Wabi Sabi Baby » sewing

Two-Piece Footed Pajamas for Toddlers

Wabi Sabi Baby — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:06:05 +0000

2T, 3T, and 4T two-piece footed pajamas are so useful, yet so hard to find. My solution? Spend less than five minutes to sew cuffed socks onto pajama pants using a zigzag stitch. Stretchy pajama pants with ribbed knit ankle hem are ideal.

Footies keep feet warm at night and two-piece pajamas come in handy when your kids are old enough to begin night-time potty training and you want to encourage them to get up and go by themselves. Plus, kids with eczema like mine need to keep wearing footed pajamas to discourage them from scratching their feet at night.

Mei Tai Carrier Sewing Kit

Wabi Sabi Baby — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:05 +0000

Thank you all for the responses and pattern downloads! To make it even easier to sew your own unique baby carrier, I’ve assembled a sewing kit for this Mei Tai with the same durable fabric and components I use. The kit includes:

2 yards of solid black bottomweight twill fabric, 100% cotton
1 yard of 2″ nylon webbing for the waist strap
2 yards of 1.5″ nylon webbing for the shoulder extension straps
One 2″ wide stealth buckle
One 1.5″ wide dual-adjust buckle
1/2″ thick foam padding for the waist and shoulder straps
detailed instructions

Click here to purchase the kit for $36.95.

Easy Clean Tablecloths

Wabi Sabi Baby — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:37:42 +0000

Borrowing another great restaurant idea: oil cloth (vinyl) tablecloths. Primary reason? Easy to clean. You can purchase the fabric by the yard from Fabric.com and simply sew fitted tablecloths so that your tots can’t easily pull them off!

The Ultimate Mei Tai Carrier – Durable and Easy to Sew

Wabi Sabi Baby — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:09:02 +0000

Update! You can now purchase the sewing kit to make a solid black buckled Mei Tai carrier for $36.95 or the notions-only kit for $18. Click here.

From my babywearing days, I have tried just about all styles of carriers. And my all-time favorite way to wear my babies is in a Mei Tai carrier. It is very comfortable because it evenly distributes the baby’s weight on both shoulders. The only problem is that all the ones I’ve come across have long straps that you have to tie. My second favorite carrier is the Ergo baby carrier. The problem with that one is it’s too bulky and hot for our Texas weather but I like how easy it is to put it on. So, I have come up with my own design for a buckled mei tai carrier that combines the best of both styles. It is:

easy to sew
strong and durable yet lightweight
comfortable with minimal padding only where necessary
easy to put on and take off
small enough to stuff in a diaper bag

Take a closer look!

Remember that your carrier is only as strong as its weakest point. That would be the corners where the back panel and waist strap come together where your carrier is being pulled in two directions. If you look closely on the Ergo baby carrier, you will notice that those corners are reinforced. In my pattern, the back panel and waist is a one piece two-ply fabric and the corners are contoured. Not only is this easier to sew, but this simple change takes much of the stress off the weakest point of your carrier.

Update! You can now purchase the sewing kit to make a solid black buckled Mei Tai carrier for $36.95. Click here.

Here are the materials you need to sew this carrier:

2 yards of non-stretchy bottomweight twill or denim fabric
1 yard of 2″ nylon webbing for the waist strap
Two yards of 1.5″ nylon webbing for the shoulder extension straps. Cut in half to get two 1-yard long pieces
One 2″ wide stealth buckle
One 1.5″ wide dual-adjust buckle
3 pieces of 1/2″ thick foam – padding for the waist and shoulder straps, each 3″ wide by 22″ long

Cutting:

Fabric cutting layout for 44” or 58” fabric: Fold fabric in fourths, crosswise, then lengthwise. Cut as shown to get one two-ply body/waist panel and two 25” straps by 8” wide. Download the free pattern for the body panel here.
Finish all webbing edges – using a lighter or candle, carefully melt and fuse the edges to prevent unraveling.

Basic Sewing Directions:
You can purchase detailed instructions along with the body panel pattern printed on 8 1/2″ by 11″ paper for only $4.

Make two shoulder straps, 4″ wide x 25″ long, with foam inserts stitched in place. Taper in one end and reinforce stitch the 1.5” webbing in place.
With right sides together on the two-ply body/waist panel, stitch the body/waist panel along the sides. Make about three ¼” long slits at the curves.
Turn over through the top opening.
Insert the waist foam piece in place through the top opening.
Using the pattern, mark the four points for each of the shoulder strap placements. Stitch in place using a reinforced stitch pattern.
Topstitch all around.
Loop the female part of the 2“ buckle through the left end, tucking the ends under.
Stitch webbing in place, reinforce stitch at both ends.
Loop the remaining webbing through the buckles, making sure theys are oriented correctly. Fold the ends over twice and stitch. This is a safety measure to keep the webbing from sliding completely out of the buckles although with the carrier on and the straps taut, the tension is enough to keep the webbing from sliding loose.
If you want a decorative panel, simply sew it on after the carrier panel is complete. I do not recommend pockets on the panel. They’re impractical – you cannot put keys or anything sharp in there as it will poke your baby and if you use it as a back carrier, you can’t reach the pockets. Instead, clip a small purse to your carrier.

