Longies Links

I don't really use a pattern for making Munchkin's pants, but if you'd like to make your own, here are the best, free tutorials I've found online to pass along to you.  Let me know if you make a pair -- I'd love to see pics!

Sleeve Longies: using the sleeve you kip 2 steps.  Sewing the outside seams, and adding a cuff to the ankle.)

Sleeve Longies  Photo Tutorial, using a simple elastic waistband

GreenKitchen's Phtoto Tutorial (in detail), using an elastic waistband

MakeBabyStuff's Photo Tutorial, using the sweater's own ribbing to create waistband (this is basically the method I used for Munchkin's longies HERE and the blue pair HERE)
Sewing Dork's Photo Tutorial, shows how to also work with a sweater that has sleeves that are too short.

Wool Applique: 

HappyCrazyLife's: Photo Tuturial on cotton, but can be used for appliquéing onto wool  (this is basically the method I used on the lollipop longies HERE)

FabricObsession's: Photo Tutorial on cotton.  Similar to first tutorial, but when you machine appliqué onto WOOL however, or any stretchy material, you want to use a stabilizer/interfacing underneath the wool so that it doesn't shift.

Waistband: 

Meg's Easy Waistband: Awesome Tutorial of the simplest waistband ever!  It cuts out 2 steps: having to sew a casing first, and threading the elastic (annoying).  Plus, it prevents the elastic band (if you use a wider width elastic) from rolling/twisting over time!!  

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!

My Growing Diaper Stash

Most of you "out there" know I'm planning on cloth diapering and after going to a local "cloth diapering swap" a while back, my stash is growing!  I also made some homemade prefold diapers out of T-Shirt material!   Tutorial posted here!

So now I have a few different brands of "All in One" (AIO)  type or All-in-2" (AI2) type diapers from my Amazon.com registry that are One-size-fits-all (OSFA) style diapers that will work for baby from infancy to toddlerhood.  They'll be especially useful (hopefully) for easy nighttime changes and babysitter changes as well!  

Some of the brands are: 

1. "Happy Heiny's"

2. "BumGenius 3.0"

3. "Mommy's Touch"

4. "Goodmama" organic/bamboo velour (yellow one demo-ed below)

This one is the Goodmama brand.  

It seems like it has an overwhelming amount of snaps, but it's really pretty straigtforward. 

What's SO cool about this brand, is that it coverts VERY simply from 

the roomy TODDLER size shown here:

On it's largest toddler setting

To this TINY infant size!!

This pic show how it happens so easily...the snaps in the front fold down & out 

to shorten the length of the diaper!!   

How creative!  Necessity IS the mother of invention, 

and many times those inventions come through MOTHERS :) 

Plus, I also have a couple white diaper covers by Green Earth (velcro closure kind) to use with the prefold diapers I'm sewing!  And one of the women I met at the diaper swap knows how to make the snap kind (shown in blue below) so I'll be ordering some of those from her soon in various colors as well!   Thanks for looking!  I'll add to this post as I add to baby's stash!

Update: I ended up HATING the ever popular Goodmamas, FYI...

DIY T-Shirt Prefolds!!

So I've decided to use cloth diapers. A few websites online have tutorials on making prefold diapers out of used T-shirts!! So off to my trusty Goodwill I went and found some cotton T-shirts and about 6 hours later --

Voila, I had 3 "regular" size diapers (12"x16")


Here's the basic method I used for this regular sized diaper with a thickness of 4 x 8 x 4
(meaning 4 layers on the left side, 8 in the center, and 4 on the right side)

Finished measurements of about 12" X 16" and I used a standard center width of 5 inches.

(If your baby has chunky legs, you can make the center 4 inches instead.)

For two diapers you need:

1 Men's Large T-Shirt (100% cotton), in the color you want to see on the outside of the diapers

2 Men's Large T-Shirt (100% cotton), in any junk color (even stained, as this "filler" is unseen)

1. Cut the face & back rectangles, as shown here:

Lay a Men's Large T-Shirt flat. Fold bottom up to collar and cut a

16"W X 12" H rectangle, through the 4 layers using a rotary cutting tool.

2. Cut the filler rectangles, as shown here:

Lay the "junk" T-shirts flat, fold it only to where you can get the bottom cut "on the fold"
5"H x 16" W rectangle, through 4 layers near the bottom.

Before you cut: be sure you can still get your 12"x16" rectangle from above these 4"-5" cuts!!

From the same T-shirt, without folding it again cut a:

12" x 16" rectangle, through the 2 layers, as shown.

3. Layer all pieces, with edges lining up exactly.
In the top picture, I separated them and numbered them so you can see all 8 pieces,
but the 2nd picture shows them ALL layered, with edges trimmed with the rotary cutter.

4. Pin along the center portions borders,

with point of pin facing away from you for easy removal as you sew.

5. Also, pin the corners, with point of the pin facing toward the outer edge.

*** Before sewing ***

TEST a scrap sleeve of fabric (8 layers thick) to get the tension right.

To sew, you can use a matching or contrasting thread!

6. Sew along the center panel's pin line, as shown here.

To sew center panels securely, use a zig zag stitch (set to at least a 4.5 width).

This is so that you're sure to "catch" all the layers of fabric in the stitch even if they've shifted.)

Remove pins as you go. Trim threads.

7. Sew outside edges using a serger OR

a decorative zig zag stitch along all borders.

(Backstitch at the corners to reinforce them.)

Trim threads and you're done!

This pic shows how close to trim (you'll see I trimmed halfway up--to the scissor point.)

And beyond the scissors point is not yet trimmed

BE VERY CAREFUL not to cut into the threads!!

Here's a pic showing that top layer of fabric may "bunch up" while you sew.  

To resolve this, simply lift the presser foot up while the needles still in the fabric.  

Smooth the fabric a bit and lower the presser foot and continue sewing.

IF YOU MAKE THESE, please send me pics!!


Update: I found these WAY too thick, so they didn't dry as quickly as all the other I have.