Phew! I completed some more projects...

I've had a couple projects on my list of "to-do" for awhile. One of them being a cover for the infant car seat. A lot of people recommend having a light blanket that you throw over the car seat so that you can shade the baby in the sun or put over them when you're in the store to prevent strangers from touching your baby (Really?!?! That happens!?!? Hands off!) I've seen some sold in the store and coughed at the price. Baby items can be so expensive!
So with 1 1/4 yards of fabric (times two for a front and back) and a little bit of sewing time I made a cover for less than $6! I didn't follow a tutorial - the shape is so basic that it's pretty intuitive. I just made sure that I used an extremely lightweight fabric so that it was breathable and cool.

Some other projects that I knocked off my list were some burps clothes using the freebie pattern I have listed here. I used up scraps from other baby items I used by piecing the top and using terry cloth for the underside.

I also made a couple of knit soakers that are newborn sized. Most of my soakers were knit for about a 6-12 month old. So using the pattern from "Vintage Baby Knits" (pattern = Milo Soakers) and a pattern from Just Jussi blog (posted for free) I knit 2 soakers (and I even lanolized them already!!)
"Just Jussi" has the best pattern because it is super thick and absorbent through the crotch and is shaped in the butt. I like to knit the pattern in the round to avoid seaming. When I get to the crotch section I start knitting back and forth and continue knitting until I'm done with the short-row butt shaping. Then I seam them back to the section worked in the round with seamless kitchener stitch. I also cast on the leg ribbing and work on dpns. This way there's no seaming... yay!
The "Milo Soakers" were knit a little different from the pattern as well. I've knitted the Milo Soakers before and was unhappy with how it's written. First off, the pattern makes HUGE soakers with no shape. Talk about a huge booty! So I decided to make these changes:
1. Knit them in the round!!
2. Knit the ribbing in twisted rib on one size smaller needles (I used U.S. 2 needles)
3. Knit the body of the soakers in stockinette stitch NOT garter stitch (I really thought the soakers looked even more bulky in garter stitch and they look smoother and nicer in stockinette. Also by knitting in the round you avoid any purling...)
4. When you get to the crotch section (ribbing) work back and forth on both sides. Instead of knitting a 7" crotch - knit each side back and forth in ribbing for 3.5". Join the crotch at the middle with a 3 needle bind off.
5. Add leg ribbings for an even better fit (knit in the round with dpns)
This way they fit better and are seam free!! Yeah!

These are both knit in Knit Pick's Bare yarn (Just Jussi's are knit with a strand of aqua Shepherd's Wool in the crotch). I knit both pairs using size U.S. 3 needles. So it's a thick knit and smaller. They turned out exactly how I wanted them!!