Tuesday, June 15, 2010

DIY Diapers(little ones)

We have had our fair share of babies lately, running over to hold triplets every day.  I have been truly inspired by them and the fact that the only diaper Emmalee has for her babies is a plastic one so large it would covers the dolly eyeballs when we put it on.  That just wouldn't do!  I had this remnant piece of terry cloth-like stuff and decided to solve the problem.
Since you know you really wanted to make some diapers too, I will show you how I did it.  The whole project took less than 30 min.  Lay your baby on a piece of paper and mark about 2" wider on each side.  Cut that off.  Next, lay the baby on the paper, with the paper as high on the back as you want your diaper to be.  A measuring tape could be handy to measure with, I am just not sure where my kids have laid it to rest.  Next step, figure out how high you want the front of your diaper to come and cut the paper there also.  My square measured 7 1/2" wide by 6 1/2 " tall.  Our dolls are around 11" and 13".
Fold that paper in half, leaving about 1/2" more in the back than you did in the front.
Fold again so you have it in quarters.  Now, cut a little leg hole. 
Hold it up to the dolly to see if it will be too wide in the crotch.  Once you have that right, you can determine if the leg holes are high enough for the chubby little legs.  Aren't they cute!?!
Go ahead and try your pattern on the baby.  Remember that fabric will give more than the paper does.  You don't want to cut it too narrow and have body hanging out, but also don't want it too bunchy.  That wouldn't be comfortable for the poor baby :0)  It can also be hard for little hands to put on by themselves.
Since I am making one size of diaper, hoping they will fit both dolls, I tried my pattern on both.  This baby is a bit more fluffy in the body, like me :0) so I didn't want to cut it down any more. 
Now trim the front flaps at an angle, leaving room so you have space to attach the back straps.
At this point, I adjusted the front and back separately.  I folded the pattern in half so the two sides of the back matched up, and the two sides of the front matched up.  Then I made the leg opening slightly higher in the front, and curved the top of the back.  Cut a little, try it on, cut a little more until you are good with it.  Don't be afraid to use another piece of paper if you cut a little too far. 
When you are happy with your pattern, trace it on the fabric.  This fabric is 60 wide, giving me 5 diapers out of a 1/4 yd strip!  Don't you wish real diapers were that cheep!?!  I put the two fuzzy sides of the fabric together, traced the pattern with a ball point pen, then sewed around the edge.  I started sewing along the back edge, about 2-3" from an edge.  I sewed all the way around, stopping about 2" from where I started.
Cut 'er out.  If you stitch with a small stitch length, you can cut the fabric within 1/8-1/4" of the sewing and then you don't have to clip the curves, they will just lay flat like you want them too.  I like to leave a flap of fabric at the spot I left open.  It seems to help the fabric stay tucked in when I try to sew it shut.  Turn this diapy inside out, tucking in the flap/fabric at the opening, then top stitch around the whole thing on the sewing machine. 
So cute!  I thought long and hard about where to put the Velcro.  I tried a couple things and really liked this placement.  Put a 2" strip of the smoother side on the front flap.  Sew 2 1" pieces of the rougher stuff on the back flap, one on each end. 
I thought it would be better to put the softer Velcro facing the front so your cute little girls don't rub their arms along the scratchy stuff when they are carrying their little dollies all over the place.
Now we can rest at ease knowing that the diaper situation is well at hand!  For added fun, try funky flannel fabric or adding bows.  This makes for a quick project if you only have a little time to feel like you have accomplished something!

1 comment:

  1. You are brilliant! It was fun to see how you went thru the diaper making process. Great job.

    ReplyDelete

Novelty Print Quilt Pattern

I have had a hard time finding good quilt patterns for novelty prints the past couple times I purchased them.  I made up this pattern so tha...