Detergents on the Cheap

I've always intended to write a blog spotlighting the Laundry Detergent Recipe I found years ago. Someone else beat me to it. Plus, they have recipes for Dishwasher Detergent, Shampoo and Conditioner. Why recreate the wheel.
Homemade recipes link
Curious? Here's the shopping list:

Lemi Shine (I've used this in the closed compartment of the dishwasher for years. We have hard water):

Kosher Salt
White Vinegar
Cider Vinegar

compare that with a shopping list of what you are replacing:
Dishwasher Detergent: $4-$12
Laundry Detergent: $4-$20
Shampoo $1-$8
Conditioner $1-$8
When I used the homemade laundry detergent, I washed my whites in Tide every few loads to whiten. Now I'd recommend throwing Borax in now and then. I do that anyway.

The other day I had to clean the grime off the dishwasher door to stop a leak, and I can honestly say the following load was the cleanest dish load we have had in years. I cannot wait to try the Dishwasher Detergent.

Add in a bar of Ivory Soap and you have the ingredients for laundry soap. But, if you would like a simple laundry soap, how about trying Soap Nuts. My neighbor told me about Soap Nuts.

                                            

They sound fun. Today she brought me a baggy of the nuts and I can't wait to try them. They are the meat around a seed of the Sapindus Mukorossi berry. They peel the meat off and replant the seeds. You can use each nut 4 times, then squeeze it to see if the white soap is still coming out. If so, you can use it some more. 4-5 nuts does 4 loads of laundry and they really cost very little. My friend said they come out costing less than Tide. But they don't have any chemicals other than the saponius, which is a natural extract of the fruit. Once you use all the saponius, they are safe to put in your compost heap.
More excitement? You can use the Soap Nuts to make shampoo, dish soap and cleanser (although once liquified they only last a few days). You can boil and soak the nuts, then use one batch for all these uses. I've ordered my Soap Nuts. Can't wait to try them.
My neighbor is at her house right now testing how to make her Soap Nuts form a gel by adding Knox Gel. I have high hopes because I'm a little leery of using a pure liquid to wash my hair.

Here is a way to cinch the belt in a little tighter which is fun. Making your own detergents and household cleaners is empowering. Products we thought nothing of buying all our lives are things we can create ourselves in minutes. The results are healthier cheaper and work just as well. Let me know what you think.

Dyeing (note the spelling so you don't panic)

I'm making two black capes for a friend. I have looked all over town (try over a 45 mile radius) for the Tailor's Fine Quality Interfacing in black I always use. It's the Pellon Interfacing with long lines of fibers in it, holding it together longer. It also bonds better to fabric. I can never seem to get the regular interfacing to stay on- I get bubbles no matter what I do.
So, back to the search. During Sunday lunch I dragged the whole family of five into a fabric store, and my husband said,"why don't you dye it?" Well, for starters, the dye is $5 a bottle. But I have no other choice.

This is the same exact color you buy in the store. I cut out my pieces first, then hung them to dry after dying. Once it was almost dry, I went ahead and ironed it on, since I usually steam the pieces on anyway. Yeah! Then, left with all that fresh dye, we went through the house for any faded black clothes and tossed them in:

Yet another thrifty moment :)

While the interfacing was dying, I cut out my pattern:

when this happens, I pray there are no coyotes nearby and throw him outside.

The directions on the bottle (which I in general ignored) said Wear Gloves. I normally have extremely white fingernails. It took me way too long to figure out what was stuck under my nails was really that my poor nails are dyed a pale gray. I hope I don't have any emergency situations until this clears up or they will think I am cyanotic (spell check isn't getting this, but I know it's a word because I heard it on ER).

Hiring the A Team

A while back, Kathy Griffin referred to herself as a B- List Actress. Since then, I've noticed how some businesses or work men are just better than others. Yesterday I got the A Team.

We have needed a sliding door for several years. We looked at Lowes, Menards and Home Depot, and the floor models were so shabby, we decided to have a home consult with Pella Windows. They have The Top of the Line, and they also have a couple lines below that which are more affordable. Our home is not top of the line. We have about a Wal-mart level house, so we didn't go top of the line, but we still got the A Team when it came to installers.

