| MiaLa 3 OUTTA 1 WOOL COVERS Make 3 cloth diaper covers out of one old sweater! 1 pair of longies, and 2 wraps! Wool is so breathable, waterproof and recycling old sweaters is an added bonus! Supplies needed: * One wool sweater. Dont use acrylic. Womens small will work for under a year only usually. I always try to buy the biggest, cutest ones there. If it is scratchy, it will be a scratchy cover, dont get it. I love merino ones, lambswool, angora etc.., but alot of the ones I have found that are 100% wool feel soft to the cheek and work well as well. Also stay away from really thick ones as they will be stiff. Buy ones from thrift stores for only a few dollars each or raid closets! * Elastic 1/2, 3/8 or 1" for pants, 3/8 or 1/4 for covers *Sewing machine OR hand sewing abilities (thread and needle) *pattern for cover and favorite pair of elastic waist pants for pants * velcro (hook and loop) for covers only Directions Wash sweater on warm to clean and shrink fibers. Especially thin sweaters will need hot washes (maybe more than one) to get thick enough. As you wash them, they get smaller, so start slow, and wash until about the thickness of sweats. AIR DRY or dry on hot for thin ones. NOTE THAT after you make them, these should be washed on cold to prevent further shrinkage. Lay flat with seams even and arms spread. Ill do the pants first since they are the super easiest! BUM SWEATER PANTS You can follow the directions on the link from our main patterns page (with pics)or just follow my steps here: 1. Cut Arms off strait across at the biggest part 2. About halfway up, on the SEAM SIDE of arm, cut open the seam. You can do this by just cutting in about 1/4" then up toward the shoulder cutting out all of the seam. You can use a pair of well fitting elastic waist pants to act as your guide here, too. Just fold them in half and lay them on your sleeve to cut around. Ankles will be made by the wrists and the waist will be the biggest part. You will want to ADD 1" above your pant pattern to allow for a 1" fold down to make the elastic casing. 3. Do this to both arms. 4. With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER of both your pieces, Stitch your pieces together by sewing the crotch seam (the big U) matching center seam and backtaking at each end. You can do this by machine or hand. 5. Fold down 1 " at the top to the inside. (1 1/4 if you are using 1" elastic) and stitch close to edge. Leave a small 1" hole to thread your elastic. 6. Cut elastic to exact measurement of babes waist. Thread with a safety pin through the casing and then sew both ends together (outside of pants) overlapping about 1/2", making sure it lays flat and is not twisted. Adjust gathers, pulling elastic into casing and sew your opening closed. Finished! They can be easily folded up at the ankles and grown into. Diaper Covers Use your cover pattern with seam allowances added to where the elastic will go (legs and back waist) *NEW ONE LAYER PATTERN COMING SOON* to trace the cover onto the body of the sweater. Back (long edge) should be even with the bottom waist of the sweater. Cut through both layers making your 2 covers. Fold seam allowances in on legs and back of each sweater making casings for elastic. Stitch close to edge. Thread elastic through casing tacking on each end. Elastics should be cut 6-8" long (S-L) for legs and about 5 " for the back. Sew a strip of loop velcro across the front and 2 hook tabs on the wings and voila! LANOLIZE YOUR COVERS BY ADDING A DIMES WORTH OF LEFTOVER LANSINOH ( bf CREAM) TO A LITTLE HOT WATER TO DISSOLVE AND HAND WASH FOR ADDED SOFTNESS/WATERPROOFING. any questions .... miala.net@gmail.com HOME |