I’m doing a “diaper and a shirt” swap with the messageboard I post on. The idea is that you can embellish a T-shirt to match a diaper that you sew. My partner has a 2 month old boy, and I couldn’t find a shirt in his size, so I decided to sew one. However, I couldn’t find my pattern that has baby shirts in it, so I decided to try and create my own.

I grabbed a onesie that my daughter has outgrown, and for the fabric for the T-shirt I used an adults XL shirt I got on sale from Michaels.

I cut off the bottom of the onesie to make it into a shirt, and then cut along the seams to take the onesie apart. This gave me a general idea of the shapes I was looking for, and using them as reference I drew the pieces out freehand on the yellow T-shirt.

I sewed along happily, thinking that I was going t have an cute little shirt that would work with the diaper I was making. I am making a brown and yellow wool cover and a fitted diaper with giraffes on it, so I used brown thread on the yellow shirt so that it all matches.

Well, here is how the shirt turned out:

I’ve used the arrows to show the errors I made. I missed part of the neckline on the right hand side, the neckline itself is much too high and would choke the baby if they wore it. My left seam was about a half inch towards the middle of the shirt (must have made the back wider than the front) and the left arm seam doesn’t line up with the left side seam.

All in all, its not that bad considering I didn’t use a pattern. But definitely not wearable! Guess its time to search and find that pattern I have and use that

I’m a thrifty shopper and crafter, so I’m always looking for a good bargain. This always leads me to the remnant / discount section of my local fabric store. Unfortunately, they are all labeled as remnants, with no indication of the fabric content listed on them anymore.

I had bought a few really cute prints that I wanted to use as outers on fitted diapers, but I had no idea if they were cotton or polyester or a mixture of the two. A quick internet search led me to this great page, and I was able to identify my fabric contents in no time at all!

How to determine fabric content by using the burn test.

Snip a piece of fabric equivalent to 1″ square. Using a butane lighter and holding the fabric with a pair of tweezers ignite the fabric over a non-flammable surface in a well ventilated area.Examine the quality and color of the flame, the odor produced, and the quality of the resulting ash or cinder. Use this table to help determine your fabric’s content.

FABRIC	FLAME QUALITY	ODOR	ASH QUALITY	COMMENTS
WOOL	orange color sputtery	burning hair or feathers	blackish turns to powder when crushed	flame will self extinguish if flame source is removed no smoke
SILK	burns slowly	burning hair or feathers	grayish turns to powder when crushed	burns more easily than wool but will self extinguish is flame source removed
COTTON	yellow to orange color steady flame	burning paper or leaves	grayish, fluffy	slow burning ember
LINEN	yellow to orange color steady flame	burning paper or leaves	similar to cotton	takes longer to ignite than cotton but otherwise very similar
RAYON	fast orange flame	burning paper or leaves	almost no ash	ember will continue to glow after flame source removed
POLYESTER	orange flame, sputtery	sweet or fruity smell	hard shiny black bead	black smoke
ACETATE	burns and melts,sizzly	acidic or vinegary	hard black bead	will continue to burn after flame source removed
NYLON	burns slowly and melts, bluse base and orange tip, no smoke	burning celery	hard grayish or brownish bead	self extinguish if flame source removed
ACRYLIC	burns and melts, white-orange tip, no smoke	acrid	black hard crust	will continue to burn after flame source removed

A couple other sites I read noted that if you have a blend of fabrics (ie 50/50 cotton polyester) then you will see a combination of both types of flames / burning properties. While this wont tell you the exact percentage, at least then you know that it is a blend.

I thought this was a great resource, and I hope it can help someone else identify their unknown fabrics!

My daughter is really tall and thin, so she outgrows her onesies in length before she outgrows them in body size. I hated the fact that she would only wear them for a couple of months and they were still in nearly new condition, but they were no longer useful. I decided to make some into shirts for her, so that she can get more wear and use out of them.

I started with a onesie that was too small lengthwise.

I then cut off the bottom snap part right above the leg elastic. I used a ruler to make sure I cut it straight across.

