The Pregnancy Pillow pattern is about to change

My pregnancy pillow sewing pattern that I designed in 2012 has had rave reviews. People in countries who cannot order pillows like these have especially told me of how they appreciate what a great pattern that this is. It has helped many mamas through their pregnancies when they didn't have another option.
Sadly though, the makers of a similar pillow have accused my design to be too much like theirs. Not that the pattern itself is a problem, but that I am "encouraging people to infringe on" their said patent.  I want  other wahms to feel free to sew any of my designs to sell without worry of infringement. Also, as a wahm myself, I absolutely do not want to be in a business rivalry, so I need to make a few modifications to my design.
I will look into this issue further, but for the time being, the current pregnancy pillow pattern will be retired as of July, 2013.

Although I love this design, I am forced to re-visit the pattern to try to adjust the shape so as to not infringe on any patents.

In the mean time, I would love to hear personal reviews of the pregnancy pillow pattern, the likes and dislikes, new ideas for a replacement pillow design and of course.....(drum roll)....Pictures! I would love to see some pictures of your pregnancy pillow that you have sewn from this or any other pattern.

Although it might take a while, keep a lookout for the next full body pregnancy pillow design. Someday I'll get another one out there. :)

UPDATE - The new pregnancy pillow pattern can be found here: 

New Pregnancy Pillow Pattern

Designing a sewing pattern

I love to design sewing patterns. It's a hobby, my business, and my "go to" when I need something for myself! I have been ridiculously disappointed in store bought patterns multiple times, so I have resolved to only make my own. If you have ever wondered how to make a sewing pattern, this gives you the details on what I do to make my sewing patterns perfect.

I've had hundreds of questions about sewing articles made from my patterns to sell. I think it's a great idea! Moms need to help moms out. My pattern designs are (pat myself on the back) top notch, so it would make sense to use them to make your business grow! I have a contract page here that allows a business Mama to do this very thing: http://www.mammacandoit.com/articles/Make-Your-Business-Grow.cfm

One of the stipulations in the contract is to simply point a link in your product listing to my site. This is great for the following reasons:

• Potential customers see the link and appreciate that the seller is in a working relationship with another mama business. (If I customer is buying on Etsy or from a local Mama, they are aware of how important it is to support working Moms).
• Customers can look up the design to see if other people say positive things about it.
• Customers will see the seller's business integrity and appreciate it. It could be a great selling point!
• Customers will see more pictures of the design. 
• There might be helpful pages on my website that go along with the design like washing instructions or wearing instructions.
• A seller who is in a working relationship with me also gets my referrals (which are many) for people who want items sewn for them.
• I get more helpful exposure which makes my google search results go up, pins on pinterest, facebook likes and more. 
• I would be happy to point a link back to the seller. Just ask!

I've recently had a person ask me if it was necessary to link to my pattern if they tweaked a couple things or if they didn't follow my tutorial. Based on the above reasons, I don't see a reason not to! However, I think it's fair that I tell you what is involved in creating a sewing pattern. As you read below, please understand that the time stated is during my 'work time'....which is nap time. 

1. The first thing that I do when deciding to create a sewing pattern is to determine what I need or a customer needs. Frequently, I have an idea of what I want, but I want it to be the best that it can be!
2. I like to see what other people like. I do hours of research with google images and key words to see what people are searching for, what's popular, and trendy. 
3. Then I research products. What products in those keywords do people like the best? What are their complaints or praises about the products? Do I personally like various things about those products? What could I change to make it better?
4. Then I check out sizing. Many times I have to call around, measure, research, or ask the doctor for average body measurements that would work for my project.
   
   (The above 4 steps can take anywhere from 10 hours to 80 hours depending on the time schedule)
   
5. Once I have decided on the necessities of the design, I start to draw. I use very expensive programs that have required a huge learning curve over the span of about 4 years to become efficient in. I still don't know the programs all that well, but I am efficient at the little bits that I do know. Drawing the original pattern pieces take anywhere from 4 hours to 40 hours. I have body measurements to take into account as well as placements of seam allowances, snaps, elastics, etc.
6. Once I have a rough design drawn, I test it by sewing it. Tweek it, test again, tweek again until it is what I want. Then I make a prototype in various sizes so that I can hunt down friends who might want to try the article on their baby, themselves or just to give me input. 
7. After I have input from others, I tweek the pattern one last time.
8. I finish the pattern pieces by making a page out of it so that it will be printable from a home computer. Then I print and measure to be sure that it's right.
   
