Upcycled T shirts

My parents recently had a massive clear out from which I gained about 4 bin liners full of old t shirts (my dads a bit of a hoarder!) My sister has been helping to add to the collection, as well as my other half and as much as I've been trying to make a dent in my collection, it just seems to grow!

In an earlier post I posted a picture of a baby vest I made for my sisters work mate out of one of their work t shirts, the tutorial is fantastic http://www.youcanmakethis.com/products/featured-products/onesie-pattern.htm and although I usually manage to sniff out a free pattern for most things, for $6.50 this tutorial was definitely worth the money.

So here is a few of the before and after shots.

Forgot the before shot here!!    

Using a t shirt to makes these makes life a bit easier as you can use the seams that are already there which makes a nicer finish. T shirt material also doesn't fray which makes it a lot easier to work with.

I had a few shirts which wouldn't really work as vests so I made some shorts instead! (Just in case we actually get any nice weather this summer!!!)

                                         

The pockets were even the perfect size! I was aiming for 0-3 months size but I always seem to make things bigger if not using a pattern, its hard to get measurements right without a little mannequin to get measurements from!!!

Oscarsaurus

Some may say i'm getting a little ahead of myself, but halloween is only 4 months away and my little man (who STILL hasn't made an appearance and is 3 days late) is gonna need an awesome costume, and I can imagine I'm not going to get a lot of sewing done in the early days so I thought this would be fun to do!
I love dinosaurs and since seeing an awesome tutorial for making a dinosaur hoody on pinterest I knew I had to try it! So when I was in town the other day and popped into peacocks and this was in the sale i knew it was a sign!

Mike wasn't too hot on the neon green haha.

So I got some red fleece fabric and cut out some diamonds for the spikes using a template so they're the same size

Next your gonna sew them down the onsie through the centre

Then pull the 2 triangles together and sew around the edges

I made them all the same size, but you could have different sizes, big, small, different colours, anything you want! Making the spikes this way avoids cutting down the back of the top (which I've seen in some tutorials) and also makes the spikes stick up and not flop over.

Sew on as many spikes as you want down the back, and on the hood too! 

Now for the tail.

I used the tutorial from this fantastic blog
http://www.running-w-scissors.com/2011/03/dinosaur-tails.html
I halved all the measurements and it was the perfect size for the onesie I used (3-6 months) I left off the straps as I was attaching it to the onesie.

I decided to make the tail removable as I wasn't sure how well it would go through the wash. I also thought it was a good idea as its quite a chunky tail and would get in the way if he were to sleep in it.
I used poppers, you could also use velcro or just sew it on.

Next was the front which is pretty self explanatory, I made a template to ensure both sides were the same size.

And here it is finished! Now all I need is the lil guy to put in it!

Oh, and no outfit is complete without matching booties now is it?

Teenie Tiny Toms

Theres definitely room for improvement here, but not bad for a first attempt. I love the personalised touch!!!

I got the tutorial and pattern from this fantastic blog right here
http://www.homemadetoast.com/

The tutorials free but the pattern is a few pounds, or there is a free pattern but it doesn't give you sizes, you just work them out for yourself! You can buy the little tags from her etsy shop (although I don't think she posts to the UK) but they were really easy to make with ribbon and transfer paper.
These are size 0-3 months so were very fiddly! I found a gorgeous birdy fat quarter in a little craft shop in Totnes the other day so I have a feeling some little birdy shoes are next on the agenda!
All I need now is the little feet to go in them!!!!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Here they are! Birdy toms! I love this fabric so much I'm gutted I only got a FQ! These ones went a bit smoother than the last ones. I also purchased some sherpa fleece fabric to line them with so they're nice and comfy on lil O's feet!!

Gonna make a few more pairs, just to practice really, probably do some bigger sizes so he has some to grow into! 

Ablutions!

