Frou Frou by Lovenicky

The blog is moving....

I've decided to move the blog to Blogspot. This will be the last post on Vox.com.

Please visit my new blog location at; http://lovenicky-froufrou.blogspot.com/

Elimination Communication

I have been reading and looking into Elimination Communication. I'm seriously thinking about starting this with my 17 month old. According to Wikipedia, Elimination Communication is defined as:

Elimination communication (EC) is a toilet training practice in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant's need to eliminate waste. Caregivers try to recognize and respond to babies' bodily needs and enable them to urinate and defecate in an appropriate place (e.g. a toilet). Caregivers either use diapers as a back-up in case of misses, avoid the use of them altogether, or do a mixture of the two. EC emphasizes communication between the caregiver and child, helping them both become more attuned to the child's innate rhythms and control of urination and defecation. The practice can be done full time, part time, or just occasionally. The term "elimination communication" was inspired by traditional practices of diaper-less baby care in less industrialized countries and hunter-gatherer cultures. Some practitioners of EC begin soon after birth, although it can be started with babies of any age.

It's really not a new thing. I was trained in EC when I was about 12 months old. That was before disposable diapers were widely used. Many people in the previous generations practiced EC as well. It takes a few months to a year for the whole training process.

My little boy's bum is a bit sensitive. If I don't change his diaper right away after he pooed, he will get a rash. So this really make sense for him too. The only thing is that now that he is an active toddler, running around everywhere, I don't know if I will be able to have him sit in the same spot (read: potty) for a few minutes. It will take more than patience for me to work with him on this, I will have to think out of the box to entertain him, to entice him to sit there a few times a day.

I'm thinking of starting on the Labour Day long weekend. It will give us time to carefully monitor my son's elimination cues, and learn what works and what doesn't with him.

Wish me luck!!

For more info on Elimination Communication, see www.diaperfreebaby.org.

A summer tunic

I made another summer tunic. This time I used a very old pattern in my stash - New Look 6357. It's actually a swimsuit pattern with a tunic/cover up, pants and a bag. I had wanted to make the swimsuit way back when but never did. I looked at the tunic recently and decided to make it for a loose fitting summer tunic. I used stash fabric as well - a 100% cotton black and white print with shoes on it. I think it was meant for quilting/crafting more than apparel. But it's thin enough for a breezy tunic.

NL6357

The top came together very easily. I shortened the waist slightly (my usual petite adjustment) as well as the sleeves (I wanted 3-quarter sleeves to make it more breezy). I chose the size based on the garment measurements at the back of the envelope. This is why I like patterns from Simplicity, New Look and McCall. You can choose how fitted/loose you want your garment to be when the garment measurements are printed!

The pattern calls for loops to be made for the laces but I just did button holes along the neckline and weave a black tape through it. I made the tape with leftover black poplin fabric. But I'm still on the lookout for something nicer - may be a nice satin ribbon.

The body is a bit boxy which is understandable - it is meant to be a cover up for swimsuits. I have been wearing it a lot already. I like it because it was easy to sew, a little different from the other tunics I have made, and very cool to wear during this hot and muggy summer!

Blk white cotton tunic

 

2 floral tops for the summer

I made 2 simple floral tops for this summer. One blue floral one and one pink floral one.

This blue one is based on McCall's 5050. I omitted the waistline elastic but instead added elastic to the hem. I also omitted the elastic at the sleeves. The fabric I used is a bright blue floral cotton lawn. It's too bright for me so I decided to use the back of the fabric instead (more muted). However, I made the mistake in sewing the muted sides together for the sleeves. So now the sleeves are of the bright side and the bodice is of the muted side. I hope no one notices! :-) It's a breezy summer top which I have already worn many times during this hot and humid summer. The body is more shapeless than I would like (my own fault for not doing the elastic), but I'm too lazy to go back and put in the waistline elastic now.

Blue floral tunic

The other one is a pink floral tunic. I usually don't wear pink. But hey, it's summer time! This one is based on New Look 6809. I cut the fabric based on the bust measurements at the back of the envelope. But I think I should have made 1 size larger. The chest doesn't have as much ease as I would like. And the sleeves billow out WAY TOO MUCH for my liking! I feel like a medieval wench! Let's Joust!! LOL. Oh well! When I have some time, I may re-do the sleeves. Right now, I'll just wear it as is.

Pink floral tunic 2

It's been a while.....

Haven't posted for a while. I have been busy with an active toddler who seems to be getting into trouble every waking second of the day! LOL. He gets bored easily and wants to go out all the time, even if we had just been out! (He brings his shoes to me when he wants to go out.) Also, he is getting to that stage where he has become a really picky eater. Mealtimes can be quite exhausting for mommy!

I have made some clothing for him and myself but I just haven't had time to take pictures. Will post the pics in the next couple of weeks.

Baby Snowsuit finished!

I'm glad it's finished! Sewing a snowsuit for a baby is not an easy task! I made soooo many mistakes and have to reworked so many parts that I feel like I should make another one just to apply the lessons learned in the first one. In fact I think I have to, because this snowsuit just fits him now and I need this to last 3 months at least!

Outer Fabric: Navy blue cotton polyester fabric in the Outerwear section of my local fabric store. It says 'Water Resistant'. I tried pouring water on the fabric at home, and sure enough, the water beaded up and slid off the fabric. I wanted to use red but the store didn't have enough yardage of the red, nor the sunshine yellow. And since it's a specialty fabric, they don't restock that section often. So I'm stuck with the boring navy blue.

Inner Fabric: 2 Quilting batting fabric in my stash. One is a black regular quilt batting. The other is a thin prequilted lining (one side is a white quilt batting, the other side a polyester lining).