   (The main design is accomplished. Whew!)
9. Once the design is done, then it's time to make the tutorial. The first thing that I do is take pictures (with my expensive camera) for each step while I am sewing it. This process usually takes me 2-4 hours.
10. I then edit the photos so that I have crisp images which will look good and be easy to understand.
11. I write a rough draft of the tutorial steps.
12. I design the tutorial in layout form.
13. I have people test the pattern to make sure that it is easy to read and to follow and tweak as necessary.
14. I have a photoshoot with the finished product. Edit more photos.
15. Finish the tutorial and pattern.
16. Put on my website, etsy and various other places.
17. Once the pattern is done, I am constantly answering emails or questions. I tweak the pattern/tutorial if I see that there are issues with how it is written or place new images if the previous ones do not clearly show how to do that step. I also have recently started to make videos for people if they don't get a particular part of the pattern. 

Overall, it takes about 80 working hours at the minimum for each pattern design. I even have designs that I have started a year ago that are moving slowly...it's not a fast process for some of them. In a perfect world that I can spend each and every nap time working, that is a minimum of 20 business days.

Now you know how much time and effort that I put into my patterns. To answer all "tweaking and forgetting that MammaCanDoIt designed it" questions: Unless you have started from the ground up like I have done, it wouldn't be integrally right to "tweak and forget". If you use my design as a base for your project, please send the referral. It is much appreciated.

I frequently get customers who tell me that my patterns are the most professional designs that they have ever bought or used online. I am thankful for the compliment. It's nice to know that my hard work is paying off. 

Every once in a while, I have someone who asks if my design is similar to someone else's. It might be. But I have designed the entire thing myself. I will buy a pattern from other Mama designers sometimes if I need a pattern in a pinch...but I never use them for a base for my designs. 

By writing this article, my hope is that it will help other Mamas who are trying to decide whether to use my designs to make items to sell. It is also intended for the Mama who wants to start designing sewing patterns herself to give her an outline on what she needs to do to get started.

This page was also intended to put at ease any infringement ideas.

Have a wonderful day and thank you for joining me!

Onesie Pattern - Babies sizes NB-36 Months

This is the story of how I came to design the onesie pattern. Actually, it's not a story at all - my baby didn't have enough onesies and they are so expensive that I wanted to make my own.
First I bought a pattern from Mccalls (I think). When I opened up the envelope I laughed out loud! My itty bitty baby was CERTAINLY not going to fit into that gargantuan thing! I should dig it out and line up my pattern with it to see how it compares. I'm pretty sure that my size 18 months would be similar to the newborn size on the mccalls pattern. lol. Obviously wasn't going to work.
I did what any pattern designer would do....I decided to make a GREAT design that was intended for REAL babies...not gargantuan ones. After about 50 hours of measuring and drawing, I came up with the first onesie design. Here is Claire modeling it:

After she wore the onesie all day, I decided to adjust the legs and sleeve length on the pattern. Then I made a few more onesies with the new pattern and loved them!
I got this fantastic idea that I could make these onesies out of purchased fabric, but better yet, I could recycle old shirts to make some one of a kind onesies!
Here is a onesie that has turned into my favorite one - it's made out of a t-shirt with a giraffe on the front:

In fact, I liked the giraffe onesie so much that I decided to model Claire in it! Here is one of my favorites of her modeling for the onesie pattern: 

Do you like it? If you want to make your own, check out the onesie pattern now!

I made that hair bow with left over fabric from the t-shirt and the binding. The binding was made out of a different shirt that needed to be recycled. Here is a better one of the bow:

The flower reminded me of bananas....giraffe....jungle. 

In a nutshell, I loved making this pattern. It took me longer then I thought it would as it was my first baby shirt design. Now that the sizing is spot on, expect some more great baby shirt designs.

This onesie pattern features the fold over shoulders, but I would like to design a pull-over, T-shirt style onesie. I think it would make the sewing a smidge faster.