I finished the edge of the shirt using the rolled hem on my serger. However, if you don’t have a serger you could simply finish the edge with a zig zag stitch and then sew a hem.

And there you have it - a cute shirt that can be used for a little bit longer!

I’ve been busy the past couple of weeks with yarn crafts! I found a new love of dying yarn, so I’ve been playing with that a lot. Here are a few of the colorways I’ve dyed up.

The first was my first attempt at kettle dying. It turned out so beautiful, the colors remind me of Easter.

The following are two other attempts I made. These didn’t turn out nearly as well because I didn’t have the water temperature high enough and the colors weren’t being absorbed quickly, causing muddying of the colors. But they aren’t too bad, not as orange as they look in the pictures

This is a soaker I made using the first kettle dye I did. I love how it turned out. Notice how there is no pooling of the colors, that is a huge plus to kettle dying. It is so random and color pooling is minimal. The pattern is a free soaker pattern I found online.

These are some night time shorties that I made from a purchased Belladonna Designs pattern. They are made specifically for night time with a thicker stitch in the crotch, where more absorbency is needed. My daughter wore them last night and they worked perfectly. The yarn is another colorway I dyed, but I didn’t like how it turned out at all. I call it my “dye job gone bad”

The final project is a poncho that I crocheted for my beautiful daughter. The yarn is a cotton linen blend that I received when participating in a “magic yarn ball swap” through a messageboard I’m active on. The pattern was a free one I found online.

And who can resist a picture of a happy girl in her new top?

So there you have it - what I’ve been up to the past couple of weeks Thanks for looking!!

I’m constantly searching for my crochet hooks, so as a part of my quest to organize my craft area, I decided to sew up a crochet hook case.

I cut two pieces of fabric 12″ x 18″, and a third piece of fabric 6″ x 18″. I cut the third piece of fabric on a slight angle along one long side, so accommodate for different lengths of hooks (this will be the pocket). Take the smaller piece, and iron the edges in approximately 1/4″ to finish the pocket.

Place the two larger pieces right side together, and sew around the edges using a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving one side partially unsewn to turn the pieces right side out. Turn it right side out, and pin the pocket to the front of it. Ideally, if the same 1/4″ seam was used for the sewing and ironing, the pieces should fit together perfectly. Also attach ribbon for tying the case when its finished.

When I took the above picture, I had placed the ribbon wrong…you want to have both ribbon pieces on the same side of the case, not one on each side. Topstitch around the case to attach the pocket and for finishing. Then you will want to mark lines for the pockets that hold the hooks. I marked them at 1″ spacing, and then stitched over the chalk lines.

I added snaps to my case, so that the top stays put when folded over and the hooks don’t fall out. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, except that I used a stretchy fabric, which didn’t sew up too nicely, my case isn’t exactly square But that’s fixable with adjusting the tension, and I just didn’t take the time to do that. Otherwise, it does its job and its cute too!

My husband took time last weekend to frame in and add walls around my craft area in the basement, making it a full fledged room.  Yay!  The problem is, my crafts are out of control and my room is reflecting that.  With all the yarn, fabric, threads, felt, scrapbooking supplies…it looks like a craft store exploded in there!

I’m looking for some organizing tips!  I need help getting this under control.  How do you store your scrapbooking supplies?  Your yarn?  Fabric?  Miscellaneous craft supplies?  Beads?
Thank you for your ideas, and I’m sure my husband thanks you too (he’s tired of looking at the clutter in there )

I’ve been wanting to take my sewing to the next level, and start sewing more professional looking items. I’m also going to venture into sewing clothes for myself, my husband and my daughter. Plus, with all the diapers I’ve been sewing lately, I wanted to make that a bit easier too.

So I splurged, and bought myself this:

A new serger!! At first, I wasn’t sure if I really “needed” a serger. Its possible to sew any garment or project without one, you just have to take extra steps to ensure your raw edges don’t fray. I had also heard that the learning curve with a serger can be a steep one, especially when it comes to threading the machine or surging corners and round edges.

However, the one reason I really wanted to get the serger was that I love the look of serged fitted diapers. I think they look really cute, and I had also heard that a serged diaper comes together much faster than a turned and topstitched one.