Two years ago, we had a flood and our insurance company hired the A Team to come in and repair everything. Unfortunately, when our A Team contractor hired his workers, he called in every Tom Dick and Harry that he knew from the sticks. They were not the A Team. Or the B Team. So I've got a wide range to compare.

The A Team puts booties on even after you tell them you don't mind if they track in a little dirt. Then they roll out sheets to cover your floor. They politely talk to your pets and don't notice the Pop-Tart crumbs stuck to your shoulder.

Team B- they make snide remards about How You Took out the stopper in the sink when it quit working (B team plumber).

Team A vaccuums up dust as they go, and carries off the scraps in their OWN trash can! Wow!

Team B dents your gutters with their ladder, burns a hole in your towel and leaves drips of solder on the floor.

Team B hires help that cuts trim directly on your new vinyl flooring as they are installing it, then don't say anything when they cut into your flooring. And don't say anything when they notice a hole in said flooring. Sigh.

We used to be Do-It-Yourselfers. Then we hired the people we flagged down off neighbor jobs. Then we found people in the phone book. (those were actually good at first but they got bought out by B Teams- go figure).

Signs of the A Team: Clean Uniform Shirts all clean and pressed even if they are about to do a sloppy job.
Politeness
Often a manager will come along to introduce the employees, and let you know to contact him if there are any problems (at this point, you may be panicing about the price of the job- don't).
A Team doesn't run anybody down.
they are proud of their company, and it shines through. They don't make negative comments about you, your job, or the people that came before. I have no idea why that is- but if the guy working on your house tells you he is the only one in the area that does the job and most people won't look at it, tell him you will let him know when you are ready and go find someone else.
The A Team brings enough people to do the job from the start. Team B calls in a few "buddies" at 4pm, and you are so happy they got extra help you don't care that the buddies were sitting at the local bar all day waiting for a call. (it happened)
Hire The A Team. It may cost more, but it is almost always warranteed. You are going to be happy at the end. I've never been unhappy with the A Team. On the B Team jobs, I just sigh and plan to redo it when it falls apart. Houses need enough repairs without having to be redone soon.

Downside to being Cutting Edge

Just a thought occurring to me lately.
When I started scrapbooking, it was so new we were excited when a new die cut came out, and we designed most of our own decorative paper. Now creating your own embellishments isn't even necessary. Yes, that was exciting and creative and unique, but also time consuming.

Now, I'm on the cutting edge of digital scrapbooking. There are a lot more options even now than in my first example, but at the same time, I wonder what will come next and if I'm wasting resources by starting to work on my books this early in the game (oh, please!, right?)

You could even bring this thought to my copious diapering blog entries. Five years ago, when my son was born, no one was using cloth. Last year a couple people were talking about going to cloth, but in my head, it was still the triangle of wet soggy diaper fabric and a pin. (I realize now that I may have been misinformed). Now, not only are the new cloth diapers easy to use, economical and cute, the stuff to make them is easy to find, and of just as high quality as the professionally made diapers. In this last example, I am kicking myself at not trying to go cloth with #3, but five years ago I don't think I could have even been cutting edge because there was no edge. Oh, I paid a huge amount of money for some flannel nursing pads :( Still really mad at myself about that one. I could have sewn them in half an hour.

Important Diapering Sources

While I was doing my diapering blogs, I came across many good sources for supplies including local stores: fabrics.com, and Etsy,  of course. But last night, finishing up my projects and thinking how I sure did enjoy making those little diapers, and maybe I should put some on my Etsy store, I found the best source yet: Wazoodle I'm sure this is where other vendors are getting their stuff. The snaps are incredibly cheap here. They are reasonably priced at the Etsy store I mention.

But one of the most exciting things for me is that they have a fabric called ZORB- it's supposed to be super absorbent after a few washes. I was trying while making the diapers to have only the best products for the job. Zorb is also not very expensive, as opposed to the enormously expensive microfiber which was also fragile.

