Sew Joyful Living

Very Hungry Caterpillar Twirl Dress

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:51:00 +0000

I just finished this little girl's dress made from the Sandi Henderson Analise pattern. I was inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric by Eric Carle to make a "dots" twirl dress as my intrepretation of the fabric. I found different size, shape, and colors of fabrics with dots to create texture to the dress. Then I made the bodice and final layer at the bottom of the dress from the fabric that has the caterpillar eating through the picnic fruit. It was fun to design!

The dress itself took quite a bit of fabric. The bottom ruffle along took a full yard of fabric cut into strips. I should have measured the ruffle before I sewed it onto the dress, I know it was over 10 feet long. This dress will sure twirl high!

The pattern itself was fairly easy to follow, but I got confused with the A and B parts of some pieces because I didn't realize I needed to label them. It was late at night and I also could have overlooked that step. But, because I didn't label my pieces, I did end up with the same colors touching in one spot on the dress. Luckily the dress is so full that I don't think it is noticable at all!

The back of the dress is really cute! It has elastic in the back and also closes by tying the long straps in a large bow. I love the back of this dress pattern. And, I love the topstitching of the elastic in the back. I hadn't though to do that before. I think I'm going to make a lot more elastic casings look like that.

Overall, I think this pattern, although a lot of work, time, and fabric, was fairly straightworward. I would rate it at an intermediate level. And, it gave me a good reason to use my serger to create a rolled hem - something I have been meaning to try for awhile, but it never happened! Thanks for the pattern Sandi!

Joyful Baby Store Summer Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:38:00 +0000

Summer is a busy time around my house. We live on a small farm and the farm chores seem to grow. Add in the weeding and taking care of a large garden, canning and freezing fruits and vegetables and summer BBQ's and camps then summer time seems insanely busy! Because of this, I won't be adding as many new already made items to my main store as I usually do. I am still available to work on custom sewing requests though. Just email me with your request and I will write back to you with a price and estimated completion time. Is the price and timeframe works for you, I charge a $5 deposit to which will be applied to the price. I will bill you for the remaining balance upon completion.

I will still be adding new items to Avant-Garde and Serenity Tree as usual. I really appreciate your understanding and business! You can keep up on the happenings on our farm and my business by following me on Twitter too! Thanks! April Ross

Amy Butler Birdie Sling - Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:38:00 +0000

I realized yesterday that I didn't have a graduation present for my husband's niece. The graduation party is today. Oops! I have wanted to make the Amy Butler Birdie Sling for awhile, I've had the pattern for almost a year. So, I decided to make her a Birdie Sling for her graduation gift. She loves red and I had some red wallflower fabric from the Amy Butler Lotus line, so yesterday I went to The Top Stitch, a local fabric store, and bought some coordinating fabric. I ended up cutting the blue fabric upside down, but you probably couldn't tell unless I told you. The bag does have some minor flaws as do most things when you make them the first time. But, I'm happy with how it turned out! And best of all, I got it done in time for the graduation party! It did take me about 6 hours to complete. And, I did have to rip out one seam that I did wrong (after I ripped it out I decided it was time to go to bed). One common complaint I have heard about Amy Butler patterns is that they use a lot of fabric. But, I was able to reposition some of the pattern pieces to better use the fabric. At first I wasn't going to include the pockets to save time. But, as I thought about it more, I decided that it is such a large bag that it really does need the pockets if you want to ever find your car keys. I didn't make the pockets according to the pattern, but improvised an easier and quicker design. Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out! I hope she likes it!

One Size All-in-Two Cloth Diapers w/ Bamboo Velour and Zorb

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:57:00 +0000

I just finished this order or diapers for a local mom. She is planning to use them with her newborn baby girl due in three weeks. She picked out the outer fabrics that she liked from my fabric gallery. Then, I made them up using her fabric choices and using bamboo velour, bamboo fleece, and zorb for the inserts. When my 97/3 wool comes in, I plan to also make her some doublers to place underneath the snap-in insert as a new baby present.

I really like working with the zorb so far. It is thick and more rigid than any other fabrics, but it seems to work well. And, I much prefer cutting and sewing zorb compared to microfiber. I don't think my fold down style soaker will work with the zorb, but the standard style works fine. The zorb is just so rigid that I don't see it folding down very well.

