scarf pattern

worsted weight yarn, medium, like a 4

larger hook: size N and I-9 or appropriate hook needed for you yarn

you can get 1 scarf - 5" wide x 47" long from one skein of lion brand wool ease doing a starting chain 140 st and 14 rows

these are the kind of scarves i make. they are pretty simple and quick to sew up


a long chain about 120-150 depending on how long you want it in a bigger hook size. (i use a N) if you do not have a big hook, just make sure your starting chain is loose


then switch to a smaller hook (i use I-9 hook) and HDC into the 2nd chain from hook in the back loop only, continue all the way accross in each chain, ch1 turn


and repeat for 13-14 rows (or until it is as wide as you want) making sure to go into the back loop ONLY and you will get this look, if it's flat then it is probably not into the back loop only

my son is 6, his scarf is 60" which is pretty long- long enough to wrap twice, but i think a 40"-60" will be more than enough length (in my opinion)

this photo is pf my 3 yo son and how the scarf looks on him, his scarf is about 56" long

EtsyClothDiapers~Your source for quality, WAHM made cloth diapers: Etsy Cloth Diaper Team "Black Friday" Giveaway!

EtsyClothDiapers~Your source for quality, WAHM made cloth diapers: Etsy Cloth Diaper Team "Black Friday" Giveaway!:   Banana Bottoms $10 off an order over $50 Beat's Boutique            GIVEAWAY! One 2oz jar of Beat's Baby Butt Butt...

Etsy Cloth diaper Team Giveaway!

i am participating in this thanksgiving weekend giveaway with the Etsy Cloth Diaper Team.

i will be giving away a washable wool scarf... and i might be having a super sale **wink wink**
it starts friday morning, so stop by The Etsy Cloth Diaper Teams Blog to enter

{this moment} happy birthday little one

inspired by The Gnome's Mom

A time to stop and reflect on the week and share a photograph. For me to remember what it's all for, where my inspiration and passion comes from and to share a piece of my life with you. ♥

happy birthday to my youngest. i can't believe you're 3

(receiving raspberries from his big brother)

 

how to take measurements for a cover

I personally feel that the best fit in a diaper or diaper cover will be achieved by taking measurements of your little one. then comparing to the manufacturers measurements OR having a custom sized diaper made.
weight measurements are great ... sure, but i do not shop for clothes based on weight or age...
what it really depends on body habitus.. the way you carry weight.. every BODY is different 
as an example a 120lb woman that is 5' 0" is going to look much different than a 5" 9" 120 lb and wear a different size.
so... in babies... a 20lb 6 month old is going to have much different measurements than a 20lb 18 month old

tips:
- it is best to take measurements over a diaper, preferably a fitted or prefold that you plan on using with the cover. if you do not have a diaper handy add 1" to the rise measurement to accommodate the thickness of a diaper in that area

- also while measuring be sure to have the tape measure against body, but not tight that it presses into the skin/fat of the area.

items needed:  
- a pen and paper for noting measurements
- a tape measure. if you do not have a tape measure, you can use a piece of string yarn or ribbon. mark or cut it to the length and then measure on a ruler or yard stick

i am going to show and explain waist, rise, and thigh measurement.

waist: around the belly at about the level of the belly button

front view

 

front view using yarn

side view

rise: from the belly button, down through crotch and up to the back at about the same level as the belly button

side view

 

front view

 

thigh measurement: around leg at approximately. largest part of thigh

hope this helps!

contact me if you have any questions

{this moment}

inspired by The Gnome's Mom

A time to stop and reflect on the week and share a photograph. For me to remember what it's all for, where my inspiration and passion comes from and to share a piece of my life with you. ♥

i had a hard time picking one this week... we had some unlikely warm weather this week and took full advantage of enjoying it... now we are anxiously awaiting what 'Frankenstorm' brings

 

 

~ emilie =)

i have made a few hats to donate for 2 different causes.

 

one of them is a facebook group collecting hats for soldiers. anyone can join in and they are accepting hats until nov 1st to send overseas in time for christmas. they are also accepting candy donations!