Want to make it easier?
Get the sewing kit to make a solid black buckled Mei Tai carrier for $36.95, notions-only kit for $18, or detailed instructions for only $4.

Sew Your Own UV Protective Clothing and Rash Guard

Wabi Sabi Baby — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:38:24 +0000

Your first line of sun protection should not be sunscreen. It should be protective clothing. In recent years, we have seen an explosion of expensive high UPF rated sunwear. If you have minimum sewing skills, you can easily make your own rash guard.

Rash guard UV protective shirts are simply regular t-shirts or activewear clothing sewn using nylon/spandex blend preferably with four-way stretch. Cycling jersey patterns are ideal for making rash guards. Jalie and Kwik Sew have an excellent collection of swimwear and sportswear patterns. Otherwise, you can deconstruct any old tight-fitted t-shirt and make your own pattern. Rash guard fit is very forgiving unless you are looking for a competitive triathlon precision fit. In fact, before you throw away any worn-out but well-fitted swimwear or clothing in general, deconstruct and make a pattern out of it. I am not a pattern-maker or professional seamstress. This is how I make most of my patterns and they fit better than any store bought patterns.

Fabric.com carries a decent selection of swimwear fabric. Currently, their solids are $8/yd and prints are on sale for $3.19/yd. Sale expires tomorrow so hurry! I just ordered the polka dot fabric to make matching swimwear for my daughter and me. Will post results when I’m finished, hopefully before the end of the summer!

Knits and Bamboo Fabric for Casual Summer Style

Wabi Sabi Baby — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:28:27 +0000

Everywhere I look, I see t-shirts and pants with unfinished edges – just browse through American Apparel‘s catalog. Trend or not, I’m using this style to quickly sew a casual summer wardrobe for myself and my kids. Look for knit fabrics as they won’t unravel with raw edges. Or, you can do a simple rolled hem (Merrow stitch hem) to finish the edges. I especially like the feel and look of jersey knits. And, I’ve recently discovered that my favorite online fabric store, Fabric.com, now carries bamboo fabric! Well, it’s actually 70% bamboo/30% cotton. Check out their selection of jersey knits, perfect for summer tees.

Soon, I’ll be posting my free t-shirt pattern. I made it simply by tracing it from my favorite tee (everyone’s got one). Sleeves were a bit tricky and I’m still working on it. To add a simple design, you could use iron-on transfers.

Make Those Onesies Last Another Year. Almost.

Wabi Sabi Baby — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:53:13 +0000

At around the time my kids turn one, I tend to stop dressing them in onesies. Yet, I seem to have so many of them laying around, some that they’ve only worn once. As I was clearing out my daughter’s dresser, I remembered what I did with some of them. I cut the bottoms off and finished the edges with a nice rolled hem using my serger. For babies that age (around one, when they start crawling and walking), it’s their height that makes them outgrow the onesies. With this simple shortcut, you can almost get another year’s use out of those tops.

Make Kid-friendly Tree Ornaments Part I: Using Fabric

Wabi Sabi Baby — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:42:46 +0000

With a toddler and a preschooler at home, I’ve temporarily put away the breakable ornaments. In its place, easy to sew fabric ones.

Print the included template (scale as desired) and cut two pieces.
Either serge or turn and topstitch all-around except the straight top edge.
Stuff with fiberfill or even more scrap fabric. You can get your kids to take part in this step.
Turn and finish the top edge, sewing in a piece of ribbon for hanging.

Click here for the full size template.

Easy One-Piece Pattern for Pants 6 – 18+ Months – Cloth Diaper Friendly Too!

Wabi Sabi Baby — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:13:09 +0000

If you cloth diaper, you’ll notice that many of the baby and toddler pants are just too tight. I like pants made from stretchy knit cotton fabric such as jerseys and interlocks. They fit well over all types of diapers, from thin disposables to the bulkiest cloths. And, it’s easy to pull and peek in to check for mess. Here’s a simple one-piece pants pattern that’s also very easy to alter. Click on the image to view and download it in its actual size. Or for $2, you can purchase the pdf version with the pattern already split into standard 8 1/2″ x 11″ multi-pages that you just print and piece together.