My 97/3 wool should hopefully be to me within a week or two. I love this wool because I can super-felt it and then it becomes washable. I plan to use it as the backing to diaper doublers because wool will absorb so much liquid. And, since it if completely machine washable, you can wash the doublers with your diapers on hot and not experience any shrinkage or warping! I'm very excited for it to get to my door.

If you are interested in having me make a diaper order for you, check out my custom order policies for the details!

Introducing Happy Heiny's Cloth Diapers and Trainers

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:40:00 +0000

After much research, I moved into retailing cloth diapers other than the ones that I sew myself. After much debate, I decided to make this decision for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to provide a fuller range of products than what I am able to sew and perfect. Many people prefer pocket diapers and I get requests to sew them. I will not sew and sell a pocket cloth diaper unless I am able to afford an attorney to help me be sure my design is not included in the patent covering pocket cloth diapers. I know lots of people make pocket diapers and sell them without any problems, but this was the only decision I am comfortable with personally. Secondly, I've realized that I need a source of income that is not tied to how many hours I can sew each week. By retailing Happy Heiny's diapers, I am able to diversify my WAHM income stream.

In no way am I going to slow down or quit selling my "home sewn" One Size All-in-Two cloth diapers. I love my product and it is unique to the marketplace! I have not yet found a mass produced one size bamboo velour all-in-two cloth diaper.

In searching for a company whose products align well with my products, I chose Happy Heiny's for a couple of reasons. First, they are manufactured in the USA. I want to support American jobs. Secondly, Happy Heiny's began as a small WAHM shop, just like mine! Thirdly, I like their warranty and customer service. After I was approved as a retailer for Happy Heiny's, I realized that the business headquarters is within 5 miles of where I graduated from High School.

I don't plan to carry a large selection of every product that Happy Heiny's sells. I will focus on one size diapers with snap closures and training pants. The diapers I sew are primarily one size with snap closures. And, I do plan to add cotton and bamboo inserts to my store to use in the pocket diapers and trainers if someone wants an alternative to microfiber inserts.

So, I have added the products to my store, so go check it out!

Sewing Bamboo Inserts For Cloth Diapers

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:39:00 +0000

I just finished a batch of 13 inserts/soakers this weekend. They are made from bamboo organic cotton fleece and bamboo organic cotton velour. The first picture shows the batch completely done. They are closer in size than the appear in the picture. The end to your left (the top of the insert) has snaps sticking out the back, so it is hard to line them up exactly. The second picture shows the different layers "unveiled". The botton layer of bamboo organic cotton fleece has the snap studs sticking out the back. These studs snap into the cloth diaper. The snap caps (on the side you can see) are reinforced with scrap fabric to give them extra strength and durability. Then you can see next layer of bamboo organic cotton fleece with a strip of fabric sewn doen the center. These strips, made from two layers of bamboo organic cotton fleece fabric, are serged on all edges and zig-zag stitched down the center. They are then sewn onto the middle full layer of bamboo organic cotton fleece using a straight stitch on all sides. I don't want to give them any chance to move around when washed! I use these extra strips of fabric to give more absorbancy without making my serger sew through more than three layers of fabric. This full layer of bamboo organic cotton fleece is turned to that the extra strip is facing down. Then I add a layer of bamboo organic cotton velour to the top and serge around all layers. You can see one of the inserts partially serged in the final picture. The hardest part of serging the inserts is the curves. It is easy to "loose" one layer and not get it caught in the stitching. This happens occassionally. When it does, I just sew the "missed" area with my regular sewing machine and mark it as a "second". It will work just fine and the fabric will only wear to the line I have sewn with my sewing machine. Many times the mistake is hardly noticable. The final step is for me to sew over the beginning/ending point with my regular sewing machine, then collapse the serging and cut any remaining threads. So now if my cotton Sherpa will get here I can finish my current custom order!

The Latest Batch of One Size Bamboo Cloth Diapers!

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:17:00 +0000

These cloth diapers are for sale at Serenity Tree although a few of them have already sold. They are a fitted cloth diaper, which means that they need a waterproof cover to keep clothing dry. They are made with bamboo inners and inserts - so everything that touches your baby has bamboo fibers in it. I love using bamboo blend fabrics because the bamboo fibers have natural anti-bacterial properties. The anti-bacterial properties in bamboo fabric come from the "bamboo kun" which part of the bamboo fibers. And, like other natural fiber materials, such as cotton and hemp, bamboo is also a very "breathable" fabric meaning that air can circulate through it and cool the body.