I never did blog on the soaker pads. Here are the supplies for a soaker in order of assembly:
1 layer flannel (top)
2 layers super absorbent fabric (the one I used said not to use it next to baby's skin because it was so absorbent it would leach moisture from baby. hmmm. So I covered it with flannel. Not so sure you'd need that on Zorb. It didn't have that warning.
1 layer regular terry.
Apply snap to the bottom two layers (so that it has the reinforcement of two layers)

I sewed a straight stitch around about 1" in from edge to catch that fragile microfiber layer, then used a stitched zig zag (not the simple zig zag, but one that has 3 stitches per zig) around the edge. I was using a bound serge stitch but that takes forever and you are making 20-30 soakers.

Doubler:
3 layers of Microfiber super fabric or Zorb.
both sets of snaps. On one side apply what I'd call the male part, on the other side put the female side. I had cut 4 layers of microfiber and put the snap through two layers on each side then cut the middle away on the 4th layer- it was way too thick. 3 layers seems about right.

Starting Up a Diaper

Supplies:
PUL (polyurethane laminate) or Ultex (PUL is more durable)
Fold Over Elastic (make sure it is 1", which is softer)
Plastic snaps or velcro. There is a velcro designed specifically for diapers but that is something I haven't used at all.
Plastic Snap applicator (watch for sales. They market for $20, but I paid $13.)
These are the supplies for the cover. I'll talk about the soaker another day, after I've researched it more. Unfortunately, my kids have not used these covers, but a mom who has loves the one I sent her.

In order to get the most out of my yardage, I cut several diaper covers on the edge and sewed them in various ways to get a whole one. This was the test to see if I needed to seam seal it (yes), but most babies won't use it like a water balloon, so even unsealed I bet it's pretty good. Plus, my diapers use two layers of PUL, so it's almost unneccessary.

This photo (above) is the one that helped me realize my big diapering mistake. When I sewed my two PUL layers together, I sewed the two wrong sides together. But in a diaper cover, you want the inside layer to be wipeable. See how the moisture soaks into the knit layer? Even though it's polyester, it still absorbs water. You will want to sew your two layers facing the same direction so that the inside of the cover has the wrong side showing:

This is the pattern I'm using. I cut the small and am adding adjustment snaps to make it smaller, which I'll show later on.

The seam sealed.

This is tracing pellon. I almost never cut my patterns, but use tracing pellon so I can use all the sizes in the pattern.

Tracing pellon laid out on fabric. Whenever you can, buy a full yard of PUL. This is a fat quarter, and I only get 2 out of each fat quarter, and one of those has a seam down the center.

Seam Sealer I used. It smells suspiciously like rubber cement.

A finished diaper

Nowhere in any research I did, did I read that you need to put either interfacing or a second layer of fabric with the plastic snaps. Imagine my surprise when the snap pulled on through! This is a patch just as a sample to show the mom the diapers, and now I put two layers of PUL inside each snap.

The two rows of snaps joined up to make the diaper smaller.

Critical Diaper Error

I just got a professional diaper in the mail, similar to what I've been trying to replicate. Looking it over, I was thinking "how cheesy that they put the wrong side of the PUL showing on the inside". But my mind kept chugging along, and remembered when I had waterproof tested a seam, and water had come through, turning the fabric a darker shade (meaning the water did soak into the fabric). Sigh. And how Tarah says the diapers are wipeable. sigh. Guess what? Mine will not be wipeable. they will need to be  washed and dried before re-use. At least I made a lot of them! See Starting up a Diaper entry for an example of wicking moisture if you aren't sure what I'm talking about.

Here are the soakers in production:

this is the before stay-stitching pile. My Super Soaker fabric is very prone to falling apart, so I'm sewing around all the soakers to make sure the micro-fiber is stitched before binding the edges.

I love all the little extra projects my kids have put around my sewing table (because they bring something to me and I say- just put it on my sewing table- lol there's no room left!)

Off to edit all my diaper posts to make sure people use the wrong side of the fabric on the inside.

Oh, and they also put the snaps through both layers of fabric, so that the back of the snap shows. my backs are inside the two layers. Their way makes snapping much easier (that and I'm sure they use a professional machine so that the pressure is even and perfect for attaching the snaps. I tended to smash one side too hard, misshaping it a little, and not enough on the other).

