sweater pants :: re-fashion

we are busily gearing up for cold weather.
i recently took some thrifted sweaters and sewed a few wool diaper covers for luca. we almost exclusively use wool cloth diaper covers - either knit or sewn from recycled or purchased wool fabric.

these were made from the sweater sleeves. super quick and easy. there are quite a few tutorials available online. i really like this one ::
sleeve pants
and the leftover sweater pieces will likely become eco pixie hats.

the rainbow stripes is our favorite pair. i also just finished knitting a pair of rainbow pants and am currently knitting one more pair for him with the yarn from my previous post. then it will be time to move on to wool mittens and wool hats, and perhaps a small wool sweater or two.

on an unrelated to this post note, i think it is seriously cute that he sucks his thumb! i suppose a tiny pair of wool sucky thumb mitts would be a fitting project for fall, no? maybe to match his wonderful wool pants... ah yes, add them to the queue.

happily yours from the little house of wool,
erika

faux cable sleep sack :: a pattern

wool sleep sacks are wonderful for new cloth diapered babies and make night time diaper changes a breeze! this faux cable pattern creates a lovely thick and stretchy fabric, perfect for diaper covers. i have been knitting sleep sacks in preparation for our new baby and thought i would share this pattern that i have developed. enjoy!

you will need ::
16 inch circular needles in sizes US 5 and US 8
1 stitch marker
crochet hook (optional for drawstring)
100% wool yarn- i like to use nice, sturdy yarn. wool that will work well for this pattern are cestari merino (terra cotta sleep sack in photo), araucania nature wool (lavender sleep sack in photo), cascade eco, or something similar. if you are using a thinner weight yarn you may need to use a smaller needle size. approx. 200 yards is needed.

abbreviations ::
co = cast on
k = knit
p= purl
sl1= slip 1 stitch knitwise
psso = pass the slipped stitch over the last 2 sts that you knit
yo = yarn over

the pattern ::

co 80 stitches using size 5 needles, place marker and join in the round being careful to not twist your stitches. knit 2 x 2 ribbing for 1.5 inches.
eyelet row- *k2tog, yo, p2* repeat from * to end of row.
continue to knit 2 x 2 ribbing for another 1.5 inches.

switch to size 8 needles and knit the faux cable pattern as follows ::
row 1: *k3, p2*repeat from * to end of row.
row 2: *k3, p2* repeat from * to end of row.
row 3: *sl1, k2, psso, p2* repeat from * to end of row.
row 4: *k1, yo, k1, p2* repeat from * to end of row.
continue knitting these 4 rows until your piece measures 11 inches from the co.

switch back to your size 5 needles and knit 2 x 2 ribbing for 2 inches. cast off loosely- you might want to cast off with your larger needles to ensure the bottom of the sleep sack is stretchy enough to pull up for diaper changes.

drawstring :: you can use any preferred method to make your drawstring. i like to make a crochet chain holding 2 strands of yarn together. using 2 different colors makes a fun drawstring!

now you are ready to wash, lanolize and use your sleep sack on your sweet baby!

notes :: if you would like to modify this pattern to make a smaller or bigger sleep sack, no problem! first of all your cast on number should always be an even number for the 2 x 2 ribbing. then, you need to divide that number by 4 and make sure that again, you get an even number- this will be the number of drawstring eyelets you will end up with. if you have an odd number of eyelets you will not be able to thread your drawstring properly.
to knit the faux cable pattern your number of stitches has to be divisible by 5. you can simply make increases after your ribbing to make sure you have the proper amount of stitches, then you will need to decrease the same number of stitches before knitting the bottom ribbing. here is a quick example for a smaller sleep sack ::
co 72 sts (72 divided by 4 is 18)
after the top ribbing increase 3 sts evenly spaced around the sleep sack.
now you will have 75 sts and are ready for the faux cable pattern.
after the faux cables, decrease 3 sts evenly around the sleep sack.
now you have 72 sts on your needles and are ready for the bottom ribbing.

re-fashion :: the striped sweaters

itty, bitty wool shorts made from thrifted and felted wool sweaters. i used the little comet tails crescent moon yoga pants pattern ~ it is wonderful! these came out a little bit bigger than i had hoped (this is the size small) but they will fit eventually, right? especially when worn over a cushy cloth diaper. i used the body of the sweaters for the main pieces and the bottom ribbing for the yoga waistband. there wasn't enough wool for the crescent bum panel so i cut that from another thrifted sweater. i still have the stripey sleeves from both sweaters and i am thinking they will make lovely little wool pants.

i am gifting these little knickers, but i will most defintely be sewing more!

do you have a fun and creative way to re-use felted wool sweaters? spill it!

bedtime bum

:: cloth diaper.

:: wool cover.

:: cute pj pants.

check, check and check.

diapers in the sun

this is a sight that i will truly miss as the days grow cold.

speaking out

about cloth diapers~ i'm still trying to get used to hearing my own voice on the video! i am very excited about how our little news story turned out. cute babies in cute diapers, nothing better!

the valley bums in the news!

(click the link on the left with the little video camera icon to watch the clip!)

ginger blossoms, recycled shopping bag and tiny tees!

my sewing machine and i have been very busy this week. yesterday i completed this place mat, cloth napkin and pot holder set in the lovely ginger blossoms print from michael miller. it is for the bend the rules sewing swap and i will have a hard time packing it up and sending it away. but, i am sure i will get something lovely in the mail in exchange and i will be sure to share photos of my loot when it arrives. you can visit the BTRS flickr group to see more swap sets as well as other goodies created from the book.

and this little shopping tote was sewn from a beautiful thrifted print. i have just enough left for a little dress for esme' or maybe a skirt for mama. my friend jessica wrote up a very clever tutorial for these shopping bags. perhaps she can be persuaded to publish it for all to enjoy...

and i also found time to make up these cute little tees for harper and esme' for a very special local news appearance tomorrow~ i will be sure to blog about that later, but i bet you can guess from the tees that we will be talking about cloth diapering!