The bamboo fabrics that I use in the cloth diapers I make and sell are a blend of bamboo, cotton, and in some cases, polyester. I use a heavy weight 80% bamboo and 20% organic cotton fleece in the inserts of my diapers. The fleece layers are on the inside and the bottom of the inserts. They actually have 4 layers of this heavy weight bamboo/organic cotton fleece. The fabric that I use on the top of the insert and the inside of the diaper (that touches the baby's behind) is 80% bamboo, 17-18% organic cotton, and 2-3% polyester velour. The polyester is in the "backing" or back side of the fabric and serves the purpose of holding the fabric together better. While the fleece is a more rugged fabric, the velour is softer and needs the extra stability of the polyester in the back to get maximum durability. I hope you enjoyed learning more about Joyful Baby cloth diapers and the bamboo fabrics that I use in them!

Calling all Knitters! Lottery for a Needlecase!

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:30:00 +0000

I am offering a lottery for this needlecase on Serenity Tree. You can enter for free. If you are selected as the random winner by the computer, you agree to buy this needlecase for $10 plus shipping. The needlecase is made using denim, sushi fabric by Robert Kaufman, and a coordinating red floral print by Amy Butler. The needlecase design is by LuciKnits on Etsy.

This needlecase was hurriedly completed today by me. I was missing the bias tape and zipper to work on it yesterday. This morning I went to the fabric store to purchase the bias tape and zipper - and completely forgot to grab the zipper. I live about 20 minutes from the fabric store, so the zippered outer pocket is omited on this needle case.

You can easily store circular needles, accessories, double pointed needles, and crochet hooks inside. The denim outer will make a long lasting, durable needle case. I hope the winner enjoys it!

My First Time Using Zorb

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Zorb, from Wazoodle, used in cloth diapers seems to be all the rage lately. I've heard countless stories about how zorb diapers absorb more wetness than anything else. I've also heard the skeptics who argue that Wazoodle won't disclose what is in the product, so it must be harmful, and probably doesn't work anyway. I received my first custom order for inserts made from zorb last week. So, I've been moved into the "Zorb Arena".

At first feel, this fabric is different. It is thick and more rigid than the other materials I am used to sewing with. It almost feels like a cross between batting and sew-in interfacing. Did I mention it is thick? It measures 3/16th of an inch thick - or almost 4 mm.

I usually sew four layers together for my inserts. I tried this for the first zorb insert that I made. My serger groaned the whole time. It made it around the whole insert, but it certainly didn't appreciate the job. I ended up with rather ugly serging. I tried one more four layer insert (bamboo velour, two layers of zorb, and bamboo fleece)and didn't make my serger do corners this time. It did a little better, but not much. For the remaining inserts, I dropped out one layer of zorb and reduced the insert to three layers. My machine simply can't handle the thickness of four layers of fabric when two layers are zorb!

The three layer inserts serged fine. So, that is a thickness I can do without risking damage to my machine. Now, the ultimate test is to see how well they work. Zorb isn't something that I've decided to use for my own son, so I havne't personally tested the claims of the fabric. Why not? Honestly, because my son is the last one to get diapers made for him. Most of his diapers are my boo-boo's and since I haven't used zorb before, I don't have any boo-boo's from it. I guess if he was wetting through every diaper I owned, I may have tried it earlier - but he isn't. Maybe I'll have to make him one just to try.

Pink Vintage Dress, Sun Bonnet, and Diaper Cover

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:04:00 +0000

How pretty in pink your little one can be this summer! This dress set is available by auction for a few more days at Joyful Baby Store The dress is a 12-18 month size featuring Michael Miller fabric (the Farmers Market collection designed by Sandi Henderson). The inside is fully lined. This adorable dress is made from 100% cotton fabrics. All natural cotton will be great for keeping cool this summer. The matching diaper cover is a one size diaper cover using the Little Comet Tails pattern. It will fit babies from 8-35 pounds by using a few adjustment snaps! The sun bonnet completes the look by using matching 100% cotton fabrics. It ties under the chin to fit a large variety of children. Go bid today!

