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Homemade Laundry Detergent

Yeah, I know...why would you want to make your own laundry detergent?  I remember the funny reactions of others when I told them I was going to start making my own laundry soap.  Everyone responded with a strange tone of "why?"  I have to admit that I had a slightly similar reaction when my dear friend told me she made her own laundry soap, but after thinking through it and doing my own research, it just made sense to me. Our washer used to have a funky smell that I couldn't seem to get rid of, no matter what I tried.  The smell completely disappeared after switching to homemade soap.  Our clothes smell amazingly clean and feel so soft. I don't need to use the extra rinse cycle like I used to with store bought soap, and we don't have to pay the high price of soap that I think is "acceptable" to use on my families clothes.  It is only after about six months of using this soap that I began to realize so many problems were caused by the unnecessary chemicals and leftover residue that is nearly impossible to escape when using store bought soap.  Just to test out my theory, or really just to prove to my hubby that this stuff really works and solved so many of my laundry issues, I started using a store bought Free and Clear hypoallergenic laundry soap.  It didn't take long for our washer to start smelling funny again and the clothes to need that extra rinse cycle.   I'm back to using my homemade version!  I encourage you to give it a try!  It makes sense for the wallet and for the overall care of your clothes.  I should mention that our water is very hard, and this recipe works great for us.

Now on to the tutorial:
This tutorial gives the recipe for about 6 1/2 cups of powdered detergent.  You could easily double, triple, quadruple, whatever works for you.  There are many recipes out there for the liquid version, but that takes much more time, larger containers, and can cause the drain line of your washer to clog.  The powdered version works best for most. 

Ingredients:  
2 bars of laundry soap.
I use two bars of Fels Naptha most of the time.  If Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Soap is on sale, I will add that, too.  I typically buy the tea tree oil blend or the peppermint blend.  Two bars of Fels Naptha work just as well, though.

2 cups of Borax

2 cups of Washing Soda

About 1 teaspoon of tea tree oil

Containers to hold it when you are done

Here's what you do!

Step 1:  Grate the bars of soap with a cheese grater.

Step 2:  Transfer the soap to a food processor and blend.

It is done when the soap looks very fine...almost like powder :)

Step 3:   Add 2 cups of Washing Soda

Step 4:  Add 2 cups of Borax

Step 5:  Stir until all ingredients are combined well.

Step 6:  Add the tea tree oil and continue to stir until mixed in well.

Step 7:  Transfer to your container.

I use 1 tablespoon per load.  I will use about 1 1/2 or 2 tablespoons if it is an extra dirty load, but the majority of my loads take 1 tablespoon.  Just start the washer, add the soap, and then add the clothes!  It is that simple :)

I am a super germ freak and want things to be extra clean...the kind who used to use bleach in the load whenever possible.  So, naturally, I made the mistake of adding more than the tablespoon recommendation when I first started out and quickly found out that it is too much.  A little really does go a LONG way with this soap.  If you are like me, you will watch the first few loads as they agitate in the washer.  There will not, and should not be a ton of suds, in fact there are hardly any bubbles.  This is a GOOD thing.  Those old bubbles leave behind the bad stuff in your clothes and washer.  Give it a try and let me know how your clothes turned out!  I hope you notice the difference I noticed.

~Briana

P.S. Don't forget to click "follow" for more great tutorials to come!

Tutorial: Anyone Can Knit a Baby Hat!

First Attempt at making a baby hat.

The holiday season always puts me in the knitting mood.  With a baby on the way and so many friends with babies on the way, I thought baby hats might be a good place to start this time.  I'm not the most experienced knitter, but this project was simple, fun and, most importantly, fast!  My first hat turned out pretty cute despite the mistakes I made.  The whole button with a fold up brim was not in the original design...just me making the best of a few miscalculations :)  The tutorial will be for the original hat, but I will explain how to make the "mistake" hat at the end, too.




