4.30.2010

My first of many Longies!!

These projects could've easily appeared in my previous post about how productive I've been lately. However, these 2 projects have been a LONG time coming; so, I felt they deserved their own post. I've been brainstorming them for more than a year.  No joke. Before he was born I researched how to make these, but had never really done much sewing where the pieces had to *fit.*  In other words..."I don't DO clothing!" I made munchkin some pants for his Halloween pumpkin costume, but it was too cold for him to wear it, and so they're buried in a bag somewhere and he never wore them outside the house. But the pants below thrill me to see them on his little bum!!  And, I didn't have the courage to cut up a wool sweater till now. 




They're called "longies." If you're not familiar with them, they are wool pants which have been felted (shrunk so they can be easily washed in the washer) and can be lanolized to repell moisture if the diaper leaks at night. They're mostly worn on cloth diapered babies due to their anti-bactierial, and water-repelling properties. Short versions are called soakers. Because wool has the property of absorbing up to 30% its weight, if the baby wore fitted diapers they can us soakers as diaper covers. On non-cloth diapered babies they're worn because they're static-resistant, super soft, largely stain resistant, and do not need washed after every wear. The longies I made (below) are from thrifted wool sweaters nonetheless.  "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" right!?




They are just the right warmth for nighttime PJs, even in summer!


2 comments:

  1. Those are great, and I love the recycling aspect!

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  2. Thanks so very much! Such a great project for soft cashmeres too! My son LOVES them!

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