BrambleStitches

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Homemaking

Kerri had some very good questions in the comments, so I’ll reply to them here so nobody misses the answers.

Q: The inserts that you have pictured in the previous post…did you make those as well? And if you did or even if you didn’t what type of material are they? Do you need to use more than at a time? They seem very thin.

I did make the inserts. They are 100% microfiber poly, and they are the very best inserts you will ever use. I will talk about these more in a later post when I get around to making the rest of them. The great thing about using the single layers is you can stack as many as you need, depending on your baby. For a newborn, one is usually enough. For a toddler, you can fold three together.

Q: I have prefolds at the moment. Would they fit into your diapers?

Prefolds would not fit into these diapers, but I have been known to cut up prefolds, serge the edges, and turn them into soakers that way.

Q: Also does the FOE wick moisture to the outside? What is your experience with diapers leaking? Do your diapers hug the legs to prevent spills? I see that they are a bit gathered, but is that enough elastic to make them leak proof?

I don’t have much problem with the FOE wicking. Keep in mind most of the moisture is being absorbed by the insert which is not touching the FOE at all. Rarely is there much transference. The FOE is comfortably snug around the legs, across the back, and across the tummy, and this prevents most leaks. I find them significantly more leak-free than disposables.

Q: You have two rows of snaps on the diapers, but only one row of snaps on the tabs. How do you use the snaps?

I will admit that this is still somewhat of an experiment at this point, but my hope is that the two rows on the front will make the rise a bit more adjustable for the newborn size. Snapping on the bottom row will make the diapers a little shorter, and the top row will make them longer. Babies grow so fast at this age that it is hard to make a diaper to fit them well for a long time, so I’m trying to get as much use as possible out of these.

Cloth Diapers

(Picture is from July 2008)

I found an interesting cloth diaper cost calculator the other day, and I thought I’d share it.

There are arguments both for and against cloth diapering as an economical alternative to disposables. Depending on your utility costs and the amount you spend to get into cloth diapering (for example making them yourself out of recycled materials or buying boutique-style diapers), your mileage may vary, but I’ve found that for us, cloth diapers are overwhelmingly cheaper.

Now I’ve never bought a cloth diaper. I’ve made lots of them. Some out of new material purchased especially to make them, some out of stash and thrift-store fabric, and some out of reclaimed materials (my brothers’ old t-shirts and a queen flannel sheet set became some of Olga’s first diapers). I’ve also been given a few diapers. The diapers I’m making now, with the PUL outside and Power Dry lining are the most expensive diapers I’ve ever made, and as you can see in my last post, they cost me less than $5 each. All in all, I doubt I’ve spent over $300 on diapers in almost six years.

A quick search online led me to several retailers selling big economy boxes of disposable diapers. The Huggies at Costco are $49.99 for 258 size 2 diapers (about 26 days worth). The same diapers at Diapers.com are $39.99 for 228 (about 23 days worth). This is way cheaper than what they cost at either of my local markets, but lets give these prices the benefit of the doubt. Six months of disposables (we’ll estimate that your baby is using 10 diapers a day) is going to cost you roughly $327. And that’s just the first six months, folks.

Wait. What? Over at the Wazoodle calculator, I’ve just topped $200 for the same amount of time, when I punch in the cost of the new diapers I’m making. If I were using the same diapers Gavin and Olga used (and I would be, but I gave them away) the cost would be closer to $95 for the first six months.

Cloth makes sense to me.

For more economical cloth diapering, check out these two sites. This is where my cloth diaper adventure began, and I’m sure I wouldn’t have progressed so far without them.

Frugal Diaper Sewing

Sew Your Own Diapers

Cloth Diapers

I made a lot of progress on baby Dango’s new diapers, and I would have done even better had I not run out of fold-over elastic (FOE). I also am going to run out of snap caps before I finish, so I put in orders for both the other day. I hope to have these all wrapped up next week.

Look at these little size label snap caps I have! I love these. I just use one per diaper. I have NB, S, M, and L. Since I started using FOE on diapers, I haven’t looked back. I love the tidy finish, and it makes for a very soft edge against the baby. It is applied using the longest, widest zig-zag setting on the machine, or if you have it, the three step zig-zag.

I tried to come up with a cost breakdown for these diapers, and I think I’ve gotten it fairly accurate. These are newborn size diapers, so larger sizes will be more expensive, but you’ll get the idea.

Per dozen newborn diapers

3 yards PUL @ $6.90/yard = $20.70
3 yards Power Dry @ $3.20/yard = $9.60
12 yards FOE @ $0.65/yard = $7.80
240 snap sockets, 48 snap studs, and 288 snap caps @ $10/1000 pieces

Cost of having supplies shipped to me = approx. $10.67 (I usually make large orders, so this is a proportional estimate)

Total = $54.50, or about $4.54 for each newborn diaper.

Using this same sort of formula, I estimate that the large diapers will cost me about $6.40 each.

And now for my supply sources:

I get my PUL wherever I can get it cheap, which varies. Right now the best price I see is at Wazoodle on their 10-yard bolts of Fabrite brand PUL (10 yards for $69 + $15 shipping).

I get Power Dry from Mill Direct Textiles (fomerly Malden Mills Store). I almost always check out their selection of full bolts and seconds, where you can score some excellent deals. They don’t always have great colors available, but check frequently and you’ll find what you’re looking for. Keep in mind that they are producing fabric primarily for the wholesale clothing market, so they are likely to have the same colors you’re seeing in the high-end sportswear catalogs. Last time I checked they had a few 12-yard bolts of Power Dry. They have flat rate shipping of $8.95 for up to 75 yards.

