If you are unfamiliar with what longies are, they are wool pants designed to cover a fitted cloth diaper. Fitted diapers are not waterproof, and your best two options (because I guess a duct tape and a recycled grocery sack could be option #3) are covers made of PUL or natural 100% non-superwash wool. PUL is what most people start with, it's easy & can be thrown in the washer and dryer... but it isn't very breathable, and you lose a few environmental points if that is your reason for going cloth. Wool is pretty awesome, and I've got to say, way easier to care for than I had imagined. It needs to be treated with lanolin (for waterproofing) prior to use as a diaper cover. As far as washing goes, you do need to handwash and hang dry knit wool covers, but they don't need to be washed very often. Air them between uses, and wash if they become soiled is my rule.
I learned to knit a few years back when #3 was a baby (if you didn't already know, you can learn virtually anything from youtube), so I thought I would give these pants a try. After a bit of looking, I found a pattern here. Since 'lil man is a whopping 23 lbs at 5 months old (and already beginning to grow into size 18 month clothing), I opted to make size 1-2 years rather than 6-12 months. I used Wool of the Andes Sport Weight yarn from Knit Picks. I used four skeins of Avocado, two skeins of Red, and scraps of white and black wool leftover from an awesome blanket I knitted years ago.
There were a few things about the pattern that I had to tweak, and I like the look of a wide leg better, so I did seed stitching along the bottom instead of ribbing. Erk. I'll give you the full disclosure. It is true that in the end I liked the wide finishing better, but I originally had ended the first leg with green ribbing. I got to the last green stripe on the second leg and ran.out.of.yarn! I didn't want to place an order and pay shipping for only one skein, PLUS I only needed a few yards. The pants sat around for a few days, untouched while I thought about what to do, then I decided to finish off with the little bit of red I had left. No joke- I used every bit of red that I had left! I made an I-cord with the green I had originally used for ribbing, and again, just enough! Without further ado (and with apologies for the bad color), I give you monster longies:
So here's the thing. I am kinda lazy. Failed to knit a swatch prior to starting... turns out my gauge was a little bit bigger than the pattern called for. Here's a pic of #4 with his *ahem* quite long longies. Oh, and check out his super cute fitted diaper from EG Baby Designs.
They are pretty big, but with the legs rolled up and the waist tied he can use them! I could also say I did it on purpose in order to get the most use. ;-)
Stay tuned, I will post about lanolizing later this week!
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