From diaperkit.com, a comparison of serged and topstitched diapers.

So after lots of debate, I decided to purchase one, and I received it on Valentine’s Day. And I must say, I got so much more than I expected with the machine. You can do decorative edges on your garments, decorative topstitching, and so much more! Plus, I love the fact that when sewing a seam, you sew it and finish the edges at the same time, saving you time. Also, serging goes so much faster than a straight sewing stitch, saving time there as well!

I’ve spent lots of time serging scrap pieces of fabric, learning curves and different methods. I’ve also threaded and rethreaded the machine numerous times, to learn how to do it correctly. This learning time I took was really beneficial, and I’ve already been able to start with projects using my serger!

I serged a fitted diaper for my daughter, and I think it turned out really well for a first attempt!

Of course, the serger didn’t take away all the extra steps you need a sewing machine for, but it sure cut the time to make the diaper in about half for me!

I’m also currently working on a shirt for my husband, and I have purchase a couple of patterns to make my daughter. I also bought a pattern for shirts to make myself, but they are a bit more advanced and I will probably wait until I am more confident with my serger before trying them.

Does anyone else have a serger? Do you think its a good investment? I love mine!!

I’ve been working on wool covers for my daughter to wear with her cloth diapers. Wool has some amazing properties, it can absorb up to 40% of its weight in moisture without feeling wet, and it allows for airflow which helps prevent diaper rashes. Also, it never stinks!

I’ve been trying two different types of wool covers - wraps and soakers. The first one I made was a wrap that I completed using the Tickle Turdle online pattern.

I used the yarn that I had previously dyed and accented it with purple to make it a bit more “girly”. The wrap turned out okay, but I don’t really like the fit of it on Elizabeth. I think I will try to alter the pattern, making the tabs longer and changing the leg holes a bit.

The second type of wool cover that I’ve looked into is a soaker. I haven’t been able to find a pattern for a soaker in crochet that I like, so I decided to make up my own.

It didn’t turn out very well I had done the first body part in the round, and then switched to back and forth to decrease for the legs. This caused the stitches to look different from each other. I messed up when decreasing at some point, and so I ended up with an odd number to bind with an even number (at the top of the legs) which caused it to bind crooked. The legs are different as well. But now I know where I need to improve the pattern, and I will try again!

If anyone has a good link to a crochet soaker to share, I would love to see it

A crocheted coffee cup cozy is a great way to express yourself while doing your small bit to help the environment.

These are super easy to make, and make a great way to use up ends of skeins you may have laying around. To make them, I chained 35 and made sure it fit snugly around the cup (I had an empty cup from my favorite coffee joint to use for sizing), depending on the size you want or the yarn you use, you may need to chain more or less.

From there, I simply did single crochet in the round. About three rounds in, I did a round of repeat increases (2sc in one chain, 2 sc in the next two chains) so that it flared out slightly to fit the cups. Another three rounds of sc in each chain, and then I did a round of decrease (10sc, sc2tog) so that it was tighter around the cup. The rest of the cozy was single crochet and I finished when they were the width I wanted, about two and a half inches. Weave the ends in, and there you have it - a custom reusable coffee cozy.

These can be personalized in so many ways so you can make them to suit your personality, or the seasons, holidays - whatever you like! If you make them out of an acrylic yarn, you can simply throw them in the washer and dryer to clean, making them easy to care for. And they would make a great gift for a coffee lover

I am so excited about this, I just had to post about it right away! This is a hat that I finished on the weekend, I needed a warm hat for when I go walking in the cold, and I love the look of cables. I’ve always been scared of cables though, they look so intricate and hard, and I’ve never tried them. I decided this weekend to give them a go, and I was surprised at how easy they are!

I found a free pattern online, and I followed it as written, except that I made it bigger (I have a big head ) and I did an additional row of SSK at the end of the pattern, to make the hole at the top of the hat minimal. I should have made it a touch longer, as it only covers the very top of my ears, but it does keep my head warm and that was the goal.
There are a few mistakes that I can see, but all in all I’m really happy with how it turned out. And now I’m not scared of cables.