I’ve made two more diapers this week, and retired two that were getting a bit too snug. This evening I made a diaper cover out of an old, wool sweater that had been felted. It’s not the fanciest thing ever, but it will definitely get the job done. I cut the cover out as one long piece, folded it over, sewed up the edges, and cut leg holes. But then I decided that the leg holes needed some work. With just holes, we were begging for leaks. So I cut a cuff off the sweater, cut it in half, and sewed one half to each leg hole. Instant "poop guards." The whole thing took me about 30 minutes to make. The sewing wouldn’t win any awards, but that’s ok. I used the back of the sweater and one cuff tonight; tomorrow I’ll use the front and the other cuff to make another diaper cover. I love little projects like this that don’t cost anything and provide tangible benefits for our family. And recycling materials into new projects always makes me feel good. Another benefit is that this whole diaper experience has been good practice on the sewing machine. A year ago, my skills in that department were non-existent. They’re still not particularly great, but I’m getting better.
I also came up with a free sleep-sack solution for our son. He just started sleeping in his own room a few weeks ago. It’s going great, but his hands are always cold in the mornings. It doesn’t seem to bother him, but it bothers me. He wears footsie pajamas with a sleep sack over them, and the rest of him is toasty warm. But his hands stick out, and I hadn’t figured out a way to cover them. He’s too young for a blanket, and even if we could put one on him, I’m sure he’d just kick it off. I tried mittens, but he just pulled them off and chewed on them. I considered putting him to bed in his snowsuit, which has attached mittens, but he’s basically immobile in the snowsuit (picture the little kid on "A Christmas Story") and I decided that wouldn’t be very comfortable. But then I came up with an idea that has been working great for the past couple nights. I dug out a very old sweatshirt from the bottom of my closet. After I got the baby into his PJs and his sleepsack, I put the sweatshirt on him with just his head sticking out. The neck is way too big for him, so I safety pinned it closed off to the side. His hands are inside the sweatshirt, and stay nice and warm. I pinned the shirt to the sleepsack at the bottom, to keep it from riding up or getting in his face. So far it’s working great. I had planned to sew a sleep sack without arm holes, but I came up with the idea of using an adult sweatshirt and I love the simplicity of it. And that sweatshirt was just taking up space in our closet – now it’s got a second wind.
Alissa says
Hey Frugal Babe,
That looks great! And a great idea about the sweatshirt too.
I’m thinking of using wool covers on the new babe too, I like that they’re natural, breathable, and you can make them out of recycled materials. I found this great tutorial online for “bum sweaters” that you might get some use out of as well:
http://www.borntolove.com/frugal-column2.html
Take care!
Alissa
Kelly says
That is a great idea for the sleep sack. I have the same problem with my daughter always waking up with cold hands. Keep in mind that babies hands will almost always feel cooler while sleeping – something about circulation slowing down during sleep and a still maturing circulatory system. Not that it is any less concerning when you feel those cold little hands…especially on your warm skin for a midnight feeding! That is definitely an idea I will have to look into. I thought about adult socks put on before the jammies, therefore tucked far into the sleeve and less likely for baby to get off.
Sheri says
You did a great job on that diaper cover! How thrifty of you to use an old felted wool sweater. I like the stripes! I hope it works out well for FrugalBaby.
The sweatshirt is a good idea too, although we always just use soft & roomy socks over the little hands (like the previous commenter mentioned). Almost like wearing mittens to bed, and the little hands stay warm and toasty!