Pattern used: Now I can see that I should have used McCall 5963, which is a lined infant bunting. But instead, I made work for myself by using 2 stash patterns - combining and modifying McCall 4236 Jumpsuit and Simplicity 5316 hooded jacket. The reason I used them was because I have used these 2 patterns in the past and they fit my baby well. However, both patterns are meant to be unlined which caused me some problems when I tried to line them.

Pattern alterations: I used the hood from Simplicity 5316, and the body from McCall 5963. I lowered the crotch by 2 inches, thinking that it would be enough to accommodate the 3 layers of fabric (not!). I should have widen the sleeves and add a generous underarm gusset because I intend for him to be able to wear regular clothes and slide into the snowsuit easily. I added a storm flap onto of the zipper to block out the wind.

It was hard work sewing such a small garment with so many layers. I was planning it in my head for a while and I measured my baby many times before I made the alterations on the pattern pieces. Since I didn't want to puncture the outer fabric with pin holes, I traced all the pattern pieces with chalk and then cut accordingly. I had to rework many parts and the lack of give was really tough for me. A lot of hand-sewing was done because of it which added to the sewing time. It has a lot to do with choosing a pattern that is supposed to be made with Fleece while I was using a woven fabric with no give.

Lessons learned for me:
1. With a fabric that has no give, and has to incorporate many lofty layers, Super-extra ease is necessary!
2. When lower the crotch on a jumpsuit because of body length, use a longer front sipper as well.
3. When putting in elastic cuffs (for legs and sleeves) for baby garments,  sew the elastics in first and then sew the seams together. The openings are too small for my sewing machine.
4. Add extra space/gusset in the underarm area.
5. Make the sleeves wider so that baby's arm (with 2 layers of clothes already) can slip in easily.
6. Make the hood bigger so that baby can wear a hat underneath the hood.
7. Use a proper pattern that accommodates thick lining for winterwear, or go up an one size if the pattern has it. Make sure that the pattern's shape (especially the armhole) is roomy enough for a woven fabric since most baby bunting patterns call for knit fabrics.

I think those are the major learning points for me.

Snowsuit2

Snowsuit1

Baby winter gear

I have gone back to sewing for baby again. After buying and returning the 7th snowsuit - I gave up! Nothing off-the-rack fits this kid!!!!! ARGHHHHH!! He has a big belly, long body, bubble butt and thick thighs. The snowsuits were all too small (anything that says up to 24 months), or too big (size 2T for toddlers).

So of course he is going to get a custom snowsuit from mommy! I found some outerwear water resistant fabric, add some microfleece, a lining fabric, and off I go! I went online to study the looks of commercial infant snowsuits. Some of them were as expensive as $300! Really, $300 for something that a baby can wear only for a couple of months? Anyways, I'm adapting something from my pattern stash to make the snowpants and snow jacket. The first pair of prototype snowpants were too small, as I forgot to make it really baggy so that he can wear regular pants underneath the snowpants. I'm redrafting the pants now and I'm also drafting the jacket based on Simplicity 5316. The jacket in this pattern is a simple zip front one but it's just too narrow and short for my Baby X. So I need to basically make my own pattern based on this.

Since it's taking so much time to make him this triple layer snowsuit, he needs something quick so that he can go out in the car, and be exposed to the elements between the car and indoors. I have some leftover fleece-backed-sherpa fabric. So I quickly made a simple jacket for him, again based on Simplicity 5316. I added some width to the body and the front to accommodate the button-front opening. And voila! I was able to finish it last night after he had gone to bed! He tried it on this morning and it fit well, although, he is still not used to having to wear so many layers of bulky clothes. This should be good enough for him until I finish his snowsuit.

Faux sherpa winter coat

The final collage

Okay! This is the collage for all the finished pieces for the Wardrobe Contest Fall 2009. I hope it shows the finished products well!

Master collage 5

I just have to say: I'm soooooo glad I finished all the pieces on time! I'm sure I will get much use out of this wardrobe for a few seasons.

A Simple knit dress

I see I forgot to post about the simple knit dress that I drafted myself. I just measured myself approximately, marked out the measurements on the fabric and cut away! It's a little snug in the chest. I guess it's okay as I'm breastfeeding right now. I made it with the limited burgundy Ponte di Roma fabric that I have left from the burgundy top.

To fix the slight tear in the fabric on the right thigh area, I used the little bits of scrap Ponte di Roma and made a small leaf applique. It's not the most sophisticated but I really have no more of that fabric left. The best I can do under the circumstances!

Last top finished

I finally finished the last piece in the Wardrobe contest. It is a simple purple cotton interlock boat neck knit top with Vogue 7933. It kinda looks like an 80's Flashdance top! (If you don't know Flashdance then you are probably too young! LOL)

I have made this simple top before as a maternity top with another moderate stretch knit. It's extremely simple to make and it's easy to customize it with simple embellishments. I was planning to embellish this top but decided against it because I want to have a simple top to showcase my jewelry creations (yes,  jewelry making is one of my many hobbies). I think I will be able to accessorize this new purple top in many ways for this holiday season.

Purple top

Purple cotton interlock fabric

I have updated the Master collage to include all the fabrics I have used for this Wardrobe contest.

Master collage 3

On another note, I have laundered and ironed the stretch denim trousers that I made a while back based on Vogue 7933. I will need to wear a belt with these pants because there is some gaping at the back, but I guess it's okay. The pant legs are wider than what I usually wear but I think I will get used to it. It's great with boots (easy on and off because of the wide legs).

Stretch jeans

So I'm done! Finally! I have completed all the pieces required for the Wardrobe contest! I can't believe I actually did it! I thought with an active baby I wouldn't have enough time to sew everything but I guess if I'm dedicated enough I can always find time to sew for myself. Now I just have to take more pictures, sort out my new collage, update my Master review on the Pattern Review web site and then I'm really done!