Tula cover tutorial!!

This is a tutorial on how to make a cover for your Tula baby or toddler carrier.  You should also be able to use it for similar soft structured carriers (SSC).

I recently got really into carriers.  I bought a Tula and a Kinderpack.  I kept seeing more and more gorgeous prints and I started to want them all. I almost went #ByAllTheTulas crazy.  I soon reeled myself back in and realized that I could make a cover instead.

Supplies Needed:
* Atleast 1 yard of fabric (cotton preferable)
*sewing machine
*thread
*fabric scissors
*pencil
*pins

First you will need to go shopping and buy fabric. I chose a 100% cotton print. I got ours at Walmart for about $5 for 1 yard.  I would get at least 1 yard of fabric.  Once you get home, take the fabric and wash it in hot water and dry it on high heat to ensure that the fabric shrinks now and not later.

Once washed and dried, you will want to lay the fabric face down on a flat surface, I chose my kitchen table.  Flatten the fabric out nicely trying to ensure that there are no big wrinkles or bunched areas of fabric. 

Next you will carefully lay your Tula or SSC down on top of the fabric. Again make sure the fabric stays nice and flat as well as your carrier.  Leave approximately 1 inch of fabric around all the sides of the carrier (pictures below).

Not pictured right here, but near the arm area I actually left more like 2 inches, so that I could add snaps or Velcro later.

I carefully folded or flipped up the waist belt to see how much fabric was underneath.  Again you want to leave at least 1 inch of fabric underneath that area.

Now I used a pencil and carefully traced around the whole carrier.

As you can see it left a light & non-permanent line.

Now take some fabric scissors and cut approximately an inch away from that line all the way around.

Here is the arm area that I gave extra room for Velcro or snaps later.

Here is the first cut out that I made. You can see the pencil line and my cut if you look carefully.

I took that piece that I cut and used it as a template on the other part of the fabric so that I can get a second piece one for the front and one for the back. 

I found a few heavier items sitting around and placed those on the fabric to ensure that everything stayed nice and flat while I cut the second piece.

After both pieces are cut lay one piece face up on the table. Then lay your carrier carefully on top of it

As you can see the fabric sticks out approximately an inch to 2 inches around the carrier.

Now take the other piece of fabric and lay it face down on top of your carrier. This second piece of fabric will also need to have the extra fabric all the way around.

This next part you will need some pins to stick the two pieces of fabric together.  I start at the top of the carrier and place one pin right next to the strap then I slowly go across the top placing pins all the way across and again placing a special pin at the other strap.  The first and the last pin at the top indicate where I should start and stop sewing.

First pin....

Pinning across...

Then I sew where those pins are. After I see that, I carefully buckle my carrier on the back of a kitchen chair. Then I slipped the cover over the top of the carrier and slowly start pinning around the carrier and putting pins to indicate where I need to start and stop sewing.

Side of carrier....

Pinch fabric, to feel the carrier and know where to pin.  I personally pin about 1/4-1/2" away from the carrier because you can always sew closer later if need be & the leg pads are thick, so you need the extra room.

Here I pinned a start and stop pin (where my daughters fingers are, at the waist belt & where the arm strap connects).  I also pinned in that side between those two pins.

The area where your arm goes will be similar to a t-shirt, as it'll be open and allow you to put on and take off the cover.  I folded over the edges and pinned them, to get a nice edge that won't unravel.  This is also where you can later add snaps or Velcro.

Once you have done that to both sides, you now want to fold the edges of the bottom & pin those.

Carefully take it off by sliding the arm straps through the "t-shirt" holes and then sew!!

Here's mine finished...

Please always use caution when using a carrier.  Children should never be unsupervised with one.


If you would like to donate anything for the use of this tutorial, please do so below.  I am currently helping a friend get some items (like a Tula) for her foster care.  After that I will be helping a friend with cancer and a foster family (the parents) who just had a horrific car accident.

A story I HATE to tell

Out of my whole life, there is one story, one experience that makes me literally sick to my stomach.  Even looking back at pictures of Aili, with her chest open & being able to see her heart beating, doesn't make me cringe like this story does.