Ok, on to the tutorial...
You will need

1. Yarn- I used Lion Brand-made in the U.S.A- in Hepple White.  The weight...I think...is "Bulky 5" at least that's what the package says (remember when I said I'm not an experienced knitter)
2. Circular knitting needles.  I used 16" No. 10
3. A yarn needle...I didn't use one, just a big sewing needle.  That seemed to work fine for me.

Step 1:  Cast on 40 stitches for a hat size about 0-3 months.  Here is a helpful video in case you are new to knitting. If you want to knit a larger size hat, just make sure the number of cast on stitches is a multiple of 8 (40, 40, 56, etc).

Knitting in the round

Step 2:  Begin knitting in the round (Here is a helpful video).  Place a marker at the start of your circle.  This time I just used the tail yarn.  You could use a different color thread tied in a loop or a paper clip. 

Make sure not to let your stitches twist.  If this happens, you will have to start over because you will have a figure 8 structure rather than the tube that we are trying for. 

Knit to desired height with markers

Now turn on a movie and keep knitting until you reach your desired height.  I knitted to about 7 inches so that I would have enough room to do a fold over brim. 


Step 3:  Knit one more time around adding markers every 8 stitches.

Step 4:  Begin decreasing by knitting the two stitches before the marker together.  In other words, knit six normally then knit the seventh and eighth together.  Continue this pattern.  The next time around you will knit five normally and join six and seven. 

Step 5:  Cut the yarn once you have only a few stitches left on the needle.  I just stopped when it became too difficult to knit in the round.  I think there were 10 or 8 stitches left on my needle. 

You can thread a needle with the yarn at this point and begin threading the yarn through the left over stitches on the needle.  Pull it tight and tie it off. 

Step 6:  optional :)  I had a few loosely knitted stitches that I gathered together with the extra yarn on the needle.  This created a tighter more professional looking hat.  Trim your thread and you are done!  Roll up the brim, fold up the brim, or just leave it as is.  Sit back and admire your work!  Can you see the cute pin wheel pattern formed by the decrease pattern? 

The "Mistake" Hat Instructions:

Follow the instructions above with the following modifications:
1. Cast on 60 stitches.
2. Knit the 60 stitches in the round for about one inch. 
3. Begin decreasing until you reach 40 stitches.  You should use the knitting marker as a decreasing guide. 
4. First combine 8 stitches on each side (16 total) to make the number of stitches 52.  Knit a few rounds (maybe 4) at this number and then decrease again. (this is where I was debating on just starting over, but decided to decrease again)
5. Decrease to 46 on the round by combining six stitches on each side of the marker.  Knit a few more rounds (this is where I realized that 46 was not a multiple of 8...Math is not my subject).
6.  Finally decrease to 40 stitches and knit up to the desired height.
7.  There will be a v pattern on the hat.  This is what I folded over and up to create the look of the hat in the picture.  I overlapped the V to make the hat an even circumference with the top.  I then folded it up and sewed it in place.  Add the button or other decoration for extra cuteness. 

All done!  I hope this all makes sense.  Let me know if you have any questions!  If you try this out, I would LOVE to see what you came up with!  Link your pictures in a comment!  Don't forget to follow me by clicking "follow" off to the right!

~Briana

Thanksgiving!

 Our house smells like the holiday season!  I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner and time with family and friends.  Praise God for all He has blessed us with this year.  I am so thankful for my precious family and our new addition!  We will be having our second baby boy in April. I guess I will have to use up all my cute girly fabric on friends :)

 Here is a recent baby girl creation based Aimee Larsen's Kimono shoe pattern: 

 I am in love with baby shoes!  How could you not love them?  I think I will have to work toward creative boy shoes like the ones in the above photo. 

