I'm really bad about "Winging" things. Just ask my husband about how I cook - Mix-n-Dump. After buying a new sewing machine and learning its quirks, I decided to actually write down the settings I was using for diapers. My old method of top stitching wasn't cooperating with this machine & I decided that I really needed to write down what I did that worked. All it took was a silly little moleskine notebook that lives by my sewing machine (when my DD doesn't take off with it).
My new machine has three feed dogs (one under each side of the foot and one in in the middle behind the needle). My old method of lining the fabric up with the right edge of the presser foot has a nasty habit of wandering (PUL has a mind of its own). What worked well was to actually line up the fabric with the center of the foot (I'm using a teflon foot) with the needle adjusted to the left (the right side of the presser foot has nothing but air under it). I also made sure to write down needle settings (stitch length & position) & the tension settings.
Saturday
What Do You Do With Ten Yards of Elastic?
I'm trying to reclaim my sewing area. I have a mound of FOE that I just didn't know how to stash & then, when I ran out of elastic at an inopportune moment, I bought 10 yards of elastic. Ok, what am I going to do for putting this mess away without it turning into a tangled mess like my Christmas lights? Chain Locker.
Huh? Well, in one of my previous work incarnations (like 16 years ago), I worked on a tug boat. Have you wondered where the anchor chain goes when a ship brings the anchor in? The chain gets dumped into a large space called a chain locker. What does this have to do with elastic? Well, it's how the chain doesn't get tangled that matters. The end of the chain is secured to a spot in the chain locker. The chain never loops around and gets knotted, so no tangles.
What I ended up doing with my elastic was to use a zip-lock baggie. I pinned the tail end of the elastic to the inside of the baggie with a safety pin and cut a small hole in the opposite side of the baggie. I fed all of the elastic into the baggie and poked the free end out of the cut hole, using a clip to keep the elastic from getting pulled back into the baggie when it's not being used. The 10 yards of elastic fit into a quart-sized baggie & the FOE is in a gallon baggie. I can actually sew the elastic without having a total mess - the baggie sits next to the sewing machine and I feed what I need out of it. I really wish this would work with Christmas lights (tried it - the lights get snagged so the strands won't feed evenly).
Yes, I know, pictures. First, I have to find the camera ;-) It's probably under a stack of fabric (or in some strange spot that my DD decided to stash it).
Update - Found the camera. Here are my zip lock baggie elastic "chain lockers":
Huh? Well, in one of my previous work incarnations (like 16 years ago), I worked on a tug boat. Have you wondered where the anchor chain goes when a ship brings the anchor in? The chain gets dumped into a large space called a chain locker. What does this have to do with elastic? Well, it's how the chain doesn't get tangled that matters. The end of the chain is secured to a spot in the chain locker. The chain never loops around and gets knotted, so no tangles.
What I ended up doing with my elastic was to use a zip-lock baggie. I pinned the tail end of the elastic to the inside of the baggie with a safety pin and cut a small hole in the opposite side of the baggie. I fed all of the elastic into the baggie and poked the free end out of the cut hole, using a clip to keep the elastic from getting pulled back into the baggie when it's not being used. The 10 yards of elastic fit into a quart-sized baggie & the FOE is in a gallon baggie. I can actually sew the elastic without having a total mess - the baggie sits next to the sewing machine and I feed what I need out of it. I really wish this would work with Christmas lights (tried it - the lights get snagged so the strands won't feed evenly).
Yes, I know, pictures. First, I have to find the camera ;-) It's probably under a stack of fabric (or in some strange spot that my DD decided to stash it).
Update - Found the camera. Here are my zip lock baggie elastic "chain lockers":
 |
| Quart-sized baggie & 1/4" elastic |
 |
| Gallon baggie & FOE |
Sunday
More Revolution
Yay! I've made another batch of Cloth Revolution Diapers - Mediums for my nephew and Larges for my DD. The Mediums are made with Aplix and the Larges are made with size 20 KAM snaps.
