Earth Week . Giveaways!

Giveaway now closed.

I'm going to be giving away 1 set of my fabulous sherpa/flannel wipes plus 2 kits. The kits would include the fabric already cut and ready to go to make 5 wipes.

Just leave a comment on this post to enter. For extra entries post to Twitter (@LemonCadet) or post on Facebook (and leave that info in your comment).

Current giveaways include the fabulous sock monkey cup cozy from The Monkey Travel Club, details here. Natural Home Essentials is giving away some amazing bath and body products, details here. Sabra has some giveaways going on over at Sew a Straight Line. YOU MUST COMMENT ON EACH POST TO ENTER THE DIFFERENT GIVEAWAYS. You can enter just one or all of them. This post is just for the wipes. (Sorry for the all caps but I think it's strange that there are more comments on this post than on the other ones which are way more awesome).

In case you missed this, 8 Little Coconuts has a coupon code to sponsor Earth Week. Enter "earth week" for 15% off through May 7th. Nature's Fabrics is also offering 15% off until June 19th (no rolls). Just enter "pr15".

All of these links are also there on the sidebar. I'll be announcing my winners on Monday.

The photo depicts my well-loved wipes after 2 years of almost daily washing in super hot water. They are still super soft and even more absorbent.

Earth Week . Cloth Wipes Tutorial and Recipe

Cloth wipes were one of the first things I made for the baby. They are super easy to use, super easy to make, and a lot nicer than flimsy disposable wipes. When "soiled" just toss them in with the cloth diapers.

Step 1: Gather and cut your materials. I used flannel and sherpa. The wipes in the photo are 8" square so you'll need squares that are 8.5" to have a seam allowance of 1/4" all around. You can use a rotary cutter and ruler or regular scissors. (The wipes in the tutorial are from scraps but you can get the idea).

Step 2: Start toward the end of one side and sew all the way around, leaving an opening for turning. If you are using a thick and a thin fabric, sew with the thick stuff on top (right sides together) so that the feed dogs don't eat one side more than the other. Make sure to backstitch at the opening. Clip your corners off.

Step 3: Turn inside out making sure to poke the corners out. Tuck your seam allowances in and pin the opening.

Step 4: Topstitch all the way around. This will keep the wipes nice and flat when you wash and dry them a million times.

The most important thing to remember is that you're going to be wiping a butt with these. They don't need to be perfect -- just soft!

Nature's Fabrics is sponsoring the other half of Earth Week over at Sew a Straight Line. Click here for a coupon code and look in the left sidebar. Nature's Fabrics has a very nice selection of fabric to make your own diapers and wipes.

And now for the best part, my top secret amazing wipes solution recipe. We have been using this solution 3 weeks shy of 2 years and I am having a hard time remembering the last time we had any diaper rash. I know we have had a couple of issues but they were mainly when we were traveling and using disposable diapers.

1 cup distilled or boiled water (we use our Brita pitcher)

1 tbls Dr. Bronner's liquid soap baby mild (we get this in bulk at our co-op but it's at Target)

1 - 2 tsp Burt's Bees apricot baby oil (Target often sends me coupons in the mail)

6 drops or so tea tree oil (you can get this at most vitamin stores like GNC, natural foods stores, or for the best price try Trader Joe's)

We have both a pump and a squirt bottle from that section of Target with all the travel toiletries. Just put a bit on the wipe and you're ready to go.

And my secret to not making solution all the time is to double everything in the recipe except for the water. I put the "stock" solution in a bottle labeled MIX 1:1 and just add water to it when we run out.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Wipes?

I finally finished these cloth wipes. I had started them before the baby came but when she showed up a week early, a lot of projects got put on hold.

They are soft flannel on one side and super thick cotton sherpa on the other. They are about 8" square so that they would be big enough for Aaron's hands too. I pre-washed and dried all the fabric before I sewed them so they could be washed with the diapers.

I really enjoyed sewing something for me and the baby. I spend so much time at my machine making stuff for Lemon Cadet that I forgot how much I just enjoy the process of pinning and turning and cutting and stitching. Of course I love my applique, but I like construction as well.

I'm thinking of putting some in my Etsy shop when I get that back in order. I'd love some feedback. What do you think of a baby gear section?