Stretchy Wings Tutorial

When making a fitted diaper, many people love to use knit fabrics for the diapers. The knit stretches well and provides a good fit. However, some fabrics are way too cute to pass up, such as cotton wovens and flannels. I began making a modification to my fitted diapers a couple years ago to make the tabs of these diapers "stretchy" for a better fit. The difference is remarkable! It is an easy modification to make. This is also a great way to make a two-tone diaper and use up "special" scraps of fabric or make a neat effect. To demonstrate, I am using our fantastic Growing Cheekies fitted pattern. My steps are written as if you are familiar with the pattern. I will demonstrate adding only stretchy tabs to the wings and also adding a full back panel.

{Click on pictures to see a larger view, use arrow keys to move between pictures, click and drag to move, click once to close, and you can have more than one photo open at a time.}

I like to use a rotary cutter and cutting mat to cut out my fabrics, so I have my pattern transfered to a thin piece of cardboard (a cereal box). On my cardboard pattern I marked where I wanted my stretchy wing tabs to be. I made two lines approximately 3/8 inch apart for seam allowance. My finished seam will {ideally} be just above the leg elastic. I have found that this looks the best proportionally. If you do not use a rotary cutter, you could trace a whole new pattern. The pattern pieces will overlap. Ie: Each piece you cut will go to the farthest line. This sounds really obvious AFTER you cut it the wrong way. :) Did that. I could have traced a whole new pattern to use with the rotary cutter, too, but I was feeling lazy (and didn't want to keep track of all those pattern parts), so I simply transferred where my straight edges will be and used a ruler to cut them.

Check all your pieces to make sure you have everything you need. Next you will pin right sides together, serge the edges, then topstitch the seam down.

Now the full panel is ready to proceed with a diaper just like normal.

Now they are finished. The look is beautiful and fresh! Sometimes I like to make up excuses to make diapers this way, even though it is a little more work. I love how they look.

Also take a look at these links!

Check out our other great patterns!

Licensees

Growing Cheekies Fitted Diaper Pattern