Getting Started with Cloth Diapering

Supplies:
PUL (polyurethane laminate) or Ultex (PUL is more durable)
Fold Over Elastic (make sure it is 1", which is softer)
100% Polyester thread (won't wick moisture)
Plastic snaps or velcro. There is a velcro designed specifically for diapers but that is something I haven't used at all.
Plastic Snap applicator (watch for sales. They market for $20, but I paid $13.)
These are the supplies for the cover. I'll talk about the soaker another day, after I've researched it more. Unfortunately, my kids have not used these covers, but a mom who has loves the one I sent her.

In order to get the most out of my yardage, I cut several diaper covers on the edge and sewed them in various ways to get a whole one. This was the test to see if I needed to seam seal it (yes), but most babies won't use it like a water balloon, so even unsealed I bet it's pretty good. Plus, my diapers use two layers of PUL, so it's almost unneccessary.

This is the pattern I'm using. I cut the small and am adding adjustment snaps to make it smaller, which I'll show later on.

The seam sealed.

This is tracing pellon. I almost never cut my patterns, but use tracing pellon so I can use all the sizes in the pattern.

Tracing pellon laid out on fabric. Whenever you can, buy a full yard of PUL. This is a fat quarter, and I only get 2 out of each fat quarter, and one of those has a seam down the center.

Seam Sealer I used. It smells suspiciously like rubber cement.

A finished diaper

Nowhere in any research I did, did I read that you need to put either interfacing or a second layer of fabric with the plastic snaps. Imagine my surprise when the snap pulled on through! This is a patch just as a sample to show the mom the diapers, and now I put two layers of PLU inside each snap.

Two or more rows of snaps can be added to adjust the size diaper. I sized this one for the two different sized soaker pads I'm making, for a newborn and then small sized diaper.

I also want to note that the inside layer of PLU should be the wrong side of the fabric, which I did not do. This will result in a wipeable surface. The way I've assembled my diapers, moisture will go into the inside layer, needing to be washed between uses.

The elastic is a little tricky to get the hang of. Before I sew the elastic on, I zig zag around the two layers. This really helps because you can see the zig zags if you get off track.

There are a few blogs on here about making the diapers. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I'll try my best to answer.

One of many cloth diaper blogs- Spoilers, Tarah

One of my family members is having a baby, and uses Best Bottom diapers. I'm making her some newborn/small covers and soakers so there won't be quite so many snaps. This is a tutorial/story of my journey because I've learned a lot and it may save you from making the same mistakes I did.

First of all, I cut out two layers of PUL (a rubber backed knit sold specifically for making diapers). After I put all my snaps on, I zig zag the two layers together before sewing the double sided elastic on.

A completed diaper laying open

A completed diaper snapped up. There is a fold on the front with snaps so the diaper can grow a couple inches. Those newborns tend to shoot up (except mine, which were in size 1 for months).

Snap arrangement for the inside diaper layer. There are two snaps in the middle for the soaker pad. These are the fat snap, and the soaker has the Male snap, or skinny snap.

Don't look in my sink. Before I added the outside layer snaps on the extra plain PUL I had, I embroidered some designs. I had a lot of plain pieces because I used PUL to make raincoats for two kids. They are super comfy. The plain is cheaper, so if you have access to an embroidery machine, or other ideas, I highly recommend it.

I just found out they sell embroidery machines that clip these threads. I highly recommend it.

This is a close up of the zig zagging and a mistake, too. I discovered that somewhere around midnight I started putting the wrong snap (on the left) on the inside. I had to open up the diapers and put the right one (on the right) next to it. Sorry, Tarah! I hope Ravi doesn't mind figuring out which is which on half the diapers! Recommended fix- do a step at a time, not a diaper at a time. I finished up by doing all of the correct soaker snaps for the rest of the insides, then moved to the flap snaps.

Stack of diapers waiting on the last step: Fold-Over Elastic. This stuff is great. But even here I learned a lesson. Most vendors I found were selling the plush double side elastic, like Babyville carries. But one had a thinner brand, and it is scratchy. So now I'll be looking for the wider, plush elastic. I may even put the wide stuff over the scratchy stuff because the diaper I used it on is so cute! See the picture below, the 500 diaper on the right:

Again, apologies for the sink.