Unveiling the "Organic" One Size All in Two Cloth Diaper by Joyful Baby

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Yesterday, I added the first "Organic" one size all-in-two cloth diaper to my Joyful Baby Store. A Joyful Baby one size All-in-Two cloth diaper offers many benefits to you and your baby. This cloth diaper is designed to fit babies weighing between 8-35 pounds. Because one diaper can fit a variety of sizes and ages of children, you can use few diapers throughout your child’s cloth diapering years. It fits many different sizes of children because of two specific features:

 The snap on the inside of the cloth diaper that allows you to adjust the rise (or length) to be shorter)
 The snap placement on the outside of the cloth diaper tightens both at the waist and leg openings as you move it to a smaller snap setting

A one size cloth diaper made by Joyful Baby has a waterproof outer layer of PUL (polyurethane laminate) that will keep your child’s clothing dry. On this diaper, the PUL is the blue jungle animal print.

The inner layer that touches your baby is made from bamboo/organic cotton velour for a wonderfully soft touch. The inner layer is the off-white colored layer that covers the entire inside of the diaper.

The insert or soaker snaps into the middle of the cloth diaper and can remain snapped in place during washing and drying. You can't see the snaps because they are underneath the insert/soaker. The center insert/soaker provides the absorbency for the diaper. The insert has the same super soft bamboo/organic cotton velour on the top. For lots of absorbency, I used a heavy bamboo fleece for the hidden and bottom layers of the insert/soaker. On this diaper, I have used a standard style insert. I also offer a longer "fold down" style insert that is wonderful for toddler boys!

All my Joyful Baby one size diapers are sewn using the Little Comet Tails pattern "Little One". This pattern is also available for purchase for personal use.

One Size Cloth Diapers - Bamboo Fitteds - with two choices of insert/soaker styles!

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:49:00 +0000

This is the most recent batch of one-size cloth diapers I have made. They are fitted cloth diapers, which means that they are not waterproof and will need a cover. I really like using the bamboo fabrics for these diapers because they are so absorbent. You will have to wash the new diapers up to eight times to reach their maximum absorbency. However, these diapers are my favorite to use on my son because he never soaks them completely. And, when made with all stretchy fabrics, like these diapers are, they will fit well on a 35 pound child! They are for sale at Serenity Tree now.

The inserts or soakers that come with these diapers are also made entirely of bambo fabrics. They snap into the diaper. You have your choice of a standard style insert or a longer fold down style insert. I love using the fold down insert in my son's diapers. I highly recommend the fold down style for toddler boys. However, they are more bulky with a younger baby. If you want a particular diaper, but with a different style insert, just email me and I will change it for you free of charge!

The pattern I used is the Little Comet Tails - Little One. It is a pattern that is for sale at www.littlecomettails.com if you want to sew your own cloth diapers. I am an authorized licensee which means that I purchased her pattern, sent the owner of the pattern pictures of my work, and was approved to sell cloth diapers made from her pattern.

Reversible Summer Sun Dress

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:34:00 +0000

I finished the summer dress to match a yarn cloth diaper cover (soaker) knit by Aimee at Jade Gaia. I used Amy Butler fabrics in her Lotus line and made the dress reversible. It was quite a challenge to make the top reversible. I have a couple of things that I would do differently next time. But, overall, I am pleased with how it turned out. Hopefully if will look OK with the knit diaper cover. If they don't look good together, I will remake the dress in a different fabric and sell this one in my online store by itself.

Summer Sun Dress Design

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Aimee of Jade Gaia and I decided to put together another set of clothing to sell online. I am going to sew a summer sun dress and she is going to knit a diaper cover, also called a soaker. Aimee gave me a strand of the handpainted yarn that she wants to use for the soaker so I can find some fabric to match. My first thought was Asian inspired. I couldn't find anything that I absolutely loved at the first local fabric store that I visited. The second farbic store I visited specializes in Amy Butler prints. I had to give the strand of yarn to a lady who worked there to try and find matches for me because my almost 2 year old son was throwing a huge fit. She remarked that I was the first person to ever bring in yarn to match fabric with. She pulled a few different bolts to look at. I was immediately drawn to this print, so I went ahead and bought it for the sun dress. If you look closely, you can see the yarn strand on top of the fabric.