As a mom who has 6 kids, all VERY different sizes, I knew there would be some mamma out there who wouldn't try the pattern because her baby was so chubby. SO I decided to make a 'comfy' size onesie. It is the exact same length, but has more wiggle room in the shoulders, armholes, leg holes and tummy. It's great for those babies with the extra 'chub love'.

With the purchase of my onesie pattern, you get a fitted pattern (sized nb-36 months) and a comfy pattern (also sized nb-36 months). That's 18 patterns in all!

As far as closure, I am all about snaps. I just plain like them. However, I know that some people just prefer velcro (or it's cheaper, therefore better!), so I also included directions on how to apply the velcro so that it is less likely to irritate baby's skin.

Regardless of what closure you decide to use on your onesies, the design is great for completely concealing diapers. I love that if she is only wearing a onesie, there isn't any diaper poking through. Here is a picture of Claire modeling the onesie pattern to show you there isn't any diaper poking through. 

Well, I think that does it. Go to my website and get the onesie pattern to make your own now!

Baby Pants Pattern - nb-24 months - Cloth & disposable sizes!

I'm just going to take a minute to talk about my baby pants pattern. It rocks. Not only does it sport multiple sizes, but there are two versions! One version is for cloth diaper wearers and another is for disposable wearers. To download the baby pants pattern, Click here.

Printable sizes included are:
NB
0-3 Month
3-6 Month
6-12 Month
12-18 Month
18-24 Month

So out of all the baby pants patterns out there, why would you want to spend $5 to get mine? I'll outline the list below.

1. My baby pants tutorial is incredibly easy to follow.
2. My baby pants pattern is perfectly sized for newborn sizes up to 24 months. No guessing or measuring. 
3. This baby pants pattern has special sizes for cloth diapers or disposable diapers!
4. My baby pants pattern has real elastic measurements. No measuring (during naptime) required! :)
5. This baby pants pattern has optional directions to make pockets & a cuffed hem.
6. This baby pants tutorial has directions to use a serger OR a sewing machine. 

Ok, no more outline. lets get to the facts.

1. My baby pants tutorial is incredibly easy to follow

Here is an example snapshot. This says enough I think. Super easy directions with very explicit description with each image. Even the index is easy to maneuver through.:

2. My baby pants pattern is perfectly sized

If you have been sewing very long (especially baby patterns), then you know that baby patterns are absolutely NOT sized correctly. However, I have taken special care to be sure that all of my patterns are sized for real babies. Perfectly. This pattern is no exception. 

3. Cloth or disposable diapers?

Along with each pattern being incredibly shaped for a real baby, I also have it designed for two different specifications. One is for a cloth diapered baby (a bit more bulk) and one is for disposable diapered baby. The difference.....COMFY or SLIM versions. :) You are going to love this! 

4. Real elastic measurements

I'm not going to lie....to see what I was up against, I bought a pants pattern online. Do you know what I found? I discovered that I needed to measure my baby's waist to determine the size! Yeah...since I'm doing this project at nap time, and you are too....I think it's best that I have accurate size measurements in my pattern & tutorial. I do....they are the conventional waist sizes that you dress your baby in on a regular basis!

5. Optional Pockets or Cuff

Does a newborn baby NEED pockets on her pants? Nope...but they are dang cute! So is the cuff! I just wanted to give you the option of a bit more flair. Don't worry, if you are looking for ruffles...I'll be posting another pants pattern within the next few weeks with a ruffled butt & leg. You'll love it. But for now, the cuff rocks my socks!

6. Conventional machine or serger

This tutorial has instructions for a conventional sewing machine or a serger. If you have a zig-zag stitch, you can do everything that the serger does according to my directions. If not - don't worry! These steps are optional!

Overall, I think you will be incredibly pleased with this baby pants pattern. It is very easy to follow and you'll get a perfect pair of baby pants the first time. Even if you are a first time sewer. 

For whatever reason, if you are dissatisfied with this pattern, I have 100% refund guarantee  You'll love this pattern or your money back. 

I just know it's going to be a 'go to' pattern for you. Go ahead and download the basic baby pants pattern today!

Diaper Cover Patterns - Read before you buy anything

Understanding how diaper cover patterns are constructed will help you choose which pattern to use.