My embroidery machine at work. Usually it is recommended to embroider first then cut out, but PUL is expensive, and I used every inch I could. Even the scraps, which I used to reinforce the snaps in the back. I didn't have any problem fitting the frame either down or across. Although I found long designs tend to show up on the front. (yet another embarrassing mistake, since it was Cat in the Hat with his hands folded...in a bad spot).

I'm more than blundering through this, since I only used disposables on my kids, but I will tell you one thing: I love making these diapers!!! I kick myself that I never thought of doing this with mine (availability of supplies sure is better now, though). I've enjoyed every diaper, and at the end of each I hold it up and it's so darn cute!

Make sure to use the wrong side up in the inside of the diaper for a wipeable surface! Unfortunately I didn't discover this until too late.

Next up- soakers. If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

Still learning

This week is Spring Break. I started the break by taking my older daughters to a Manga Convention in Evansville, Indiana, called Eville Con. Good Christian mother that I am, I was pretty sure that the hail and lightening store which accompanied our five hour drive were a commentary from above- said with genuine fear in my heart.
However, the rest of the trip was great, and enlightening.
My oldest child dances to the beat of her own drummer. We don't have much in common, but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders, it's just full of imagery from fantasy books, whereas I always spent my time thinking of my future family (read that as baby obsessed).
When we got to Evillecon, all of a sudden, my daughter's unique way of expressing herself, all the days going to school in Cos-play (that's dressed in comic costume, roll-playing) were normal. It was really sweet to see my daughter as normal. I can phrase that any number of ways. Mostly I stuck to the hotel room. The variety of costumes completely put me into shock.
All of the costumes were modest. There just were a lot of kids running around with Manga hair, in striped stockings (think Alice in Wonderland), with varietions of suit coats on. In all colors.
But shocking as it all was, it gave me a sense of calm, too. It was nice to see my child fit in. Because I know there is a big group of kids in her school who also like all this. They are in a club- The Backwards Book Club.
It's nice to know where my child fits in, but even better, at one point, she decided she liked the little sewing project I was working on, and started sewing one of her own. In the middle of her mangacon, she was sitting in a hotel room five hours from home sewing with her mother. Now that's a good day.

Backyard Bliss

This is our backyard. The back may look like the grass isn't as full in the photo, but it's really a carpet of little wildflowers called snowdrops. They come out in spring. I'm happy to see them this full. The past couple years, the kids were using the back part of the yard as a mini-camp complete with teepees and fairy teaparties. It discouraged the snowdrops.
On the left is a crooked cherry tree on its third or fourth year. Last year I planted a compatible cherry next to it, and I'm so happy to announce there are two clusters of flowers on the new tree. We may have cherries in July!
The redbud on the right is one of our favorites. The branches hang low, and the kids use it as a little fort in the summer. I got the seedling from a lady over near the river (and for the one barely visible on the hill- it's not blooming yet)
I wish the photo could capture the feeling of the backyard in spring. Every year is a treasure, but this year seems to be even more lovely and fresh.

Upcycling Coutour

Last summer, I found the cutest sweater/skirt set at an upscale dress shop while on vacation. I have a standing rule about trying on clothes (I may need to rethink that). When I got home and tried on the dress, the shell top turned out to meet the skirt at the waist, and zip up the back. It fit horribly. The the little sweater was really cute and I loved the fabric. So I tossed the shell out, and put the skirt in my to-do pile (oops- I think I forgot about the skirt in my blog entry of all my To-Do projects).

I bought a shell pattern with darts. Usually I need to up the size I make a lot. This time I picked way too big a size, but it turns out ok. It just made this project needlessly harder.

The wasteband was sewn on separately, which left the hem as the only extra length. Finding extra length is a problem I've never come across before.

I ripped out the hem (which left a nice finish on the edge of the hem).

The pattern fit- barely, and I did have to include the side seams, since I overestimated the size I'd need.

The finished blouse. I'm beginning to think I need to rename my blog The Frugal Crafter, or Cheap something...I really didn't realize how often I do Thrifty things like this until I started documenting it.