Easy access, baby!

Totally stealing this idea, I modified a free T-shirt pattern ("Lydia", from Burdastyle.com), to make a nursing top:

with easy access (my duct tape double is flashing you!):

The original front pattern piece looks like this:

but instead you need to cut an overlay and an underlay.
The front underlay piece looks like this:

and is elasticized at the top (stitch 1/4" elastic to the edge).
The overlay piece looks like this:

and is elasticized at the bottom (if your fabric doesn't curl, just turn up 5/8" and stitch a scant 3/8" casing).

Other modifications: after cutting the 5/8" seam allowance off the neck edge, I bound it with a crosswise strip of fabric, which wasn't difficult and turned out well.

My only gripe is that size 38 is loose-fitting on me so this looks more like a dorky nursing top than a non-dorky non-nursing top. Next time I'll try cutting size 36, tightening up the elastic, and shortening the overlay piece. (I need to get in the habit of trying things on as I sew; I could have remedied the loose-fit problem easily.)

I used a double-knit (1-3/8 yards), which was fast and easy - no edges to finish.

This is definitely wearable and therefore a (qualified) success!

Crocheted itty bag finished!

crocheted itty bag
Originally uploaded by sew-sewcrafter

Used 1 skein of Lion Cotton exactly. Less than 6 inches of yarn left at the end. I single-crocheted the pieces together but could have sewed them instead (if I'd run out of yarn).

Dimensions: 8.5" tall x 6" (26 single crochet) wide x 1" deep. One inside pocket. Just big enough to hold an oversized wallet, cel phone, and car keys, but not much else. Inspired by Pammy's Bag in Knit or Crochet (pdf) at WoolyWonder.com.

Would you pay $17 to have "Vogue" instead of "Butterick" on the pattern envelope?

Has anyone else noticed that Vogue 8351 (price $20) and Butterick 5202 (price $2.99), for empire waist knit dresses with gathered fronts, are identical? So, you can choose to pay an extra $17 for the "Vogue" name on the pattern envelope. Or not. This is not like finding a designer knock-off at Target; this is like finding the exact same item with a Target label. I'm not complaining! But I am curious about the thinking behind this marketing tactic.

Preemie hats finished

N's 5 weeks in the NICU gave me plenty of time to knit - but mostly frog. I completed just one hat, which was too small by the time I finished it:

Sewing is so much easier and faster. Yesterday I made these for him:

Basic instructions: sew up a tube using stretch fabric, the circumference of which equals the baby's head circumference less 1 cm. Draw 4 darts at the top (about 2-3" long--these were a little too short so the hat was too boxy):

Stitch up 2 darts on opposite sides:

Stitch the remaining 2 darts in one long seam:

Turn up a deep hem and stitch:

Done!

Double your sewing pleasure

...or halve your sewing pain, as the case may be. What I've learned in the process of sewing 24 capes for M's 5th birthday party (theme: superheros):

1. A rotary cutter is not only more accurate but also many times faster (I could cut 8 layers of broadcloth in a single bound). Mine is by Fiskars and it's GREAT.

2. The sewing machine is not supposed to make that knocking sound. Clean out the lint below! I used the dustbuster (rather than the teeny lint brush that came with my machine). The smooth silence is such a joy, as is the absence of skipped stitches. In my defense, my mother's machine (a beautiful sage green all-metal Kenmore, probably from the 60s) always sounded like that, I just assumed it was normal!

Worst blogger, with good excuse

I am the worst blogger ever. But since I have a readership of only about one (counting myself) I'm not disappointing too many people. I do happen to have a good excuse this time for not posting in a while. At 3am on Monday June 2, my water broke, more than 9 weeks before my due date. This time it wasn't just a little trickle, as with Little M five years ago (I was walking around downtown at the time, and, I'm proud to say, I briskly but calmly walked 2 blocks to Geary St. and took a bus to the hospital. A gentleman offered me his seat, which I had to decline).

This time was more like a scene from a lame sitcom. I was awakened by a sharp pain on one side of my belly (like a muscle cramp) and rolled over in bed to try to relieve it, when I felt the leak. I jumped out of bed and ran to the toilet, as more amniotic fluid gushed out along with a small red blob onto the bathroom tiles. Yelling at Big M, "Wake up! My water just broke!" (response: "Huh? Wha?") while I raced around pulling on street clothes, calling Kaiser's Labor & Delivery dept in San Francisco ("My water just broke 10 weeks early!" "What is your medical record number?...What's your telephone number?...Has your address changed since your last visit?" "Christ! Shouldn't I go to the hospital?...Then why are you wasting time getting all this information NOW???"), grabbing beach towels (because they're dark and would hide stains) to sit on in the car. Little M starting to cry, "I'm sleepy!" We had friends lined up to take care of him closer to the due date, but they wouldn't be expecting to be on call yet, so he had to come with us.

Once I got to the hospital I felt a little less panicked. Within the first few hours I had an IV inserted in my arm, a dose of antibiotics (to try to delay labor), a steroid shot (to help develop baby's lungs), and an ultrasound to see how much amniotic fluid remained. Then there was nothing to do but wait (and endure various injections, manipulations, pinpricks, and hospital food).


Fortunately, the baby waited another week before deciding to come out. Unfortunately (for me) he required an emergency C-section. I'll take a vaginal delivery even without painkillers over a C-section any day. That's all I have to say about that.

Baby N, born June 6, 2008, gestational age 32-1/2 weeks, 3 lbs 9 oz., 16.5". He was tiny but strong. I heard him cry in the operating room shortly after delivery, and he didn't need to be intubated, though he did get extra oxygen (piped into his incubator) the first few days.

Last Friday June 20 was his last day in the incubator. The next day his IV was discontinued. With luck we may be able to bring him home by the end of the first week of July.

Burda 8577 Maternity Top

This is my version of Burda 8577, also reviewed on patternreview.com. I bought the pattern and this fabric when I was pregnant 5 years ago and back in school, full-time, studying organic chemistry and calculus and other subjects that I nearly failed in college the first time around (in the 80s). No sewing was accomplished during that pregnancy.

I have more completed maternity projects to post....This 2nd pregnancy has really gotten me gassed to sew--but it's still pretty irrational to spend time sewing things I can wear for only 4 months, when I can certainly get by on the several tops I got at Target ($4 each, clearance sale). Is this the so-called "nesting"?

Downsizing box #3: mostly bed linens.