We’re taking a quick trip to visit my mom this week, and since the weather in Utah still resembles Winter more than Spring, I thought I’d knit the kids a couple new hats.

Miss O’s hat is knit in Old Shale pattern, with hand painted, hand spun Merino yarn. I bought the roving in Arizona while I was pregnant with Big G, and I’ve been hemming and hawing over what to make with it. I spun the yarn into fingering/sport weight singles. It really turned out beautiful.

Big G’s hat uses Brown Sheep Company’s Top of the Lamb and Lamb’s Pride. The red is leftover from a vest I knit for Erik several years ago. The three shades of gray are a gift from Erik’s step-mom, Susan. They’re all delightfully soft. Even Big G, who generally rips hats right off his head as soon as he realizes he has one on, kept touching his hat, then leaving it on. He wore it for at least two hours straight inside the house. Erik has requested a grownup version if this hat for himself, so I’ve already cast on for that.

One of the benefits of completely immersing yourself in a pursuit is that you learn so much about it. As a matter of fact, you can learn so much that you might start to think of yourself as somewhat of an expert. An authority, even. You might get the idea to spread the word about said pursuit, and while writing an article about it you might do a little research in order to locate studies to backup your claims and opinions.

This is where we pause to discuss the ramifications of this step.

My “intro to sewing cloth diapers” article has exploded into an eight page and counting thesis.
My instructions for sewing a basic fitted diaper now have a bazillion options for turning the pattern into a contour, an AIO, a stay-dry, a pocket diaper. Turn and topstitch, serger edges, FOE binding.
The section on washing diapers now has info on detergents, pH, additives, pure soap (and why it’s baaad), and how to take care of “problems.”
The section on cloth diaper benefits now includes a “myth buster” section to dispel all the nasty rumors you’ve heard about cloth, and all the dark secrets disposable diaper manufacturers don’t want you to know.
Now I have realistic figures to show how much money one can save by cloth diapering vs. disposable diapering, even factoring in the cost of the diapers, the utilities, and detergent for washing them.

Not all of this information will fit into my article. Much of it will remain as a supplement online either here on my blog or on a website I’ll be launching shortly (don’t worry, there’ll be a big huge link to it from my blog). It’s hard to decide what important information to cut, but when it comes right down to it, I have to keep in mind my original aim: an article to make cloth diaper sewing and using accessible to EVERYone. Not just people with sergers. Not just people who can order hard to find fabrics on the internet. Not just people who live a few miles away from the perfect stocks-everything-you-need fabric store.

I know you’re dying for more info, too, so rather than tease, check out some of these great links:

I just can’t believe how much information there is “out there” about cloth diapering. Many of these I’ve seen before, but some of them I’m just discovering.

Check out Real Diaper Association, a non-profit cloth diaper advocacy group.

Several excellent diaper information resources:
The Diaper Pin
The Diaper Hyena
Diaper Jungle

Great cloth diaper fabric retailers:
Wazoodle
One Stop Diaper Shop
Malden Mills
SewShoppe

Some super diaper patterns:
Chloe Toes Diaper Pattern
PooPockets and Diaper Covers Deluxe
HoneyBoy!
Cuddlebuns

Free Diaper Patterns and Sewing help:
Diaper Sewing
MamaBird Diaper

My diaper article is mostly finished, the pattern is nearly perfected, and the samples are coming along great.

Right now I’m at the point where I have to decide how to present the pattern. I’ve designed it so that it will enlarge proportionately on a photo copier. Currently I have a half pattern at newborn size, so readers could trace it as is, then enlarge it for larger sizes. I’ve also toyed with the idea of printing a full pattern in a much reduced size. It would be sized for a dolly. A full, multi-size pull out is not an option, however if I spread the pattern over three pages, I’d be able to offer the multi-size half pattern. Readers would then have to trace and tape together. If you were the reader, what would you prefer?

Also, if you were totally new to cloth diapering, what would you want to know? Or perhaps a better question, if you’ve been CDing for a while, what do you think newbies would find helpful?

Here are some of the things I’ve already covered:
Styles of cloth diapers, including flat folds, prefolds, contour, fitted, all-in-one.
Number of diapers to start with.
Fabric descriptions.
Washing diapers, including a basic routine, what to do when you have laundry problems, and a bit on detergents.
Sewing a basic fitted diaper, using the included pattern, plus variations to make a contour and all-in-one.
Diaper doubler, waterproof diaper covers, and washable wipes.
Plus a side bar for a few great online diaper fabric stores.

If you have a favorite source for diaper making supplies, or any other questions or suggestions about the article, please let me know in the comments!

Just when I think I’ve got it right, I change it again. The pattern, that is. The article is coming along very nicely, and thanks to Erin’s comment yesterday, I even remembered to talk about how many diapers you need (not less than three dozen, if sanity is a long-term goal).

The silly pattern is coming along. I thought I had it done, and even got it onto the computer and everything, then I decided to tweak it a bit more. I made a few more test diapers, changed my instructions a bit, and now I’m pretty happy. There’s still something a bit funky with the leg elastic, but I’m working on that. Here are the test diapers, with the latest version in front.