Miranda's Sewing Page

My mom still can't believe I even own a sewing machine, but the sewing bug has sort of grown on me over the past few years. Here are a few of the things I've experimented with.

Flip-flap Undies for Fiona

I'm still working on this design, but here's a prototype. I made it with printed flannelette because it's easier to differentiate inside from outside in the photos. Fiona and I practice "Elimination Communication", meaning that I use her signals plus my timing and intuition to respond to her need to pee or poop. She uses the toilet most of the time and diapers seemed like overkill, yet thin undies and the bother of completely removing them to use the toilet weren't quite right for us. She was also beginning to resent having to lie down to replace diapers. So I wanted an underwear design that would allow for quick access to her little butt and absorb a small bit of pee from time to time, protecting her clothing for a couple of minutes. I wanted to be able to share this design with other moms with little sewing experience and minimal equipment, so it's very simple. I cut three flat hourglass-shaped panels, two of flannelette and one of waterproof nylon. A 6" length of no-roll waistband elastic forms the front. The panel is slightly gathered at the back and through the crotch with simple tucks. Snaps are hammered in at the end. The panel is pulled through the legs, tucked up over the elastic waistband and snapped. A one-handed unsnapping and a quick pull gets it undone and out of the way for a quick potty trip.

The Big Quilt

My scrap bin was overflowing with a huge assortment of variously-textured fabrics that had, over the years, been used to make clothing for the kids. So we decided to make a really big quilt to use some up. The kids helped cut, stack, arrange, iron and sew. The quilt has 520 4-inch squares and is big enough to be a throw for a queen-size bed. It's ugly, yes, but it's 520 pieces of family history!

Noah's Whale-Star Quilt


Noah's Whales&Stars Quilt	Whales&Stars Quilt, detail

I've done five quilts now, but this was the first one I did with piecing pattern as the central design element. I had a bunch of leftover silver lamé fabric left over from a Hallowe'en costume, and I had the remainder of a full bolt of the whale fabric I'd done Noah's drapes with. Wasn't there a Star Trek movies about whales and space? Anyway, the milky way piecing pattern seemed a logical one for this project. Who knows how long silver lamé will last on a small boy's bed, but heck, it was that or spend money on another fabric!

Sophie's Quilt

This was Sophie's Christmas gift the year she turned 2 and has started sleeping in her own bed. Erin and Noah drew pictures which I reproduced with embroidery on unbleached cotton. This was my first try at embroidery. I used some fabric paint for large flat swaths of colour but everything else is stitchery.

And, just so you can see what I'm learning about embroidery, here are some close-ups.


Detail, Snail	Detail, Owl

There are 24 squares, and the quilt was pieced, assembled and tied on Christmas Eve. Here is a picture of the happy recipient and the completed project.
Finished!

Outerwear

Noah's snowsuit, orignally Erin's. My first attempt at outerwear.
It was a gratifying project which led me to pursue outerwear in a big way.
Ultrex, completely seam-sealed.

Erin's newest snowsuit. Ultrex also,
and seam-sealed. Notice I'm using a more
androgynous colour scheme now!
Both suits are insulated with Thinsulate
and are super warm and dry.