Mending and Re-purposing

I’m so thankful that my mom taught me to sew.  When I was growing up I would always have to call her over to thread the sewing machine for me, because I could never remember how to do it between sewing projects.  But her perseverance paid off, and now I am a fairly competent seamstress.  Quilting is a new hobby, but I haven't had time for that lately. My sewing has fallen along more practical lines.  I’m no tailor, but I can do basic repairs and alterations, which has come in very handy here in PNG.

 

This morning I was fixing Greg’s cloth diapers.  I’m a big fan of cloth diapers, especially the BumGenius brand that we have been using.  They are great!  However, just in the past week or two, a bunch of the diapers have all begun to tear along the same spot:

My stock of useable diapers was dwindling, and so I figured I’d better do something about it if I didn’t want to start washing them every day.  I used some white flannel scraps that I had and sewed a strip that folds over the front end of the diaper, covering the part that was tearing:  

Consistent use and washing will tell how well the repair holds up, but I’m hopeful.  It’s not ideal, since it makes the inside pocket one inch smaller, but it seems like the inserts will still fit.  I admit I was really bummed that these haven’t lasted longer.  I don’t know if I got a bad batch, or if it’s the way I launder them or hanging them out in the hot tropical sun that does it.  I had hoped they would be useable for another baby, but now it looks like I’ll be trying to make them last until we get back to the States or until Greg is potty trained, whichever comes first.

I have also been re-purposing some of my old wardrobe by making maternity clothes.  It’s amazing how quickly my regular clothes have been getting to tight this second pregnancy.  (Although, I must admit that it has made it a lot easier to clean out my closet before furlough when half of my clothes no longer fit right!)

To make the maternity panel in this pair of jeans, I cut out the waistband of an old pair of stretchy workout pants that I’ve had since college.  These jeans had a broken zipper, so they were perfect for the project.

This skirt is another piece of clothing that has been with me for a long time.  I’m pretty sure I owned it before I knew Brian.  It used to be ankle-length, but last year I shortened it.  Now I altered it again, and voila!  A maternity skirt.  For this one I used a pair of maternity leggings that I found at the secondhand store for about 50 cents.  The only sad thing about this alteration is that I had to sacrifice the pockets to make it work.  Good skirts with pockets are a valuable possession when you’re a missionary.