I tried a new supplier for FOE this time, because everyone else seemed to be out of what I wanted. I went with FOE your diaper this time, a small Canadian company. They have the best prices and greatest selection of FOE I’ve ever seen, so I’m hoping I’ll be happy with their customer service, too.

For snaps, I always order from The Snap Store. I’ve always been happy with them. Specifically, I’m using size 20 polyacetal resin snaps. You’ll need a snap press and set of setting dies for these snaps. I have this press, also from The Snap Store.

Cloth Diapers Dango, diapers, FOE, PUL

I may have mentioned this bread in passing before. I may have even posted the recipe before, but I can’t remember. This particular recipe is a new addition in our house, but it is definitely here to stay.

Honey Molasses Wheat Bread (makes 3-4 loaves)

4.5 tsp. yeast (or 2 envelopes)
4 cups warm water
.5 cup butter, melted
.25 cup molasses
.5 cup honey
2 tsp. salt
6 cups wheat flour
4 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Let sit a few minutes. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, molasses, honey, and salt. Add yeast mixture. Start stirring in flour one cup at a time. I use the whisk for the first few few cups, then switch to a wooden spoon. When you can work the dough on the counter, knead in as much remaining flour as you can. I estimate that I knead in an additional cup or two of flour. When dough is smooth and not sticky, wash out your big mixing bowl, oil it, and put your dough in it. Turn the dough over so the top is oiled, then cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. Gently press out gas and shape into four loaves or a couple loaves and some rolls, cover and let rise until doubled again. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes (20 minutes for rolls) or until tops of loaves are browned and sound hollow when tapped.

If the kids are helping, they like to use the electric mixer with the dough hooks. We have a rule that both hands are on the mixer handle at all times for safety. I find that I can make two large loaves, a tin of jumbo-sized rolls, and focaccia from the same batch (smother the dough in olive oil and sprinkle kosher or sea salt on it before baking, for focaccia).

Food recipe, wheat bread

I’m 21 weeks pregnant today. Still feeling really good, although bending to tie shoes or pick things up is starting to get awkward. The kitchen sink is getting farther away, too.

This dream of mine Dango, pregnancy

The Joy of Little Things

It’s good the great green earth to roam,
Where sights of awe the soul inspire;
But oh, it’s best, the coming home,
The crackle of one’s own hearth-fire!
You’ve hob-nobbed with the solemn Past;
You’ve seen the pageantry of kings;
Yet oh, how sweet to gain at last
The peace and rest of Little Things!

Perhaps you’re counted with the Great;
You strain and strive with mighty men;
Your hand is on the helm of State;
Colossus-like you stride . . . and then
There comes a pause, a shining hour,
A dog that leaps, a hand that clings:
O Titan, turn from pomp and power;
Give all your heart to Little Things.

Go couch you childwise in the grass,
Believing it’s some jungle strange,
Where mighty monsters peer and pass,
Where beetles roam and spiders range.
‘Mid gloom and gleam of leaf and blade,
What dragons rasp their painted wings!
O magic world of shine and shade!
O beauty land of Little Things!

I sometimes wonder, after all,
Amid this tangled web of fate,
If what is great may not be small,
And what is small may not be great.
So wondering I go my way,
Yet in my heart contentment sings . . .
O may I ever see, I pray,
God’s grace and love in Little Things.

So give to me, I only beg,
A little roof to call my own,
A little cider in the keg,
A little meat upon the bone;
A little garden by the sea,
A little boat that dips and swings . . .
Take wealth, take fame, but leave to me,
O Lord of Life, just Little Things.

– Robert William Service

This dream of mine

Now that Baby Dango (dango are a type of Japanese dumpling made from rice flour) is growing and moving around a lot more, I’m starting to get a little sewing done in preparation for his/her arrival. Cloth diapers are first on the list, since I already had all the fabric (I was going to use it to make Gavin an extra set, but never did). I’m using my own pattern, which you can download here (downloads as PDF). These are pocket diapers made with a layer of water-proof PUL (polyurethane laminate) for the outside and a layer of power dry for the inside, then bound together around the edge with wide fold-over elastic (FOE). There’s a small gap left open at the back waist through which you can stuff an absorbent pad. The advantage to this style is two-fold: 1) they don’t leak, and 2) they are lightning fast to dry.

I actually cut out the shell and liner the very week I discovered this pregnancy, and the pieces have been languishing in a paper bag in the closet since then. I’m a big fan of assembly-line sewing, so I complete the first step on every piece before moving on to the next step. In this case, the steps are: cut out shell and lining, add FOE (fold-over elastic) to back waist of lining, mark then set snaps on front of shell, bind both layers together with FOE, set snaps on wings.

I finally pulled the diapers out of the closet this evening and started working on them again. I have only gotten to the point of setting snaps on the fronts of the diapers, but once I get that done (the most tedious part of the process, in my opinion), the rest of the sewing should breeze by.

I did jump ahead and bind a couple of diapers to check for final size, and I think they’ll work out just fine. Hopefully I can have the rest of these done within the next couple of weeks so I can move on to some other sewing (like super cute baby clothes).

Cloth Diapers Dango, diapers, FOE, PUL