 

the other one is Hopeful Threads October project to support the outreach efforts of Sew For Kids and providing handmade gifts for the babies and mamas of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota.

 

i based this pattern off of this newborn pumpkin beanie pattern

 

so here's the pattern:
 you will need

size I-9 hook

worsted weight yarn

(i have used acrylic and wool-both work well)

 

SIZE ADULT:

 

Stitch Guide:

 

BL – back loop, CH – chain, HDC – half double crochet, SC – single crochet, SC2TOG – single crochet 2 together (decrease), SL ST – slip stitch, ST – stitchInstructions:ch 38.
Row 1: hdc in BL of 3rd ch from hook, and in each st across, ch 2, turn. (23 hdc)
Row 2 – 44: hdc in BL of each st across, ch 2, turn.
Row 45: hdc in BL of each st across, ch 1, turn.

You will have a big rectangle, fold it in half

 

joining both ends, sl st down entire length of hat through both sides, fasten off and weave in ends.

 

Top/crown

join with sc at top of hat near back seam.

 

 

 

sc evenly around (about 44 sc), do not join. When you arrive back at your 1st sc, begin sc2tog continuously around, until 2-3 stitches remain.
sl st to other side of hole and tie off. weave in ends

 

 

 

viola you have a hat!

 

 

 

it is pretty easy to adjust this pattern for different sizes. to adjust the length chain more or less at the beginning and to adjust the width around add more or less rows.

 

here are some different size variations i have made from NB to Adult

 

 

 

 

sorry i have been MIA we have had 3 different illnesses in the past 2 weeks... yikes! we are finally on the mend and hopefully staying that way.

 

i recently asked on my facebook page about any home remedies to boost immune system defense after illness. something safe for the whole family. do any of you have any suggestions... rest... vitamin C? i would love to hear them =)

~ emilie

{this moment}

inspired by The Gnome's Mom

A time to stop and reflect on the week and share a photograph. For me to remember what it's all for, where my inspiration and passion comes from and to share a piece of my life with you. ♥

Congratulations to the winners!

i have drawn the winners for the 300 fan giveaway!!!

And the winners are...

results powered by Random.org

 

Marla R. - wool diaper cover

Samantha C. - flannel fitted cloth diaper

Jessica O. - set of dish cloths

Amy P. - wristlets

Julie B. - aviator hat

 

 

 

thank you so much for all of the friends that have been with us from  the start and all of the new friends we have made.

 

please keep following the blog and facebook page for sales updates, more giveaways, and of lots of fun tutorials and discussions!

 

as a special thank you for participation please use the coupon code 300FANS for 15% off anything in my etsy store or for a custom order (the code will be good until October 15th)

 

~ emilie

{this moment}

inspired by The Gnome's Mom
 
A time to stop and reflect on the week and share a photograph. For me to remember what it's all for, where my inspiration and passion comes from and to share a piece of my life with you. ♥

First field trip, to a local orchard. was a lot of fun!

Sorry i haven't posted much this week! but don't forget that the giveaway ends on sunday!

sewing from the heart

i am sewing along with Hopeful Threads in a project this month to Remember Service Men & Women

this is my first month sewing along, i love this group and the idea behind sharing your talents with other to show them that you are loving and caring for them through your craft.

i made 3 e-reader covers to share, i wish i could do more but i hope that this helps

 

i used this easy tutorial i did not follow it completely (as you can probably see i did not quilt it as much and just did a simple few lines across the fabric. i didn't have time to do the tutorial for this one, but the one i followed is pretty good on it's own.


i realize it is late in the month and you may not have time to consider this months sew along, but maybe you can keep an eye out for one that you can participate in in the future.

happy crafting!

{this moment}

inspired by The Gnome's Mom
 

 A time to stop and reflect on the week and share a photograph. For me to remember what it's all for, where my inspiration and passion comes from and to share a piece of my life with you. ♥

 ♥ i can't believe my 'baby' is 6!