The next step is for me to draft a pattern for the sun dress. I'll post pictures of that project next!

Swiffer Me Happy - A New Sewing Pattern Design

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:28:00 +0000

I really enjoy desiging sewing patterns! It seems like I don't get to spend as much time as I would like to on design though. Today was the exception! I have a Swiffer wet jet and a dirty kitchen floor. The problem was, I had no more cleaning pads for the Swiffer. I had been meaning to design a way to use a microfiber towel as a reusable cloth for the Swiffer. And, since I detest having to cut microfiber (it snows microfiber when you cut it) I really wanted a "no cut" pattern. Well, I came up with one! Now, I haven't searched the internet for reusable Swiffer patterns, so I'm sure there are better ones than mine out there. But, mine works great! My 7 year old don even wanted to help mop with the Swiffer and was able to make it work. He said it was a little harder to push it than with the disposable pads, but I couldn't tell the difference. I am converted to microfiber for my Swiffer! It took me maybe 5 minutes to sew and fasten it to my Swiffer. And, it will take probably 30 seconds to secure it in the future.

Now, my next step it to write it up as a free pattern. And, it will be completed before the end of April because that is when I will need to send copies in to The Spotted Box as my "sample"! I'm sure I'll post it here too!

Joyful Baby Cloth Diapers on Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:47:00 +0000

To finish up my "sheep" purchase, I decided to dedicate the sales of these cloth diapers to the sheep purchase fund. I discounted them to a great price, so hopefully they will be sold soon and I will have enough to buy the sheep!

These are all solid PUL cloth diapers. The PUL outer layer is waterproof, which means that you don't need a cover with these diapers. The inner layer is a soft and plush microfleece which will keep the baby's bum dry. The hidden layers are super-absorbant microfiber. The diapers close with snaps. If you are interested in purchasing one of these diapers, you can at Diaperswappers

Butterfly Spring Twirl Dress

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:28:00 +0000

This is my latest custom order for a twirl dress. The client picked the fabric and trim from pictures I took of choices at my local fabric store. The butterflies and glitter are perfect for a little girl! I hope she likes it! The proceeds from this dress are getting added to my "buy a sheep" fund. So, I am almost halfway to sheep ownership!

Sew Joyful Living Explained

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:49:00 +0000

This fun spring twirl shirt was made to match knitted wool capris made by Aimee at Jade Gaia. The fabrics are designed by Sandi Henderson as part of her Farmers Market series, sold by Michael Miller. The shirt is a size 12 month. I love this design as it has a more fitted bodice and lots of twirl!

It was actually this item that inspired me to create Sew Joyful Living. The week before this item went live, my bible study on finances challenged me to "Look for an opportunity to meet someone's needs this week as a way of sharing Christ's love." The whole study is centered around how we use money. My WAHM income from Joyful Baby is the only income that I really have that is "mine", so I decided that the money I made from the sale of this item would be the dedicated to "something" special, but I didn't know what at the time.

Today, I decided the "something" special would be to "buy" a sheep through World Vision. This is the description from their Gift Catalog, Item #0117 Warmest Wool, cost $105: "Send a sheep to keep cold children cozy. For impoverished families, a sheep's wool can yield soft, warm, long-lasting clothes. Sheep often give birth to twins or triplets, which can be sold at the market. And, sheep's milk is up to twice as rich as cow's milk in nutrients like protein, calcium, and B vitamins that growing kids need." What a perfect gift considering how valuable my fellow WAHM's and I find wool!

Now, the sale of that one item did not give me the full $105 to "buy" a sheep. I am going to designate some other items that I have for sale. And, those all of those proceeds will add to the start that I have right now. Come back to check on the progress!

Pink Butterflies Meet Leopard Skin Sophistication

noreply@blogger.com (April Ross) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0000

This is one of my more recent creations that went on sale on March 15th at Naturally Nested. I love it because it is different than most of what I see out there. This dress is a girls size 7, so I love the blend of child and adult in this dress. The butterflies and rick rack say child to me, while the leopard skin and halter top say "I'm growing up"! The dress is constructed of 100% cotton knit for easy care. What a perfect non-traditional Easter or spring dress.