Using a Wool Wash Bar on Heavily Soiled Wool

This method is great for wool that is really dirty.  It's also great for wool that toddlers or heavy wetters wear.  It removes urine more effectively than swishing in liquid wool wash.  I want to add a note about felting.  Felting is caused by heat, agitation, and water.  So please, while following these steps use cool or cold water and be gentle.  Scrub lightly without using a lot of pressure.  

The woolies used in these photos are interlock from Wild Child Woolies.  The wool wash bar used is my own Carver Creations bar.  It contains lanolin and a touch of lavender essential oil to ward off the moths.

1) Examine the outside of the woolies for any soil: dirt, mud, food, poo...  Dampen the spots of filth with cool water.  Lightly scrub at the gunk with the wool wash bar.

 2) Turn the woolies inside out.  Inspect the inside of the wool.  Clean any soiled spots of the inside just like you cleaned the outside.  

3) Fill the sink or bowl with cool water.  Rinse the woolies.  Swish and swirl.  Pour out the used water.

4) Gently scrub the wetness zone with the wool wash bar.  (Don't leave the bar of soap in the bowl for step 5.)

5) Fill the bowl/sink with fresh, cool water.  Swish and swirl the wool around to dissolve the lather into the water.  The water should be nice and cloudy. At this point you can allow them to soak for 5-10 min.

6) Dump the wool into the washing machine.  Turn it onto spin only (no agitation or added water).  Spin the excess water out of the wool.  This step cuts drying time.  Make sure you remove the wool from the machine immediately after it stops spinning.  You don't want to forget about it and add laundry on top.

7) Turn the wool right side out.  Air dry.  I like to lay them flat on the top level of a drying rack.

Happy Washing

Motivation

Last night was one of those nights.  Phoenix went to sleep cranky and with a fever.  She woke up crying at about 1:45 am.  She was awake for over an hour before we could get her back to sleep.  This is a coffee morning!  Notice the coffee pot buried behind dirty dishes.  I'm sure that you know what is in the dishwasher.  That's right - clean dishes.  What will motivate me to put away those clean dishes and load the dirty ones?  My desperate need for coffee.

Pricing for Knit and Crochet Wool Diaper Covers

YYMH - Your Yarn, My Hook (Crochet) 

Longies: Small $18, Med $20, Large $25
Shorties and soakers: Small $13, Medium $15, Large $17
Capris and Board Shorts: Small $15, Medium $17, large $19
Skirties: Small $18, Med $20, Large $24.
Additional inch over the maximum inseam at any size $1/inch.
Design work on YYMH will vary in cost depending on what you want so I'll say $0-5 extra.
My crochet pattern is my own design. It's done in tight single crochets with a booty flat to fit over cloth diapers and a gusset for ease of movement.

YYMN - Your Yarn, My Needle (Knit) 

Longies: Small $20, Med $25, Large $30
Shorties and Soakers: Small $14, Medium $17, Large $20
Capris and Board Shorts: Small $17, Medium $20, large $24
Skirties: Small $20, Med $22, Large $26.
Note: I usually do a crochet skirt over a knitted soaker. I prefer the lacy look of a crochet skirt.
Additional inch over the maximum inseam at any size $1/inch.
Design work, ruffles, cargo pockets on YYMN will vary in cost depending on what you want so I'll say $0-10 extra.
 I am a licensed Sheepy Time Knitter.

These prices do not include shipping.

Use My Yarn

I have piles of yarn available at very reasonable prices. Please as about pricing using my yarn. It ranges from $5/skein up to $15/skein.

 

After Bath Oil

If you are sensitive to dyes and preservatives in body care products, you might consider using an after bath oil to moisturize your skin instead of a lotion. Lotion is an emulsion of water and oil. The mixing of oil and water creates an environment ripe for bacteria. It takes preservatives to prevent unfriendly guests from invading your moisturizer. Avoid the need for preservatives by avoiding the mixture. I must warn you that any oil in the bath will make you very slippery until it absorbs into your skin, so be careful. The idea here is to use light oils that quickly absorb into skin. I measure by weighing the oils into my container, but you could measure by volume. One ounce of oil has the volume of about two tablespoons.

2.5 oz Safflower Oil
2.5 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil (if you can find it, extra-extra virgin would be even better)
1 oz Sunflower Oil
1 oz Jojoba Oil (You can substitute apricot kernel oil or sweet almond oil or just leave the jojoba out.)
.10 oz Vitamin E Oil (Open up a few capsules of vitamin e supplements)
10 drops of your favorite essential oil (optional)

I pour the ingredients into an 8 oz bottle, put the lid on, and shake well. Apply a thin layer to your skin after you towel off. It should absorb quickly. I put it in a spray bottle, but it doesn't spray out in a fine mist, it comes out in a stream. Enjoy!

