Wool Shorts

So I have finally finished knitting a pair of wool shorts for my son. And not too soon! He is fighting a cold and drinking lots of liquids, which means he is having accients at night and during nap-time.

The last pair of soakers I knit for him were shrunk by my mother when I was giving birth to my daughter. He was wearing them the night I went into labor, and my mother being the helpful person she is, did laundry and tossed them in. Needless to say, when I got home I was so happy to be greeted to a clean and laundered house, but the poor soakers that I had made will now fit my baby.

These soaker shorts I made out of wool I found really cheap. They didn't have 2 of the same color, so I decided to make them 2 toned. I knit them in the round (a first for me) and grafted the legs together (also a first). There were a lot of firsts on this pattern. I also added in short rows in the tush for added room. When working in the round it seems that my right side of the short rows came out great, but the left side is a little wonky. I'm sure it will not be noticeable when they are washed several times. I'll have to visit my local knit shop to see what I did wrong for the next time. I can't wait to start on some new longies for my daughter, but I think I might try and make little ruffled soakers first - as a smaller project.

Wool Knit Soakers

So I made my first pair of wool soakers. It took me about 2 days. I worked on them primarily when I put my son to bed at night or naps. I'm happy with how they look and fit. I did mess up on the waistband in the back. I forgot that I used size 9 needles to make the band, and when I got to the back just used the size 5 needles I was knitting the body with. Since knitted wool stretches, I am not concerned. I might try and make a newborn size, which should take me less time than these did. It would be a good cover for some of my non-waterproof diapers.

All in all I'm excited to try them out tonight. I should be able to let them air out in the mornings and use them again at night. I hear that they shouldn't need to be washed for about 2 weeks since wool is naturally anti-microbial and wicking.

I might try knitting a square next, felting it, and cutting a soaker pattern out to sew. We'll see how much time I have.

Night-Time Trainers

My son is finally sleeping for 10 hour stretches at night at 2 1/2 years old. I am so happy, but the issue now is that he is peeing through his pull ups. I tried waking him up in the middle of the night, which worked a couple of times, but ultimately made him want to get back into bed with me! I was happy to have my bed back, especially since I'm pregnant again, and I was unwilling to give in. This made for a lot of crying and me trying to get him back to sleep in his bed for hours in the middle of the night!

So, I have tried to make some night-time covers. The first pair ended up being too small. I'll just use it for a cover for the new baby. The second, was a little tight. It worked, but was hard for my son to get on and off by himself. Then I decided to use some wool fabric that I had for the third. Well, it wicks wonderfully - but because it is woven fabric, the pee just rolled off and on to his clothes. I'll have to use it for the day maybe. Now the forth is PUL fabric, 4 layers of fleece, and micro-fleece lining. He should be able to wear these alone as waterproof pull-ups.

Most everything I use is re-purposed fabric. All the flannel comes from old receiving blankets. The fleece comes from a variety of places. The PUL is new.

Next, I'm going to try my had at knitting some wool ones. We'll see what happens.