When shopping for a baby diaper cover pattern, whether free or paid for, you are going to want to consider how it is constructed before you do anything. This is about fancy diaper covers, not cloth diaper covers.
Below is the low-down on diaper cover patterns & tutorials to take the guess work out for you so that you don't waste time or money.
If you want to skip all the reading and check out my diaper cover pattern, go for it! You won't be disappointed!

Types of Diaper Covers and ways that they are constructed:

• Cloth diaper covers

• These are used to cover a cloth diaper to make it waterproof. This is not the type of diaper cover that I am discussing today.
  

• Single layer diaper covers

• Sewing in elastic
• Can be made with elastic touching and pinching the baby's skin
• Bias Tape Elastic Casing
• Diaper covers can be made by using biased tape as a casing for elastic around the legs and waist. This keeps the elastic off of the skin but can be a pain to work with so I would call it intermediate level sewing. By using bias tape, the leg of the diaper cover will come down a bit more then typically desired.
• Fold over elastic casing:
• Diaper cover patterns frequently are made this way, but it is a bit tricky. In a nutshell, you fold over the raw edge inward and sew a casing for elastic in the waist and legs. I personally don't prefer this way because  I like things to match up when I sew them....and the leg holes DO NOT match up when folding over the casing.
• Using FOE elastic
• very few diaper covers use FOE (fold over elastic) as a binding. This is a neat idea, but there are limited colors of FOE that would match fabrics that you might be using.
  

• Lined diaper covers

• The diaper cover pattern that I have is made this way. I use a lining to create elastic casings. This way, most seams are completely hidden as well as the elastic. Everything matches up properly everytime so you don't have to worry about tearing out stitches.

But what about ruffled diaper cover patterns?
These are also constructed in a few ways. 

• Ruffles

• Diaper cover patterns often will be for ruffle diaper covers. These are SO cute! But what happens if you need to make a diaper cover for a boy? Do you HAVE to add ruffles?
• Many instructions will have a multi-pieced tutorial for ruffled diaper covers that do not include instructions to make a regular, UN-ruffled diaper cover.
• My pattern and tutorial includes both! The Ruffle diaper cover & the regular diaper cover.

• Types of ruffles
• There are the type of ruffle that is ruffled on the top and frilly at the hem
• There are the type of ruffle that is ruffled in the center and frilly at two hems.
• My diaper cover pattern has a ruffle that is on the top

• Serger rolled hem or Sewing machine hems

• Before you purchase a pattern, you need to make sure there is directions for the machine that you have. For example, many people only have a sewing machine and not a serger - those people need a pattern that is geared toward sewing machines. Otherwise the directions for the ruffle will keep you guessing.
• My pattern has directions for both serger & sewing machine instructions so you can use either!

   

Elastic measurements - do they exist or do you have to guess?

• Measure it yourself or Guess

• It is VERY common in diaper cover patterns that are circulating around the internet for the author to say "measure the waist" and use that measurement. While that might be good, what about if you are making the diaper cover for a gift? Or what if you are making the diaper covers for your unborn baby...or even a few sizes up? This doesn't make any sense to me.

• Wrong elastic measurements

• It is also very common for elastic measurements to be COMPLETELY OFF! Whoever thought that a nb waist is 18-20" is out of their mind. Yet I frequently have customers who tell me of their previous experience with these HUGE elastic measurements.
  

• Real elastic measurements

• My pattern gives REAL elastic measurements. If your baby is a bit larger then most, then by all means measure and use that measurement. If you are like me, you are sewing at naptime though and require the measurements on hand.

Lastly, my take on the diaper cover pattern options

By now you have probably seen that I obviously have my own design. :) I hope you try it. I have 100% money back guaruntee with my patterns...because I know you'll love it if you use it.
Since you are searching for a diaper cover pattern, just use mine. You'll love it - and you'll especially love how it looks, fits and feels on your baby. The best Diaper Cover Pattern ever is just a click away.

Swaddling Blanket Pattern - Finally a solution to no sleep!!

Will a swaddling blanket pattern save your life? Yes - if you have a baby! Make your own perfect swaddling blanket with my swaddling blanket pattern! It has a front pocket for baby's legs, velcro tabs on the wings, and it fits any baby perfectly from newborn to 12 months!