Why use wool covers - an experiment

I started using wool in a desperate attempt to figure out something for night time diapering.. I never knew that I would fall so in love with it =)

 
But why?! why is wool so effective for night time diapering, aside from some information for you I also did an EXPERIMENT! <<insert mad scientist laugh here>> (followed by a girlish giggle) hehe. along with my many other interests I do love a little science  

 
Why does wool work well at night?Night time diapering can be a challenge because with the length of time the diaper is being worn can cause it to get extremely wet, this can cause problems like discomfort and rash

Wool is a great choice because:

- it is water resistant AND absorbent, the outer exterior is scaly called the cuticle and is covered by an epicuticle that is coated in lanolin making it water resistant. The inner part of the fiber called the cortex is water loving and absorb up to 1/3 of it's weight before feeling damp.. so if you're cover is approximately 4oz, it can absorb around 40mL alone before even feeling damp.

- it is breathable and pulls moisture away from the body through the cover and to the outside to slowly evaporate

- it is antibacterial to help avoid rash and stink

- it is flame retardant



so onto the experiment:

Experiment on the power of wool

I set up the experiment: a wool cover with 1 unbleached indian cotton prefold for absorption (at night I usually use 2 however)

I hung it over a glass container with a dowel rod so that I would be able to see if the cover leaked or dripped out

I poured in 40 oz (125mL) of water directly to the middle into the prefold in the wool cover

 

I checked this approximately every 10 minutes for any changes and observed no drips or leaking

I applied pressure from the inside (to simulate the weight of a baby on the diaper) to check for a 'pressure wicking' and even with pressure applied to inside and outside simultaneously I felt no wetness on the outside even though at 30 minutes after 'wetting' the diaper' the prefold was wet the entire length front to back from absorption

After and hour of checking I decided to add another 4oz. (125mL) to the diaper making a total of 8oz (250mL)

I again observed no drips or leaking

 

I then again applied pressure from the inside (to simulate the weight of a baby on the diaper) to check for a 'pressure wicking' and with pressure applied to inside and outside simultaneously, this time I felt some wetness on the outside. At this point the prefold is literally over saturated with wetness.

So what does all of this technical business mean?

I gathered some information on the actual volume of urine output for a child to see how much a child will likely urinate during the night.

Newborn and infant up to 1 year: normal is 2 ml/kg/hour

Toddler: 1.5 ml/kg/hour

Using these rates for a 1 year old up to a 20lb (9kg) and a toddler up to a 35lb (16kg), I found an average of 25 mL per hour

So as a 'heavy wetter' a child could potentially urinate up to 300mL overnight, if sleeping for 12 hours.

The experiment tested up to 250 mL at which point there was some pressure wicking (potentially wet clothes/sheets here)

Wool can hold back the wetness and then absorb up to 1/3 of it's weight before feeling damp.. so if you're cover is approximately 4 oz (which is about what mine weigh) it can absorb around 40mL alone before even feeling damp.

Since we are only using a single prefold (to simulate an entire night of sleep) I think that after 250 mL of wetness if all we are getting is some pressure wicking, that the result is pretty good. I use 2 prefolds at night for more absorption.

I would like to mention, the pressure wicking would/should NOT happen if there were adequate absorption under the wool cover and if the cover is properly lanolized.

When the prefold, fitted etc (absorbent part) becomes so wet that it cannot hold anymore wetness the wool will begin to absorb the wetness and the wool will start to feel wet when it starts to become saturated. The wetness you feel then on the outside is the wool pulling the wetness away from the body and letting it evaporate on the outside of the cover.

All of this happens because of the structural make up of the wool fiber itself. the outer exterior is scaly called the cuticle and that is covered by an epicuticle that is coated in lanolin making it water resistant. The inner part of the fiber called the cortex is water loving and the part that does the absorption.

