Sewing Projects

I dabble in the fabric arts when the fancy hits, most often in that grey, dreary time just after Christmas and right before gardening season starts in February. I've embroidered, darned socks, and dreamed up fabric books in the past. This year, however, I was inspired by my recent interest in all things "green" and this little gem of a book entitled "Handmade Home" by Amanda Blake Soule. Here are the results:

Furoshiki (pronounced f'-ROHSH-kee)

These are squares of fabric that you can use to wrap gifts and carry items. They are Japanese in origin and dang cool to use. The Japanese Minister of Ecology even designed her own furoshiki this year to encourage citizens to use this eco-friendly wrap instead of plastic bags and disposable wrappings. Here's a nifty pdf she developed to illustrate the cloth's versatility. Here's another good site for wrapping techniques.

It's a very simple sewing project once you get the hang of mitered corners. It took me a few tries. These furoshiki are about 35 inches on a side, so they can handle some pretty big items. I made them out of a couple king-sized pillowcases and an amazing tie-dye-patterned cloth shower curtain (thanks, Bybees!). If I'm lucky enough to remember your birthday this year, you may receive a gift wrapped in one of these sweet puppies:

Changing Pad/Burp Cloth

On the same sort of gift-giving theme, I was looking for something handmade that I could give as a baby shower gift. First and foremost, the item must be useful for every child. Then it should be reusable, washable, and created from renewable resources or repurposed materials (if possible). My friend used to make snazzy washcloth bibs for baby shower gifts, but I can't start doing that until everyone else who's known this friend has moved out of the ward ;)

Enter the changing pad/burp cloth idea. Every baby poops, right? With Alice, I found myself changing diapers a lot away from my changing table. Whether it was on the living room floor, on a car seat, or spread out on a disgusting bathroom floor at some random rest stop, I was in need of a clean space to lay my baby down. I love, love, love the portable changing pads you can get at baby stores, but they are pricey and usually foam-filled plastic. You can't exactly throw them in the washing machine (*sigh* I've tried) to clean them after that nasty changing experience on the bathroom floor. Not only that, but the trifold design always ended up putting the cruddy floor schmutz right onto your "clean" changing surface as soon as you folded it up again. So here's my attempt at a portable, washable clean surface you can take with you in the diaper bag:

I used flannel fabric remnants and unbleached cotton muslin for the surfaces. The remnants were different sizes, so the finished products ranged in size from 12 to 18 inches wide and 18 to 24 inches long. Fold it in half (thus keeping the clean surface clean), then roll it up tight and tie it off. Throw it in the wash whenever you like. If you don't need a changing pad, it can also be used as a burp cloth or play space. Just don't look too closely at my stitching. I'm still an amateur, after all.


Cloth napkins

I want to use fewer paper products. It saves money, saves resources, and saves garbage. Paper napkins and paper towels are not recyclable, so I thought I'd cut those out first. Well, it turns out we don't use paper napkins and paper towels very often. We're mostly washcloth and dishtowel folks around here. Still, I do use paper napkins when people come over to eat, or when Bobby makes ribs, so I thought I'd have these on-hand for those "special occasions":

I cut up a "vintage" fitted queen-size sheet and put these 2-ply puppies together. They're about 10 inches square. They're not the most absorbent napkins (*sigh*) due to the wrinkle-free nature of the fabric, but I just can't see myself ironing napkins on a regular basis (waste of time!). I figure our dishtowels and washcloths can handle the big spills. These guys are the polite, mouth-wiping, finger-cleansing, catch-crumbs-on-your-lap, hide-peas-from-your-mama kind of napkins. We'll see how they handle BBQ.

On a related note, toilet paper and facial tissues also happen to be non-recyclable paper products. We happen to use a LOT of them at our house. If I want to dent our paper consumption, I should hit those first, right? Wrong. No way. I'm looking for sustainable changes, not sacrificial changes. I'm not comfortable washing adult excrement from fabric. Nor am I keen on getting a raw, bloody nose with every cold (i.e. we are an exclusively Puffs Plus with Lotion household). One day, I might be so bold as to attempt composting our used facial tissues, but toilet paper will always remain a flushable product in our home.


Baby Sling

I can't show you this project yet. I made it, but I don't know how to use it. Silly, huh? Does anyone know how to wear a baby? Slings come in all shapes and sizes and forms. This one is a big O. Ms. Soule informs me in her book that I should learn how to use it from an experienced baby-wearer, but everyone wears a different kind of sling! I've figured out the basics with a couple of Alice's baby dolls, but how does it work with a live, wiggly baby?