Have you ever tried to swaddle an angry baby at 2am? I have. It's terrible - first you can't get the screaming baby's arms down which make it impossible to wrap comfortably. When the arms stop flaring, the baby is kicking the blanket down. When your struggling has finally got the baby wrapped up, you realize that you should have changed her diaper. Start all over. This was my life - until I designed the swaddling blanket pattern.

This swaddling blanket has a front pocket that you place your baby into - screaming - kicking - flailing...it doesn't matter because the baby will still go into the pocket. Once the baby is in the swaddler pocket simply wrap the wings over your baby and touch tape them into place. VOILA you have a PERFECTLY swaddled baby in 3 seconds who is already showing signs of cheering up!

So why should you buy this swaddling blanket pattern over any other? Because this one is the best. :)

Seriously. Not only are there 33 colorful and crystal clear images to guide you in this sewing experience, but the detailed descriptions rock. The pattern pieces fit together perfectly and go together in a snap.

The velcro strips are in the absolutely perfect locations for adjustability. Like I said, this fits babies from nb-12 months so there has to be adjustability.
The shoulder area is contoured to fit your baby. It really does fit nice and tight without you worrying about bulk by the face.
Even the foot area of the front pocket has 'comfort darts' that allow extra room for baby's feet.

This swaddling blanket pattern is certainly the best one available. 

I want you to be happy with your purchase of this pattern. In fact, if it's not everything that you hope it will be, I'll give you $ back! Yup - I'm so confident that you will absolutely love this swaddling blanket pattern, that if you don't like it, I'll give you 100% refund. 

So try it today! There's nothing to lose! Click here to go to the swaddling blanket pattern

Crib Sheet Pattern - Perfect fit this time!

Recently I wanted to make crib sheets for my baby. I tried different patterns and not one of them fit right. So of course I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a crib sheet sewing pattern for myself and my customers. Of course crib sheets double as toddler bed sheets. But what about a toddler bed flat sheet? You got it! I have also made a toddler bed sheet pattern that includes fitted and flat sheets.
Want to check it out? See my Crib Sheet Pattern and let me know what you think!

This pattern fits all standard crib mattresses. A standard crib mattress is 51-52" x 27.5" x 5-6". Measure your mattress - I bet you have a standard size.

This crib sheet pattern comes with directions to make crib sheets out of many types of fabric. I have quite a few fabric ideas on the tutorial. Don't worry though...I won't make you find some outrageously wide fabric - it uses regular widths! You can make a crib sheet with standard 44/45" wide designer fabrics, broadcloth, flannel or even 60" wide minky or fleece fabric.

Speaking of fleece: Have you ever heard of sewing FLEECE CRIB SHEETS? Oh...these are the most wonderful thing. They are not only incredibly soft, but fleece crib sheets draw moisture away from your baby's face. This helps to keep tears, spit up, or drool off of your baby's cheeks so that rashes don't appear. As a mom of 6, I have had my fair share of rashes and fleece sheets were the only thing that kept them dry. Use this crib sheet sewing pattern to make fleece crib sheets for your baby!

Are you in a financial crunch with a baby coming due soon...or are you trying to save money by making your own crib sheets? If making crib sheets cheaply is what you are going for, I have a few money saving tips in the tutorial as well! Heck, you can match your decor too with these money saving tips! These tips not only help you save money, but give you great ideas on how to recycle things that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise. Almost all of my patterns have 'budget friendly' ideas which include cheap places to buy fabric for the project, where to get fabric for free, where to get fabric to recycle..etc. The thing that irritates me most about sewing things for myself is that sometimes it can cost more then buying...so I like to find ways to stay considerate of mine and my customers budgets. Use this crib sheet sewing pattern to save yourself some money!

I don't require my customers to do any 'figuring' with any of my patterns. The measurements & directions are laid out very clearly so there isn't any guessing. All of my patterns, including this crib sheet pattern, also come with step by step directions with VERY clear images on how to do that step. Each step has AT LEAST one image. You don't need to guess or spend time trying to figure something out...I have it figured out for you.

This pattern & tutorial comes with a printable pattern piece. All of my tutorials and patterns are pdf files which can be printed on a home printer using standard 8.5 x 11" paper. The pattern pieces require NO SCALING as they are already made to size. 

This crib sheet pattern is incredibly easy! Try it today!