you buy from a company, they run about $20-$100. From Etsy, they are a little cheaper but still at least $10. So when Melissa discovered how to make them out of DI sweaters, I was sold.

I went to DI and found three sweaters at $3 each. Then, I sewed them. Myself! With help from Melissa. And it was a success! And they are so darn cute on Atticus! They are waterproof, warm, and breathable. I'm sold on wool diaper covers. We are officially using about the crunchiest form of cloth diapering imaginable.

Anyone want to buy my BGs from me?



*If you'd like to make your own, you can find patterns here and here.