Now if you knew me when I was little, you'd understand why I was in my element with this next project! You know all those ghastly bath sets you'd get for christmas and birthdays? Not just the one but about 6 of them? Well i'd spend hours over the bathroom sink mixing these things up and creating what was knows to my parents as my 'ablutions'. For weeks after these hideous coloured liquids with added glitter or petals would be lined up along the side of the bath no one daring to touch them (except my dad, he's not scared of anything!) for fear of what they might mutate into after.
Eventually my mum would have a clean up and all my hard work was washed down the sink. Literally. Of course this just freed up the bottles for more ablutions! (if I could dig them out the bathroom bin quick enough!)
I also enjoyed eating bubble bath... but thats a story for another day!
So hoping these skills wernt lost along with being able to climb a tree without breaking anything or eating a family pack of oreos in less than 2 minutes, I decided to have a go at making my own baby bath products. Now, call me a hippy but I don't believe all the chemicals they stick in baby stuff is really necessary. Not even just baby products, any bath products! I've been using soaps, deodorants and moisturisers free from all that rubbish for years so why would I suddenly start sticking it on my babies delicate skin?! Now I'm not going to try and scare you with what these chemicals are and do, these plenty of places on the internet you can find that if your interested but its definitely worth thinking about this. Nicotine patches. Think about how they work, one little patch and so much crap absorbed into your body from it. Enough to stop one of the strongest cravings there are. Makes you think doesn't it?
I don't let it rule my life, I still use shop bought washing powder (granted it is ecover so I am trying) when I know I could quite easily make my own or use soap nuts or something much more natural, I also have lots of cleaning chemicals under the sink (again amongst the 'more natural' variety) that I wouldn't dream of looking at the ingredients list for, when I know full well a bit of vinegar would do the job just as well.
Sorry, I'm rambling, I didn't write this post to start preaching but sometimes I just can't help myself!
Lets have some pictures!

So here are the baby products i've made so far, with a few more ideas let to come.
We have a body wash / shampoo, baby powder, nappy wipe spray and bottom cream.
I needed to put labels on so Mike (my better half) wouldn't get confused with whats what and end up whipping out the johnsons! At first I was just gonna do boring sticky labels but thought what the heck, i'll go all out and made some simple ones on print shop.

 These are the labels on the back which are the 'ingredients' labels. I made these so when I need to make some more I can remember what went in them and how much will fill each container.
I had a bit of a job finding a container I was happy with for each, especially for the baby powder but in the end I just used herb jars which do the job fine! I put the wash / shampoo in a foam dispenser (was rather expensive from amazon) as the soap isn't very 'soapy' but using the dispenser is brilliant! Plus makes it go further.



Here a close up of the label. I called it 'Little OM' as this is little mans initials as well as the sacred hindu symbol (also spelt OHM) The picture was from google so I have no rights to it, but I'm not planning on selling this stuff so its not going to hurt!






Recipes -
Baby wash and shampoo
1 1/2 cups castile soap (I used the baby mild one which has no scent)
4 1/2 cups water
10 drops lavender oil
5 drops tea tree oil

Any essential oil can be used (would be worth looking up those that are baby safe though)
but I picked these for their antibacterial benefits but any other or none at all would work too.
This is not tear free so careful of getting it in babies eyes.
This was enough to fill the big blue bottle but I can't remember how much that holds.

Baby wipe solution
1 tbsp olive oil (could also use almond oil)
1 tbsp castile soap
2 cups of water
2 drops lavender oil
4 drops tea tree oil

This is to spray onto cloth wipes to be used at nappy changes. It could also be poured over them in a container if you prefer to do it that way. Again any or no oils can be used but any antibacterial oil will help with nappy rash.
As far as I'm aware this is safe for cloth nappies.
This made roughly 350ml

Bottom balm
1/2 oz beeswax
3 1/2 oz coconut oil
2 drops tea tree oil
5 drops lavender oil

To make this melt the wax in a double boiler then melt the coconut oil in with it. Once melted together completely, allow to cool a little and add oils.

Apparently this is good stuff to put on cuts and scrapes as well!

Baby powder
200g Arrowroot powder
30 drops lavender oil

This can also be made with cornflour but apparently it feeds yeast infections so I just stuck with arrowroot.

As you can see, you don't need loads of different ingredients for everything, most use the same, especially if you use the same essential oils. That way its not all that expensive and quick and easy to put together. Plus it doesn't need to be only for baby, you can use some of them too!
There are loads of different recipes for natural baby products on pinterest (or anywhere on the internet I'm sure!) just pick the one you like best and give it a go!
I'm going to have a go at making my own vapo rub next!

Toys!