I'm thrilled with how these are fitting on my DD. She's a little lug with tree trunks for legs (a.k.a. Thunder Thighs - sorry kid, they run in the family). Most side snapping diapers really don't leave enough space for the top of the thigh. Most seem to limit the top of the opening and are set at or below the actual hip joint - the diaper that my daughter has on right now has the top of the opening just above her hip joint.
I'm thrilled with how these are fitting on my DD. She's a little lug with tree trunks for legs (a.k.a. Thunder Thighs - sorry kid, they run in the family). Most side snapping diapers really don't leave enough space for the top of the thigh. Most seem to limit the top of the opening and are set at or below the actual hip joint - the diaper that my daughter has on right now has the top of the opening just above her hip joint.
Tip: Uses for the Humble Prescription Pill Bottle
I've been using pill bottles for storing my hand sewing needles - I seem to have fewer problems with the needles falling out of these or poking through the packaging than I do with the factory cases.
A tip that I saw on a quilting list also makes them useful for stashing broken needles quickly and safely. Drill a small hole in the lid of a prescription bottle that's large enough for the needle to slip through (if you're like me and are constantly trashing ball-tipped sewing pins, the hold will have to be large enough for the head of the pin). It takes quite a bit of shaking for the needles to fall out, so this makes it easy to keep it next to the sewing machine for those "oh $h!t" moments when the needle decided to self-destruct.
I have also used long, skinny bottles to hold bobbins when I ran out of room in my bobbin case.
Another little tip: when the needle breaks, leave the tip threaded until you have removed it from the machine. The little bit of thread is easier to grab than trying to fish the needle tip out of the machine or carpet.
A tip that I saw on a quilting list also makes them useful for stashing broken needles quickly and safely. Drill a small hole in the lid of a prescription bottle that's large enough for the needle to slip through (if you're like me and are constantly trashing ball-tipped sewing pins, the hold will have to be large enough for the head of the pin). It takes quite a bit of shaking for the needles to fall out, so this makes it easy to keep it next to the sewing machine for those "oh $h!t" moments when the needle decided to self-destruct.
I have also used long, skinny bottles to hold bobbins when I ran out of room in my bobbin case.
Another little tip: when the needle breaks, leave the tip threaded until you have removed it from the machine. The little bit of thread is easier to grab than trying to fish the needle tip out of the machine or carpet.
JoAnn Coupons - Expiring 8/31 & 9/11
Free Shipping on online orders of $40 or more (expires 8/31/2010): EYD243
40% off the regular price of one item (expires 9/11/10): EED254
40% off the regular price of one item (expires 9/11/10): DES254
10% off your total purchase (some exclusions including gift cards and patterns, valid 9/3 - 9/6): DGSE249
40% off the regular price of one item (expires 9/11/10): EED254
40% off the regular price of one item (expires 9/11/10): DES254
10% off your total purchase (some exclusions including gift cards and patterns, valid 9/3 - 9/6): DGSE249
Tuesday
Is It Just Me?
Am I the only one who manages to get excess PUL sucked into a seam (like the body of the diaper shifts over and I have at least 5 stitches into what certainly isn't "seam allowance"). I'm glad that my serger and I aren't in good terms, because that would have been quite a few holes in the PUL (not counting a close encounter with the knife). No, I didn't take a picture. Maybe I will next time. I seem to do this more frequently on the "turned-in-leg" diapers where the PUL outer is wider than the inner fabric. I actually tried taping the excess PUL (since I really can't pin it) to get it bunched up and out of the way. Anyone have any good suggestions on how to keep pesky PUL from migrating into harm's way?
Link of the Day - Quick Snap Flap
So here's another "new to me" pattern. There was a little discussion on one of the diaper lists about camping with diapers. Of course, a quick-to-dry pattern was suggested, but when I went looking for that pattern, I couldn't find it. I guess I wasn't the only one, because I found a "try this one" link. Yay! Another freebie!
Quick Snap Flap
Quick Snap Flap
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