Sewing Week.......Done!

or maybe I should say "done enough!" haha! I actually have a few more things I need to finish up. I need to sew up some more wash cloths for sure. I'm also contemplating sewing up more PJs for Ethan since that is what I bought the fabric for or just hanging onto it to make some for Cole next fall. Ethan has enough now anyway so the later is sounding better. The last thing I want to do is make some mama cloth, but really just panty liners for now. I don't feel adventurous enough to make post partum cloth either ;-)



So...here's all my goodies. I will link to the tutorials I used. I also have 2 tutorials I will be posting myself sometime this week on how to make a wet bag and how to convert a regular bra into a nursing bra. My methods were really different than others I saw on the internet so I want to share my own tutorials with you on these.

First, the fitted cloth diapers! I have tried several free patterns on the internet and couldn't find any that I really liked and seemed true-to-size. I ran across this pattern on BrambleStitches a few months back and printed it out. She used this pattern to make pockets, but I decided to make fitteds. I'm not overly excited about using fitteds and covers, but for the newborn stage they will work just fine. I also used ALL scrap material to sew up these diapers so I didn't spend any money to make these. I did purchase a yard of PUL at JoAnns back in the fall, but there have been many reports of the PUL colors delaminating on Diaper Swappers so I was afraid to make any more pockets from it. (By the way, it has been reported that there hasn't been any issues for the white PUL for sure) Remember, I'm pretty cheap when it comes to cloth diapering so I wasn't about to buy PUL online either when I had scraps I could make fitteds from.

I did some research online to see how many layers a fitted typically has and set to work. I made a couple of newborn sized fitteds first. The first two are usable but they are much thicker. These are my least favorite because of how I put layers together. It made it kind of bulky to sew with as well as difficult to get the standard size snaps to go all the way through.  I used my KamSnap pliers, but don't let this deter you if you don't have pliers. Some women say that flannel is very snappi friendly.

Outside & Lining Layer: Cotton Flannel
Inside: 4 layers of old t-shirts

Snap in Soaker: 2 layers old t-shirts with top layer cotton velvet

Outside & Lining Layer: Cotton Print
Inside: 4 layers of old t-shirts

Snap in Soaker: 2 layers old t-shirts with top layer cotton velvet


After I sewed up these two fitteds I realized I needed to start using less full layers for the inside and have sewn in soakers. I also decided not to be cheap with my cotton velvet scraps and go ahead and use them at the full top lining fabric ;-) I don't recommend cotton velvet  for cloth diapers, it's not a durable long lasting fabric. I was just using up scraps I had (I had received a large cut from my mom) so I wasn't out any money making these diapers.

Since the diapers were fitting true-to-size I started making a newborn and small sized diapers with each cutting. Making 2 at a time was faster.

Flannel outer
Cotton Velvet Lining
One full layer inner from old t-shirt
3 layers sewn in soaker from old t-shirt
3 layer snap in soaker

Newborn has umbilical snap down

Inner Cotton Velvet
3 layer snap in soaker (2 layers old tshirts and top layer cotton velvet)

Flannel outer
Cotton Velvet Lining
One full layer inner from old t-shirt
3 layers sewn in soaker from old t-shirt
3 layer snap in soaker

Flannel outer
Cotton Velvet Lining
One full layer inner from old t-shirt
3 layers sewn in soaker from old t-shirt
3 layer snap in soaker

Cotton Print outer
Cotton Velvet Lining
One full layer inner from old t-shirt
4 layers sewn in soaker from old t-shirt
3 layer snap in soaker

Inner Cotton Velvet
3 layer snap in soaker (2 layers old tshirts and top layer cotton velvet)

Flannel outer
Anti-Pill Fleece Lining (oops, ran out of cotton velvet! I bought one yard of fleece since it was on sale at JoAnns plus I had an extra 20% coupon to use. I need some fleece for other projects anyway!)
One full layer inner from old t-shirt
4 layers sewn in soaker from old t-shirt
3 layer snap in soaker

Newborn has umbilical snap down

Inner Anti-Pill Fleece
3 layer snap in soaker (2 layers old tshirts and top layer anti-pill fleece)

 Ok, I did buy 1/2 of this cute Easter print because I really wanted him to have an Easter diaper :-P It was only $1.50 and of course I only used a tiny bit of it to make this one diaper. I didn't realize it had all the pink and purple in it until after I had the fabric cut! All I saw when I picked it out that is was bright green and THAT is boyish right?! haha!

Easter cotton print outer
Anti-pill fleece lining with 3 layers of old t-shirt sewn in soaker.

3 layer snap in soaker (2 layer old t-shirt, top layer anti-pill fleece.

umbilical cord snap down.

3 layer snap in soaker (2 layer old t-shirt, top layer anti-pill fleece.


After the diapers I converted 2 bras into nursing bras. I bought a 2 pack of bras at Big Lots for $8. Believe it or not, they are more comfortable than my purchased more expensive nursing bras! I had all the materials to convert the bras so it made it $4 each! I will be posting a tutorial this week on how to do it with snaps, but don't despair, I will give you links to other products that you can do this without snap pliers!

Here's a photo of one

My new bras aren't lined so I whipped up some of these contoured nursing pads. And I do mean 'whip up', they were really fast to make. I only sewed up 4 pair because I wasn't sure if I would like the materials I used. Since they were fast to make I can always make new ones after Cole is born with different materials. The bottom layer (the one that is touching the bra) is the anti-pill fleece. It will make it kind of 'waterproof' but also will keep it in place in my bra. The middle layer is scrap flannel and the top layer is cotton velvet.

I saw this cute way of embellishing a kimono tee. I had 4 white ones from Ethan so I spent $1 on a package of ric-rac to dress them up. I had 2 spare buttons for one shirt. I just need to find more for the others.

Last, but certainly not least I made a wet bag. I needed a larger one to keep in the diaper bag since the one I have only holds 1 to 2 diapers. I have never sewn a zipper and I found it pretty simple. Most tutorials I found online were kind of confusing so I just did my own thing. I typically do my 'own thing' when it comes to sewing anyway. I'll have a tutorial up this week as well. I used all scrap material (even the zipper) and made it into approx 12x12 finished size. I figured the lime green PUL was safe to use for a wet bag since it's not getting washed as often.

That's it! Can you believe it, I'm still in the mood to sew?! I'm trying to think of other things that I need or want to make. I must be crazy....