So although we've got enough baby stuff for lil O plus two more if they decided to pop out (sometimes i wonder with how big I've got!) I realised we didn't really have any baby toys for him! Babies are pretty easily amused, shapes, faces, colours anything hanging within view will do the trick so I thought id see what I could come up with. Back to pinterest!!!

Personalised baby blocks!! These are real easy and you can have so much fun with different fabrics and filling each one with something new for baby to discover! Great for using up scrap fabric as you can make them whatever size you like and have as many different fabrics as you like! There are loads of tutorials but I used this youtube video.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2LTzG_eQro
Will definitely be whipping up some of these for baby shower gifts when my friends start popping them out!

Here are a few others I tried, a little black and white pram book (babies love black and white images apparently!) These I made out of felt and just made patterns and put some crinkly stuff in the middle. They aren't that neat but I'm sure that won't make a difference to lil man!
I love ring stackers, but the plastic ones don't impress me so I thought id make my own.
I couldn't find a free pattern so I bought this one
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62803900/ring-stacker-soft-toy-immediate-download?ref=sr_gallery_7&ga_search_query=ring+stacker&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_search_type=all another great one for baby shower gifts or even birthday / christmas presents!

I LOVE campervans, so unfortunately Lil O has no choice but to love them too! I'm proud of these cos I made them all on my own! For the purple one I took the idea of the blocks, made each side resemble a camper then added the pom poms for wheels after. Theres quite a lot of detail gone into this one which is hard to see in the picture but I wanted it to look as real as possible. The number plate has his name on and I used buttons for the lights. I wasn't sure about the whole buttons on a baby toy but i thought it would be good for texture so I sewed them on REALLY well with embroidery thread and even I can't rip them off! The surf board can be removed as it is peppered on.
The green one is a taggie blanket type thing with crinkly stuff inside made to the same design.

This one isn't really a toy, but I can think of loads of great uses for them. I only made a little one as a trial before I cut up loads of material but even this took a while so haven't got round to a bigger one yet. Its meant to be a 'bubble quilt' but I want to make a few more of the same size in different colours and use them to pad the wall in his little play corner. Could also be used as a play mat, cot bumper or as this one currently is, a sofa cushion!


Thats all I got time for now, I'm off to the range to pick up supplies for my next project! Exciting!!

Clothes for cloth bums

fd So making a few cloth nappies and covers is all well and good, but what are those bulky cloth bums gonna fit into? We have quite a wide range of different nappies to try out once lil O makes an appearance and some of the all in one type look as if they will fit under normal clothes, maybe with the help of a vest extender (something i intended to make but ended up buying cos I couldn't for the life of me find the right size snaps!!!)
But a terry style with a fleece cover? How the heck is that gonna fit under a baby grow?! So i thought better to be safe and whip up some clothes I know his lil fluff bums gonna fit into!
I have dabbled in baby vests and shorty onsies but i'll be honest, they take so long and I almost always end up sewing a sleeve on inside out! Here are a few i've tried

This was my first attempt and I used this pattern http://www.feathersflights.com/2012/04/baby-shortall-from-adult-t-shirt.html
It turned out ok, especially for a first attempt but up close you can see the flaws. Also on this site its only the 1 size you can make which I think she says is 6 months but mine came out more a 12 month size some how!!

 This was from the same pattern and again, turned out ok (although one of the sleeves is on inside out) both these are made from adult t shirts.
So hopefully these will accommodate a cloth bum quite nicely as they're loose.









This is the latest one I made as requested by my sister. One of her work colleagues is pregnant so she asked me to turn one of their work shirts into a vest. I ended up buying a pattern for this one as I wanted it to be good as it was a present.
http://www.youcanmakethis.com/products/featured-products/onesie-pattern.htm
So i bought this pattern and I'm so glad I did! not only was it easy to follow and has patterns for 9 different sizes, it also has a second pattern for each size for a 'comfy / baggy' type fit which I'm sure will be perfect for cloth nappies! Oh and 3 different types of sleeve!! For just over £4 for all that you can't go wrong!! Im also sure this would make the perfect t shirt pattern, just cut it off before the leg holes!
This one took me the best part of 4 hours so I haven't rushed to make another yet but I have quite a few old t shirts that will make excellent vests so when I can handle sitting for that long I will definitely give it another go!




