Making Mama Cloth

Around the time I chose to begin using mama cloth, or reusable cloth menstrual pads - I got a refund from an Etsyian that left me with enough money to buy some from . . . more Etsyians. Knowing I planned to have at least two more children I also made sure to buy a couple of post-partum pads. Along with the many things I felt I didn't have enough of to be fully prepared for the new baby was post-partum pads. Only this time I didn't have a sizable refund hanging out in my Paypal account. I was going to have to make them myself.

Find a free pattern for these that made great sense wasn't as easy as I'd hoped for.

I found a template via this pin and this page.

Had the hubs print out the pattern and then I cut out a template.

I pulled out some flannel, most of which was in 1/4 yard cuts, folded it over so that I shouldn't be cutting in the center of the fabric and would also end up with 4 layers.

Then placed the template on top of the fabric making sure to position the template in a way that would allow me to still use even less of the fabric

 and cut them to match the template.

When I revisited the source site from which I'd gotten my template I realized that the directions weren't as detailed as I felt I was going to need.

I made sure to take a good look at the picture of that source posters finished pads but still was feeling I'd need more guidance.

Then I remembered that a week earlier I'd printed out this pattern, that I'd found on Pintrest, at grandma's house.

As it turned out I really needed two templates. One that included the wings and one for the center piece.

With a bit of trial and error I figured out what I felt was the best way for me to do this.

I'd already cut the portions with the wings. I still needed to cut the centers

and the PUL layer.

Once that was done I was ready to get sewing.

Sew your winged pieces together with right sides facing

 - make sure to leave a gap someplace that you can flip the piece inside out.

Once you've flipped the piece inside out, top stitch all along the edges and close up the hole you left by folding under the pieces and top stitching over that as well.

I felt that to get the better result out of how you made the center was a matter of layering.

I got my uppermost layer ready first.

Fold it over

and cut a slit in the center so that you will be able to flip the entire piece around in a few minutes.

Now the layering can begin:

PUL,

the fabric you intend to have showing,

and the fabric for your base.

Top stitch all around the edges of this stack.

As always I like to stitch as close to the edge as I dare.

Then pull the layers with the PUL and the fabric you intended to have showing through the hole you cut in what will be your base layer.

This is what the part you will have showing should look like.

This is what the bottom of that same piece should look like.

Now center this piece onto your winged piece and zig zag stitch it into place.

The above photo was try number three.

This is try number two.

And try number one.

You can see that with a little practice you can learn a lot and make some noticeable improvements.

All  you really have left to do is to add your snaps and then go wash these before you use them!

Pintesting - Sewing Pre-Fold Diapers Pt.1

Shocker, I've long since decided that I prefer to cloth diaper even while I am in the hospital. This means I have use for some new born sized pre-fold diapers.

Today's pintest comes via this pin and the information found here.

I asked my brother-in-laws and father-in-law for any old shirts they had and no longer wanted.

When it came to my father-in-law the conversation went like this:
Me: Do you have any old shirts?
Him: They're for you right?
Me: Yes, I'm making diapers out of them
Him: What?
Me: Diapers
Him: What?
Me: Diapers, so you'd better not want them back

I cut the shirts.

 When it came time to sew I realized it wanted me to fold the shirt. Which, I already knew yet somehow wasn't thinking about when I cut the shirts. Crud. I already knew which part of the shirts I'd cut I wanted to be able to see on the back.

What to do? Leave the shirts in that square they've been cut in. Place your absorbent cloths (I cut up some flannel)

 in the center of your shirts (I used two pieces of cut flannel).

 Zig zag stitch on either side of the pad so it's now in place. Then serge the edges.

As they are these are suitable to use with diaper pins. For those of you who'd really like to avoid the use of diaper pins you can sew bits of flannel to the portions where your snappi will need to attach.

A pinspired Post - Cloth Baby Wipes

I mentioned in the recent past that a couple of my friends (a couple has now grown to a few) are also pregnant. They've chosen to go the rout of cloth diapering and in addition to that they plan to use cloth baby wipes. The image of mountains of dirty diapers in landfills isn't unknown to those who consider themselves even remotely green. But what about those chemically treated and bleached baby wipes? They're doing the same thing I assure you.

Pintrest is full of the pins picturing cloth wipes but when you click them you rarely seem to get a very detailed description of how to make your own. I'm going to do my best to help you with that.

Today's post was inspired by this specific pin and the info found here.

Buying fabric can be so exciting for me. Having an excuse to do so only makes the experience that much sweeter. I picked up these fabrics for baby wipes.

I'm going to tell you two ways to go about this:

Place an actual baby wipe on top of some uncut fabric (I bought 1/2 yards). Cut out one piece that was the size you now want and then get to work.

I cut two long strips.

Then placed one on top of the other and began cutting the strips intended to become baby wipes. I used the first piece I cut as my template to cut the rest of the pieces.

Another way to go about all of this is to first lay out your piece of fabric.

Fold it over.

It's really your call if you want right side touching right side or wrong side touching wrong side.

Then place your template onto the fabric.

Then cut your strips following the line of your chosen measuring instrument.

I now had three strips, two I intended to use for cloth wipes and one of excess fabric.

Once you have all of your pieces cut the fun part can really begin.

On to the sewing machine!

Place two sheets of your fabric together backside touching backside. Your print should be on the top and the bottom. You should not see the plain white back.