On the craft list now...completing a diaper stash for the new baby!  The cloth diaper world is so overwhelming...did I forget to mention that we are going cloth this time?  It should be fun.  I've finally narrowed down the patterns to the system we seem to like best.  It is a bit hard to figure out without a baby to try it on.  A big thank you to my dear friend for testing my diapers out on her baby boy.  Here is my newest creation:

That is all for tonight! I think I'm going to work on more diapers.  I need to use the fabric I just picked up from Hancock's.  I have a major fabric addiction :)...   Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!
~Briana

How to add gussets to a cloth diaper

Gussets have always seemed complicated and confusing to me...that is until I decided to jump in and try to do it.  I spent too much time looking at pictures and video tutorials only to come up with my own way of adding them that works for me.  So, for all those interested in yet another way to add gussets to your homemade cloth diapers, this is for you!  Hopefully this will give you the confidence to go try it yourself!

This tutorial will describe adding gussets to a diaper cover.

Materials needed:

1. Fabric
2. Diaper pattern
3. Fold over elastic

Step 1:  I used two fabrics: PUL and a decorative outer fabric. If you use two fabrics, begin by basting them together.  Mark your elastic tacking points and the midway point between them.

The small black dots are the points to mark :)

Step 2:  Take a scrap piece of fabric (PUL for waterproof) and place it as seen in the picture.  Take a ruler and line up the two elastic marks.  Use a pencil or marking tool to trace the shape: down the ruler and around the crescent of the diaper.

Here is what it looks like when you remove the material:

Step 3:  Use the ruler to mark out 1/2" around the shape.  You want to give yourself 1/2" allowance. Then cut it out.  it should look like this.  Make sure to fold it in half and mark the halfway point for matching up when sewing:

Step 4:  Begin sewing the gusset to the diaper.  Line up the elastic mark with the outlined shape.  Sew the gusset curve edge to the edge of the diaper:

Step 5:  Attach both gussets.  It should look like this:

Notice how the center dots match up :) and the gusset is sewn close to the diaper edge. I used my basted stitch as a guide here.

Step 6:  Sew the FOE (fold over elastic) to the top of the gusset leaving about 1/4" extra room.  Make sure to back-stitch at the beginning and end, and pull as tight as you can to create a nice elastic binding:

It should look like this when you get to the other side:

Now take a minute to admire your work!  You made a gusset!!!

Step 7: Finish it off with FOE around the rest of the diaper.  Make sure to tuck in the gusset FOE into the binding when you go around.  Stretch the FOE at the leg elastic points and anywhere else the pattern requires.  Here are the final pictures:

Inside!

Outside

 

Complete diaper!

And that's it! I hope this was helpful.  Now go try making gussets! It is really much simpler than it seems and doesn't take that much extra time.

~Briana

Alec's 5th Birthday Party!

I feel like an official parent now!  We threw our first birthday party to celebrate Alec's 5th birthday and had so much fun doing it...even through all the complications :).  Thank you to my parents for letting us use their amazing backyard to host all the kiddos!  We had fun appetizers, Cars themed activities, Pizza, and cake!  The kids went home with pinata candy, and goodie bags...and parents went home with homemade cake pops!  Take a look at the pictures!

The Cake!

Homemade race track races!

Make your own license plate craft table!

Pin the tale on the Donkey!

Yummy food!

Cake!

Cale Pops!

Hitting the Pinata! Love her face in this picture :)

Back to the blog!

Summer is coming to an end, and what a wonderful summer it has been!  I've been catching up on my craft project to-do list and other adventures.  My first summer projects were upcycles!

 

I took an old mirror frame  ( I broke the mirror a while back and saved the frame) and attached a poster print behind a spray painted finish.  The project was super quick and simple and I love the way it looks in my bedroom!

Before

After!

I then found this free rocker on craigslist and reupholstered it!  I was a bit intimidated at first, but satisfied with the new piece in our living room! And all for less than $20!

I'll be sharing more of my summer conquests as the week goes on, but I can't sign off without saying that the my dear friends I was crafting for have reached their adoption goal!  I am now prayerfully searching for a new cause to craft for!  In the mean time, I'll be working on more posts and maybe a few tutorials sharing what I've been doing this summer!

~Bri