Half Circle Skirt, Oktoberfest 2014

At the end of September, I was scrambling to make an outfit for Oktoberfest that fit.  A friend graciously gave me an extra "miede" (bodice) and I made the skirt and apron out of some beautiful trachten fabric.  The skirt is a super-crisp Trevira wool blend that is cool when you need it to be and warm when you need it to be.  I lined the side-seam pockets with a bit of nylon lining fabric so the pockets wouldn't stick to any leggings, stockings, or petticoat I might wear.

Project Details

Skirt Pattern: Burda Dirndl 09/2011

Apron was self-drafted

Upcycling for Baby

We're slowly running out of the really small baby clothes, and after noticing a few gaps in the little dude's wardrobe, I decided to supplement with hand-sewn items.

A beautiful cashmere blend Christmas sweater that was mistakenly felted in the wash + scrap hemp fabric from cloth diapers + an Ottobre pajama pattern = a really warm romper for the baby!

I just placed the pattern pieces over the old sweater and added the gusset.  The ribbed knit provides a nice trim and a place to attach open-ring snaps for closure at the shoulders.

patches for the knees even though the little guy just learned to turn over

detail shot: crotch gusset and cowboy socks just because

An old favorite polo shirt that's too small + scrap jersey + Ottobre romper pattern = a new romper for baby!  This used the same principle.  I just traced the pattern over the old shirt at the shoulder level, and then filled in the missing elements with scrap fabric.  It worked out pretty well!  The scale of the collar is a bit silly, but it's nice to see my old shirt back in action.

polo shirt collar and placket saved

bottom hem conserved, ribbed knit and open-ring snaps added for closure

Want to know more about Stitchin Knit and Stitchin Crochet?

(Image from the Underground Crafter site)

I was interviewed last month for a Hispanic Heritage Month by Marie Segares, the crochet & knitting blogger and designer.  She blogs at the Underground Crafter and is also the host of the podcast the "Creative Yarn Entrepreneur Show".  If you'd like to read her interview of me for her Hispanic Heritage series that happened in September, you can read it here (http://undergroundcrafter.com/blog/2014/09/18/interview-with-adriana-hernandez-hispanic-heritage-month-series/)

And, for the podcast, she asked me some great questions about how I got into the business of making fonts for knit and crochet. So, if you're interested in listening to the podcast interview you can find it here (http://creativeyarnentrepreneur.com/episode-8-affordable-crochet-and-knitting-fonts-with-adriana-hernandez/) or below.

Thanks for asking me to participate, Marie!


And, if you'd like to see the fonts, you can find them here.

Sewing for Baby, Ottobre's Spring Bird

Pattern: Ottobre 01/2014 Spring Bird

Fabric: double knit stripe from Stoff & Co. and double knit giraffe from another sewist

Modifications: truly double sided, buttons are on both sides of the fabric and snaps are too.

And, the LD finally wore it last week!

Adventures in AIO's (all-in-ones)

My latest experiments with cloth diapers have been with sewing all-in-ones (AIO's).  The advantage to this style of diaper is that you don't have a separate insert- the cover and insert are actually "all in one".

The disadvantage is that AIO's typically take a long time to dry.  This AIO is based on the TotsBots "BOB" (best of both) Easy Fit model here.  I love their diapers, but the latest version 4.0 only comes with velcro waist adjusters...

Why snaps?  Now that I've been cloth diapering for a few months, I have come to dislike sorting out anything with velcro (hook & loop) in the laundry.  So I went with snaps (poppers).  I've already had two separate incidents where super-strong velcros from baby's bibs snagged onto clothes and diapers. It's very sad to see scuffed and pilled clothing just because of an errant piece of velcro in the wash.  Grr.

After using these for a month I can say they work!  They also dry fairly quickly - not as quick as the TotsBots, but much faster than some of the other AIO's I have.

How these were made...

before sewing the outer/inner together... don't use pins

Pattern:

• This video from Little Bundas for general techniques.
• This pattern, 3x3 AIO round tab from Arfy of Prefold2fitted Blog
• These written instructions from Tutu Mafia/Cloth Revolution's Sewn-In Diaper here.  These instructions plus the video above were crucial for me to get a good end result.  I also had the TotsBots diaper to look at for help.

Improvements for next time...
I need to fold over the edge where the suede cloth and the PUL edge overlap.  I left the PUL edge raw and it's stretching a bit thin.  I also think I'm just gonna do suede cloth and the insert inside (instead of PUL on the inside).  And, lastly, I've got to better reinforce the sizing snaps at the front center with more PUL.

Materials:

• outer is Eco-PUL from Diaper Sewing Supplies this pack here.
• Alova suede cloth for the back flap also from Diaper Sewing Supplies
• the built-in insert is 1 layer velour (closest to the baby butt), 1 layer bamboo terry, 1 layer hemp with PUL at the front

chalk markings for centering snaps