Then use whatever stitch you most prefer to sew the two pieces together.

 This is a great time to test out different stitches on your machine.

Et viola you have a baby wipe.

In case you're wondering how my wipes looked after a trip through the washing machine with their un-serged edges.

I just snipped off the loose edges and put them into a baby wipes container.

Now to make some wipe solution. But that's another blog post ;p

Trade Tuesday - The Green Haven

Today's trade comes to me via Megan of The Green Haven and continues along with my UnPaper towel obsession.

20 year-old Megan is a student at Frostburg State University in Maryland, yet another state I have a soft spot for because I've spent a significant amount of time in my life in Maryland. This green Etsyian is majoring in early childhood education and minoring in marketing, which I think really shows through with the uncommon distance she goes in the name of customer service. With your order comes something I have yet to experience from any other seller. After placing my order Megan created a Facebook album with my basic order info, sent me the link to the album, and told me that I would be able to track the progress of my towels there. That's service!

Below is the same information you will find on any of Megans listings for her reusable UnPaper towels:

Reusable paper towels, also known as unpaper towels, are ideal for leaving traditional paper towels behind. Reusable Paper Towels are convenient and ready to use right out of the package like paper towels, but unlike paper towels you can use them again and again. Reusable paper towels fit on an old paper towel roll and can be placed on a paper towel holder.

~ This listing is for 1 set of reusable paper towels in (insert proper name of fabric here) fabric. Each set contains 12 individual towels, that snap together to form a roll of towels. Each towel measures 10" wide by 11" tall, making them about the same size as a paper towel. Towels are backed with 100% cotton terry cloth. Terry cloth is super soft and very absorbent.

~ Each towel is equipped with three sets of snaps, one more than is needed. This extra snap, the middle snap, is to provided extra support for the roll of towels. The middle snap prevents your roll of towels from sagging or drooping by helping support the extra weight of the towels.

~ Each set of towels is made with professional grade equipment, and is sewn with close attention to detail. The edges are surged with a professional surger, and the snaps are professional grade set using an industrial press. The snaps are made to hold up to much snapping and unsnapping as well as the washing machine, yet are gentle enough not to scratch when cleaning.

~ Reusable "paper" towels are machine washable, they may also be put in the dryer. I do not recommend using fabric softener on any of my products. Fabric softener can lessen the towels absorbency over time, making your "paper" towels less effective. Don't feel right not using a softener? Try using vinegar instead, its also a great way to eliminate odors, you can even place it in a downy ball!

Etsy Eco-Tip: Worldwide, 13 billion paper towels are used every day.The average person uses 3-4 paper towels each time you reach for the roll, using about a roll every day to day and a half. Switching your family to reusable "paper" towels can save countless paper towels, eliminating paper towels saves 4-6 rolls a week!

My UnPaper towels showed up much faster than I anticipated given Megans guestimation on how long it could take to get them out to me. Despite the fact that her paper towels are shown in a roll they are shipped flat 

and come with a quick explanation of how to attach your towels to an empty paper towel roll.

Because I drastically cut our use of paper towels I still have some on the roll on my kitchen.

Etsyians come in all shapes, sizes, races, and ages and it just tickles me green to see any of the younger generations making an effort to help reduce waste. In fact, I was so happy about it that I just felt I had to ask her about what influenced her to begin making changes in her own life and what some of them may be.

"Going green is a slow and steady process in our house. My fiance isn't quite hooked on it yet! I use almost all of the items I sell in my shop. I carry a coffee cozy in my purse, have a set of reusable paper towels in my craft room, I have a lunch bag for road trips and a few sandwich and snack bags, and I have a plastic bag holder in the kitchen. We try to recycle everything we can, currently I'm looking into getting a rain barrel!

Over the summer we can't drink the water in our "summer home", the house we have when we aren't at school. So we have to buy water, which means water bottles. I like to re-purpose them here at the house when I can, I have one for water for my paint brushes, the top of another is used as a funnel for the rice in my boo boo bags, and various others around the house. And what I can't re-purpose I recycle.

My newest "green effort" was making my own ribbon spools. I have TONS of ribbon and most of them aren't on spools, so I need to find a way to make them. I had my fiance's mom save paper towel rolls for me, and I had an old poster from a school project. So I used the towel roll for the middle and the poster board for the sides. while they aren't the prettiest they certainly work well!

I never really decided to go green per-say. Back before going green was popular, I thought I would try my hand at making reusable sandwich and snack bags. Most people had no idea what they were! So I started making other products, more recognizable ones, that people didn't even realize were small steps in going green. And I found out the best way to get people to recognize you and see your products was to use them yourself. And that's how it all started."

As she mentioned she doesn't only sell UnPaper towels; she also sells Boo Boo Bags

Drink Cozies

Plastic Bag Holders

Sandwich Bags

Snack Bags

Lunch Bag Sets

At this point I want to point out that her bags are not lined with PUL fabric. Many well-meaning sellers line their "green" products with PUL, and while reusable is good, PUL is not. PUL is not food safe - please check to make sure you know what your products are being made with before purchase. The same efforts we're applying at the grocery stores and farmers markets apply in other areas of our lives.

Paper towel info/links:
Buzzle - paper towel facts
Buzzle - facts about paper towels
LIVESTRONG - INFORMATION AND FACTS ABOUT PAPER TOWELS

Information about going paper towel-less:
Going paper towel-less