When "Doodie" Calls | This WONDERfilled Life

I can have the best laid plans…but when “doodie” calls…I drop everything and take care of it. 

I started a really awesome (I think it will be awesome) project two weeks ago for my horn.  I was in the designing phase and decided I needed some black mesh.  Cut to me tearing my sewing studio apart looking for one of THREE stores of black mesh that I know I own.  I couldn’t find a single one…so I decided then and there that I would organize my fabric after my year long crafting challenge (more on my trials of de-cluttering soon).  I got a ton cleaned up…but as I was organizing, I found a diaper cover half repaired and I realized I should probably finish that and just get it out of the area.  I finished fixing the cover and wouldn’t you know it we started having problems with every other diaper cover we own…

If you didn’t know already, we’re a little crunchy…when I was pregnant with P I knew I wanted to cloth diaper.  I would stay up late throughout my pregnancy researching diapers, covers, inserts, you name it.  I settled on the cover and insert system because it seemed to work well and it was affordable and if I am being totally honest I had zero desire to reach into a pocket and pull out a urine soaked insert.  I much preferred the idea to flipping a cover over and dumping the wet or soiled insert.  So we bought/registered for about 10 FLIP diaper covers and 4 ECONOBUM covers.  For the insert we used the same flat fold diapers my Mom used on me and my sister some 35+ years earlier! Those did stop absorbing by the time P was potty trained, so we bought a new set of 50 flour sack towels for Bubba.  They work just as well!  But back to the covers.  About a year after P was born I noticed the elastics in the covers were much looser than when we had first bought them and after scouring the interwebs for advice on how to fix them I dived in, took pictures, and actually blogged about it! That post (FOUND HERE) from 2015 is my top post EVER with 3390 total views! I knew Bubba’s covers (the new and the previously fixed ones) were starting to relax, after all the elastic had last been replaced almost 4 years ago.  We found ourselves reaching for the handful of covers that were bought when he arrived as their elastics were still in better shape, but after leaking through several outfits I realized that as much as I’d love to finish my horn project my “duty” as a mother was to in fact take care of the other “doodie” that was calling.  I grabbed a few covers at a time and started the whole process outlined in my previous blog.  I also decided that I would try to replace the elastics in the ECONOBUM’s as well.  These had been virtually useless since P was still wearing them. I was surprised at how easy it was…just as easy if not easier than the FLIP covers.  And while working on them I actually changed the way I did a few things and my last few FLIP covers repairs were smooth and the easiest to fix so I wanted to share those changes here:

(You can see the older, relaxed elastic above the new 4.5" elastic.)

·       I cut the new elastic at 4.5” this time and not the 5”.  Bubba is a little sturdier than his sister was and while we are toying with potty training sooner than later I don’t want to have to replace these again.  I also knew that his rise is a little longer so having a slightly tighter leg would be better since we were going to be using the longest rise (ie not snapping anything down).

(Econobum elastic almost impossible to seamrip out.)

(Snipping the elastic was quick, clean and unnoticeable when it was all done!)

·      The ECONOBUM diaper elastic was a bear to seam rip.  It was bad when I did the original fix on the flip covers as well and took up the majority of my time the first time I replaced the elastics in 2015.  I usually like doing things “right” and prefer to completely rip out the stitches, but I just didn’t have the time or patience for that so instead I snipped the elastic on each end.  This was soooo much easier and in the end no one  would be able to tell that I did this.  Two other great outcomes from this method is that you are not left with any holes or tears in your pull.  I had a few “eep” moments when working on the FLIP covers and in retrospect wish I had saved myself the time and energy and just snip snipped those elastics.  The other benefit was that I didn’t have to guess on where to place my new elastic.  I just butted the new end up to the old one! How perfect is that?

(The "lightening bolt" stitch is number 5 on my Janome.)

·       I used the lightening bolt stitch to top stitch the binding back in place.  I had been using a straight stich like the diaper maker had.  I would often not get both the front and back in the binding and would have to turn the cover over and top stitch again to catch everything. The ECONOBUM diapers have a cover stitched top stitch and to try and match that I choose a zig zag stitch when top stitching the binding back in place and I realized that it stretched with the binding better, if I happened to catch the elastic it too would stretch and it caught both sides of the binding the FIRST time.  I changed to the lightening bold stitch on my last two FLIP covers and it was like night and day…do yourself a favor and use that stitch!

(You can't see any zigzag, that's how awesome it blends in!)

As I was working on all 19 covers these past two weeks I also realized that all the little details that I had worried about the first time I replaced the elastics were such small potatoes in the bigger scheme of things.  I rarely ever notice, and I really mean never, the white thread on the colored covers.  I had accidently sewn over parts of the elastic and it would pull funny when not on the baby, but in the almost four years of using the fixed diapers (P for two and Bubba for almost two) I didn’t have any issues with the covers when we were using them and isn’t that the point.  They function! Lastly, I gave myself a big pat on the back because I knocked these out much quicker than the last time.  All this sewing in the past year has been great practice and I am much more confident in my skill set.  Funny enough Bubba has been interested in the potty…so now that our stash of covers is repaired I get to start making some trainers! *sigh* again, duty (“doodie”) calls… I hope to finish up my super awesome horn do-dad…but until then we’re accepting all good wishes and prayers for a speedy and dry potty training run!

(Look at the difference! The left has been replaced while the right is the old, relaxed elastic!)