Decluttering: A New Project for a New Year

I've decided to simplify our possessions. I'm tired of spending so much of my precious time managing stuff. I want to spend more time enjoying my family. Plus, we hope to move this year. I've decided to employ this awesome calender in my efforts. Here's what I have done with a few of the de-cluttered items:


Bean Bags made out of expired beans in the pantry and some fabric scraps. Check out some cool bean bag games here


Mocha mix made from coffee creamer, instant coffee, and hot cocoa mix hidden in the pantry. I used this recipe


Dosed our liquid hand soap with a tablespoon or two of expired vanilla to make some wonderful smelling bubbles. Hasn't stained our vanity top, but if you had a more porous surface, it might discolor.


Made play dough with old salt and Kool-aid from the pantry. Molded it into a volcano. Erupted the volcano with old baking soda and vinegar from the pantry. Even the baby loved this one. Find the play dough recipe here

I'm so excited to see what the next few weeks bring us in the wild world of decluttering.

The Bogner Missing Toe

Families have genetic markers: detached ear lobes, tall foreheads, pug noses... Almost everyone in the family, no matter how little they look alike or how distantly related, will show that characteristic. In my family we have a wide gap between our first toe and the other four toes. The gap is so large that it appears we have one toe missing. It seems to be pretty dominate too. Most of my cousins have it. My son has it. It's a genetic marker that's been passed on threw hundreds of generations. I've been thinking about it lately. My ancestors lived their lives hundreds of years ago. They wrote about their lives or others wrote for them. They interacted with friends and community members. Now time has erased their names from history. But this little piece of them remains, the Bogner missing toe. That's neat to think about. When time has moved me into antiquity and scrambled our language to the future generations, some little memories of me will still remain in the genetic traits that I leave behind to my children and my children's children, and their children...

Woolie Warm Fuzzies

Why use wool?
• All natural
• Breathable
• Anti-bacterial

How does wool work?
• Both absorbs and repels
• Hair forms air pockets that hold moisture, up to 30% of its weight before it feels wet.
• Lanolin, naturally occurring oil in wool, does not mix with water.

Tell me about the terminology…
• Soaker – is a pull-up style of diaper cover that looks similar to a bloomer.
• Shorties – shorts
• Capris/Board Shorts
• Longies – long pants
• Skirties/Skorties – soaker or shorties with a skirt attached
• Wrap – like a diaper cover that needs snaps, Velcro, or a snappi to hold it on.

What types of wool are used for diaper covers?
• Upcycled/Recycled: old sweaters are sewn into covers.
• Wool yarn: knit or crochet into wool covers.
• Wool fabrics: interlock, crêpe, flannel, can be sewing into covers.
• If you want to use it for a diaper cover, avoid superwash yarn, fabric, or sweaters.

How do I measure my baby for wool?
• You need at least baby’s rise, waist, and inseam. I prefer to have the width of the hips and thighs too.
• Photo tut: http://mamacarversmusing.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-measure-for-woolies.html

How do I take care of wool?
• Before the first use, wool needs to be lanolized. You can use lanolin spray, wool wash with lanolin, or baby shampoo and lanolin breast cream. http://mamacarversmusing.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-take-good-care-of-your-woolies.html
• When you take the wool off baby, hang it up to dry. If it smells like urine when it’s dry, that wool needs to be washed. Wool has natural antibacterial properties, so it can go several uses before it needs to be washed.
• Wash the wool with a gentle soap like baby wash or wool wash. Woolite, Dawn, and standard laundry detergent will strip the lanolin out of the piece.
• When the wool starts to leak/wick, it needs to be lanolized again.
• Make sure you always use cool water and air dry it to avoid felting.
• Spot clean with a wool wash bar or Dawn on a fingertip.
• A word on scented wool care products…

I want to up-cycle a sweater, what do I need to look for?
• Test for colorfast dye by soaking a small snip in a cup of hot water.
• Select a sweater that is at least 80-85% wool. Avoid nylon. Use polyester thread.
• To felt or not to felt, that is the question.
• Decide on a waistband: yoga style, elastic, or drawstring.
• Katrina Soaker Pattern http://katrinassqs.blogspot.com/2007/10/free-soaker-pattern.html
• To make pants http://sewingdork.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-make-wool-soaker-pants.html and http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=227639

Are there any local Work At Home Moms that make wool diaper covers?
 Rebekah Bogner Carver – knit and crochet. Carver Creations on Facebook tobylovesrebekah@yahoo.com
 Heather Diemer – upcycle sweaters. heatherd0584@yahoo.com
 Kristina Steuber Dalton – knit, crochet, upcycle sweaters, and sew wool and fleece fabric. monnyandmomos@hotmail.com
Tripp Hartmetz – knit. tripp.hartmetz@hotmail.com
Lindsay Bench – knit. (316) 990-2538
 Indicates this wahm can be found on the Kansas Cloth Diaper Talk & Swap Facebook Page