So next I needed something to go over the vests, some big bum trousers!
I love making baby trousers cos they're quick and easy. You can either use a pattern, or just use a pair of trousers you already have and add a seam allowance.
These were a few I whipped up -

These are harem style so nice big baggy crotches, perfect for cloth bums and really comfy too! The shorts I made using a pair I had already as a template.









http://www.theribbonretreat.com/blog/pajama-pants-tutorial.html
http://www.made-by-rae.com/2010/08/big-butt-baby-pants-sewing-pattern/
http://thealisonshow.com/2013/05/tiny-harem-pants-sewing-pattern.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fAyx-_byh0

All these are pretty helpful sites but they're such an easy thing to make once you try that you'll probably end up making your own pattern and play around with it.

So there you have it! Clothes to fit over cloth bums! There are specialist shops you can buy cloth nappy clothes from, but they are VERY expensive! This is a much easier way of getting round it and then you can make the exact style you want too! And don't forget fleece longies are also perfect to put on top of a cloth nappy!
Some of the nappies we have are so pretty it seems a bit of a shame to cover them all the time, so another good idea is leggings made from knee socks!

http://www.craftquickies.com/lucky-legs-how-to-make-baby-leg-warmers/

I found it hard to find knee socks that wern't that girly (I suppose men don't really wear knee socks?!) but in the end found some and made some leg warmers, then went and lost one of them! So i found some more for only £1 a pair (black and boring but will do the job) so will make some more soon.

Hope this helped, if you'd like any help, give me a shout!

All about bums

So as I mentioned before since being on maternity leave I've become a little sew-happy! So I thought i'd share some of the things i've been making and where to find the patterns / tutorial in case you feel inspired!
As we've decided to use cloth nappies a lot of the things I've made revolve around the booty as a lot of it is pretty expensive! Of course we will save loads in the long run, not to mention doing our bit for the planet but as I was in desperate need of a hobby, it just went hand in hand!!
So Fleece nappy covers were my first goal as I had a lot of fleece knocking around and they just look so much more comfy than plastic pants!
I found a pattern on pinterest (my new bible) if fact, theres loads of patterns for these and awesome tutorials, and they're all pretty much the same, but I love this one -

http://katrinassqs.blogspot.co.uk/

And this is what I ended up with!!

I've made a few different sizes to try on our little man but didn't want to go too mad before I could test them out just in case they needed a bit of adjusting! 

The batman ones are newborn size and I have a horrible suspicion he's going to be too big to ever wear them :( 

I wanted to make the actual nappies as well for a long time but there is a million and 1 different tutorials for them and every time i tried to pick one I ended up with a headache.

http://prefold2fitted.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/online-free-downloads.html

This is a fantastic site for patterns so I just took the plunge and went for 1 of them that was a little different from the rest.

I decided on the 'sized fold-ins' because every things built in but still easy to dry, i think they're also known as butterfly nappies or something as they have butterfly type wings. 

So I made a couple, again not wanting to waste material if they need adjusting or just don't work!!

The white one is a small and the blue xs (again, i hope we get to use it :( )
There was no tutorial so I just had a good look at a similar nappy I had already bought, traced the pattern twice on to a terry towel, sewed them together and put the elastic where it indicated on the pattern. Poppers applied and voila! I used swimming elastic as recommended on many other tutorials as its stronger, this was only a few pounds on ebay.


Next up was a nice easy one. Cloth wipes!! If your going to use cloth nappies, it seems silly not to use cloth wipes too, just chuck them in with the dirty nappies, easy.
I didn't really bother with a pattern for these they were so easy, i just picked a size (7 inches) cut up some terry towel and flannel blankets and sewed them together!
I also made some 5 inch ones i thought would be good just for cleaning pee's or out and about.

Here are the wipes as well as some burp cloths and peepee teepee's all made in a similar way with flannel and terry towel.
I'd never heard of a peepee teepee until I stumbled upon then on ebay but they make a lot of sense and were a great way to use up scraps left over from the wipes!!

I'm going to make some wipe solution soon too as well as my own baby wash, shampoo and talc as i don't believe babies need the masses of chemicals they put in the ones they sell.
Ive found some excellent recipes on pinterest so I will keep you posted with those too!!

So thats my 'all about bums' crafts so far! If you fancy having a go yourself and need some help, feel free to give me a shout!!