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popping in saying Hi! made my first pocket last night and i can't belive how hard it is to sew the elastic - i hope as i get more experience it will get easier!
xtml - how did you go with spotlight for help with your machine? i bought the exact same one from them last weekend and have to say i thought the stitching wasn't that straight from the word go even though the tension seemed fine. Hope this doesn't turn out to be a lemon as there's no way we could afford another.
how well did the wee weka pockets fit? The nappy i made i tried to lift from my gk as i love them so much and they look so simple but i am not very good! migt have to splash on a bought pattern thats does it like 'idiot's guide' for me :-)
Julie x
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good work on giing it a go Julie!! elastic is alwayys a hard thing to sew...am sure everyone who hasmade nappies with sewn in elastic has had problems!! keep practicing!! do some googlinbg for tutorials too. i think very baby has some that might include elastic!!
Raven - thanks for the feedback!! the verybaby one looks good and has a few variations in it too!!
when making first attempts think Ill use just what i have in the cupboard till im happy with the size / fit
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I find the ww pockets fit ok, but again I had to shorten the rise a bit, but stuffing them kind of make us for that IYKWIM...
I have a very baby cover pattern, and it is great, I am going to splash out on the nappy pattern when I know I have some time for sewing...
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Julie I've had so many stuff ups with elastic rofl. Even though I've been sewing for a while I'll still stuff it up
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Oh and shall we discuss FOE stuff ups???
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PMSL I have some FOE but haven't attempted that yetI reccon I'll be having lots of fun unpicking when I do!
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Plonk- spotlight did help! they showed me that i needed the same thread top and bottom (at least the same brand and weight) and that the position of the needle is adjusted by the length of zigzag dial on top. who knew? i even saw the needle threader in action.
i've been making pockets for a few months now and have gotten really good at it, and pretty fast(3hrs). word of mouth sales and friends getting an entire stash have kept me sewing till i can do it in my sleep. there's hardly any money in it: i earn $4 an hour (or less for friends), but i search for funky material for the outside and co-ordinating inners just to keep it interesting. But it's all worthwhile when i make a one of a kind, super cool nappy and see it on: my friend's bubs are stylin!
there are loads of online patterns and tutorials, all free, and i'm happy to help with any questions you've got.
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way to go xtml! 3 hours is awesome
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Hello
I'm just about to embark on making some covers but going to use some old material and elastic and make covers for DD's baby born doll. I was thinking even though they are a bit smaller than a normal cover, they'll give me great practice with the elastic and layers...
Any hints that you have found invaluable before I begin my nappy making journey? (well I have made some boosters and wipes, but that was just really cutting to size and overlocking!)
Thanks for any help!
ryatha...WTG hon...i have to make some covers for Vy's 'baby' for her birthday. you might find it a bit fiddly...smaller the item the fiddlier it is but if you can accomplish one eaisly wait until you make the real thing
ive decided to finally make some boosters for the eco pocket we bought last week.....dont know if I should make a trifold or just a normal booster......its hurting to think
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Thanks maz - I like fiddly things so this should be interesting... Good luck with the boosters!
mmm boosters are easy! I've made a bunch of plain square bamboo boosters that can be tri-fold or put on NB but when my next lot of bamboo/cotton fabric arrives, I'm going to try a prefold design, 2-3-2, and also a shaped booster... could be interesting!
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Ummm hints...make your first out of cheap fabric jic you botch it up
Make sure you share some pics with us!
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WOHO
I just made my first pocket nappy!
Ok - it was doll size, with dodgy fabric, velcro and elastic but it works! I think my elastic work around the legs needs to be worked on and the foldover at the pocket nappy is dodg as but other than that I am pretty happy!
I'll try to put up some photos of it when I get my camera working!
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High five, ryatha!
I *finally* got round to making a few fitteds. first one was a total botch, I'm using a self-drafted pattern, so needs a lot of tweaking anyway. Made it out of old flannie pillowcases that work was chucking out. Second made of hald pillowcase, half Triple J shirt, it's too thick but I love the shape. Third made out of a mega mish mash of old fabrics - part pillowcase, part t-shirt, part pyjama. It's pink with giraffes on it, and I've got the timing down to 90 mins, although the last 20 was trying to convince the machine that black thread really wasn't so bad, but it wouldn't listen and kept jamming. It clearly wanted pink (same weight, same brand, bought on the same friggin day!) and then that worked much better.
since they're just practice goes I've been using elastic scraps I had in my drawer (so net cost thus far is nil) and I'm even getting pretty good at that. Got no fasteners for them yet.
If just making for self, do you think it's worth getting a snap press? Because they're fitted, I was thinking maybe I could just slot them inside a good cover, or all else failing, could probably pin.
But I'm pretty chuffed with myself...
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Well done guys
snugglybean you could do velcro or sew on micro towelling to make them snappiable
A snap press is a good investment. Depending on if you'll keep making nappies for bub and any more you might have. It's definatley a cheaper option than steel snaps once you make about 20 or more. ie the outlay for a snap press versus buying metal snaps by the nappy if it costs about $5 avge per nappy to do metal snaps. I did work out the maths a few years ago so it's a bit fuzzy
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Cool, thanks Raven. I probably will keep making them - they are easier and quicker than I thought!
A friend has offered the services of his cutting machine, he manufactures bags. I have canvassed the possibility with him of *him* getting a snap press, as a business expense, and I will buy a nappy bag at an inflated price if I can use his cutting machine and snap press as required... :thinking:
Someone else has offered me trial use of a snap press, but she makes the acest nappies, and I'm too shy to show her my botches
So, when the time comes for doing it with real fabric, where should I get it?
Oh, also, I've heard round the traps that prefolds are easy to make (and I assume they are) but I don't own any, have never handled a real live one, soe don't know the dimensions, thickness etc. Can anyone help with this?
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Thanks raven and snugglybean. Now I just need to try my hand at a full size one. Can fleece be used as an outer fabric? Just wondering cause I have both left over thick polar fleece and microfibre so if the pattern works I was just wondering if I could then use it on bubs...
Snugglybean, there are a couple of sites that sell pul and all the other fabrics and bits and pieces you need, for good prices as well. I can PM them to you if you like. I even found a site that sends you a pack including all the fabric, elastic, loop and hook to make your own with the correct measurements. I was thinking of getting one of those to try out my pattern before I get a lot of fabric etc.
I'm also about to try a prefold. I have 3m of bamboo/cotton arriving soon so I was going to make a mix of prefolds and boosters. The prefolds I am going to make will be 30x40 but they can be made bigger or smaller. From what I've seen there are two ways of making them. You can have two pieces of fabric the same size (30x40) with a strip in the middle of them (10x40) to thicken the middle, this makes a 2x3x2 thickness. Or you use two pieces of (20x40) and overlap them by half which would give you a 1x2x1 thickness. Boosters I think I'll be making a 3 layer (10x30) but I'll see how it goes.
Hope this helps!
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Ryatha- I can't use a sewing machine (but have one down the back shed!) so think I will be getting my mother to do this sewing, but can you please explain how you do the prefolds ie do you sew the two pieces of bamboo together around the four edges (overlock??) and then lastly sew in the skinny strip down the middle? I am really clueless!
Also when you made your boosters did you just sew two squares of bamboo back to back around the edges?
My only concern with the 30x40 size prefold is that the 40cm may be too long down the track to use them as booster in pocket nappies?? What do you think?
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