I hope that I didn't lose you by this point and that you enjoyed this =)
I hope that this helps show the awesome power of wool or at least explains a little more about how it works

 

300 Facebook Fans and gotemcovered etc blog kick-off event!

thank you, thank you, thank you!!! we hope you enjoy

                 ~ from my family to yours
 
I'm really excited to reach 300 facebook fans and to celebrate that AND the start of my new blog Gotemcovered etc i am giving away some fabulous prizes from my etsy shop

all winners will be verified and must contact me within 48 hours of drawing to win, otherwise a new winner will be drawn.

winners will be announced on my blog, on facebook and notified via email

if you have questions or problems please contact me at gotemcovered AT gmail.com


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

oh ye of little patience.. lesson learned

i enjoyed a lesson of my own folly by being too busy for my own good this week...

 

i wasted several (yes SEVERAL) pans of cupcakes and super awesome star wars cupcake liners due to my lack of patience and insistence upon doing at least 2 or 3 things at once.. one of which was trying to bake cupcakes for my sons class for his birthday.

boo and thoughts of /parentfail

i was taught a lesson for my impatience and not only wasted delicious cake but also afforded myself not 1, but 2 trips BACK to the grocery to buy more supplies.. so my idea of saving myself any time by... baking cupcakes and blogging and wrapping presents and making party preparations and checking emails .. oh and eating dinner all at once in different 2-3 thing combinations throughout the day just ended up costing me valuable time and frustration!

thank you universe, lesson learned =) i share this with you and a message saying be patient and just wait for the cupcakes to bake...

on a fun, brighter, and not quite so comedic note: our excitement for star wars and a star wars themed birthday is promising to shape up into a couple fun star wars themed craft tutorials!

Washing and lanolizing your wool diaper cover - simple and easy!

     I have been wanting to make a post like this for so long! It seems to me that washing and lanolizing is one of the most intimidating things for cloth diapering parents who want to try wool covers. I'm here to say it can be easy! and it is even easier still because you generally only need to wash your wool cover once every few weeks (unless they are stinky, soiled, or not as water resistant)
 
     Much like many other things in life, there are many ways that you can achieve the same goal... but this is how i personally do it and it's been working for us...
   
How to lanolize wool diaper covers

You will need:

- Lanolin (the kind used for breastfeeding)

- Baby wash or mild soap

- a small container with a lid or a stirring stick (for mixing the lanolin)

- a towel (bath size is good)

- a basin/container (or you can just use the sink)

- wool cover


Run some clean lukewarm water in to the basin (a little cooler than a baby bath) and a small quirt of the baby wash

If your wool cover is soiled leave the soiled side out for easy cleaning

Put the cover into the water push it down into the water, you will see that it resists the water a bit, flip it over and push it down again

 

Let the cover soak for about 20 minutes

If there are any soiled spots on the cover you can gently rub them to get the out using your hang and the mild soap if needed

rinse the cover out in the basin water and set to the side, dump the basin water

To prepare the lanolin put a pea sized (or small line) of the lanolin into your small container

Add some very hot water to melt to lanolin and a squirt of the baby wash to emulsify, put on the lid and shake until it is mixed well (no clumps of lanolin should be visible)

Add some very hot water to the basin (about 1/2-1" deep) dump in the lanolin mixture and stir.

Add cold water to bring the temperature back down to cool/lukewarm again

Add your washed, wet wool cover

Let it soak about 10-15 minutes then flip over and let it soak another 10-15 minutes

You will see that the lanolin looks oily floating on the top of the water. i usually try to put my hands under the cover and gently lift it up flat to pick up the lanolin off the top of the cover as the water falls through it. i do this on each side and then pick it up it open (like how your child wears it) a few times to get the lanolin through the crotch

After the soaking time is done, take your towel and lay it out on the ground (folded in half)

Gently pick up your lanolized cover and squeeze out the water, gently but firm enough to squeeze out the water (do not wring, pull or twist the cover)

Lay it out flat on the towel, roll the towel up jelly roll style

Gently step onto the rolled towel to squeeze out the excess water (or get some little feet to help... my boys always want to help with this part)

Unroll and lay the cover flat to dry (do not hang to dry!)

I hope this helps you. please let me know if you have any questions.

~ emilie