You see there are SO many stories going around right now about children & babies accidentally being left in cars.  The end result is never good and it kills me to even think about it.  There is a PSA video right now, that I refuse to watch.  The thought of what happens to the poor baby left in the car makes my stomach turn, but you know what else drives me insane?!  The response from MOST people.  Sure there are plenty of people in my newsfeed sharing the video, just to get the word out, but there are many others with judgmental words.  Between my own newsfeed & the comments left on articles & videos, I want to hide in a hole in the ground & cry.

"How could any good parent do that?!"

"They don't deserve kids!"

So many comments just like those.

Well you see, two years ago, I was that parent for a brief two seconds.  Me!  It's unbelievable. I mean, no I'm no perfect parent, but I'm told by many I'm a good mom.  There are truthfully few days where I feel like a good mom, but others say it often.

So here I was, two years ago, on July 17th, 2011.  I had a newborn baby (5-6 weeks old).  She was exclusively breastfed.  I also had a 10 year old, a 4 year old & a 2.5 year old.  My 2.5 year old, Aili, that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, was set to have her 3rd open heart surgery the next day.  I was worried about the next day, about my daughter's surgery, about leaving my newborn & hoping she would take a bottle from my mom.  There were SO many things going through my head.  My Mom & I went to run a last minute errand.  We were talking about the next day, what it would entail, etc.  I parked the car, we both got out.  I LOCKED the van & took two steps.  

My Mom then said, "What about the baby?"

Instantly I burst into tears!  I knew exactly what could have happened.  My Mom reassured me that once I got to the door of the store, I would have realized.  It was the worst moment of my life.  It makes me physically ill.

So for those of you judging others, it can happen to anyone.  It's an accident.

The best things I can do for my children

**This was written in response to some "flack" I saw in regards to this post - http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3248085?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Most of what I saw in my newsfeed was mothers who really enjoy the above post.  One response rubbed me the wrong way though.

The best things I can do for my children

There are so many great articles and blogs lately about doing your best at parenting, making sure you don't raise a spoiled brat, etc.  Most make us normal mortal mothers feel better about ourselves, which truthfully in turn makes us better mothers.  If we're spending our time worrying about being good & comparing ourselves to everyone else, we're not able to do our best.  That's exactly it 'our best!'  You see my best will be far different from your best, and that's ok.  Both of our children will be lovingly cared for.  Sure my dishes may be done* & yours aren't, but guess what, my laundry sure as heck isn't done.  So what can I do for these precious children I'm doing MY best to raise?

I can teach them compassion and empathy.  Some of the most important lessons are learning about others.  Even now, as an adult, I learn so much from caring about others.  Tonight I'm making dinner for my family and 2-3 other families too (new baby, child just had surgery & possibly a new neighbor)!  On another occasion my children and I enjoyed buying a dozen roses, going to the mall & giving a single rose out to random people.  I gave each child a certain number of roses and instructed them to give them to someone who looked like they could use a 'pick me up.'  Most of the recipients were older ladies and a few children.  Each person was delighted!!  One lady even hugged the girls, cried a little & said she had always wished to have a little girl.

I can teach them NO!  To take a little from a recent post I read, we live in a privileged world.  My children have all they need and then some.  As hard as I try, my children still can be spoiled brats.  I try, and try, to teach them kindness, empathy, etc.  Sometimes it sticks, but a lot of times I still am on the receiving end of an attitudinal 6 year old girl.  My children need to hear no.  They can't receive every wish & whim they want.  That isn't going to help them in life.  Of course I'm not going to say no all the time, left & right.  Believe me, we have WAY too many toys (even after recently going through and getting rid of a playrooms worth of toys).  We have WAY too many clothes too. My 2 year old not only has hand-me-downs from her two older siblings, but also from about 3 friends.  You don't even want to know what her room looks like!  I go through her clothes often, passing on what I can too.  Telling them no & teaching them they don't always need everything they want, will enrich their lives far more than the 25th My Little Pony will.

You see for my children (and others) to learn empathy, they need to know there are others less fortunate than them.  That there are people they can help.  That there are things in this world they can do, to enrich their own lives & the lives of others.  So I'll continue to teach them.  I'll continue to come up with helpful life lessons.  We as a family will continue to go through toys to donate, pick up trash in our neighborhood & make meals for those in need, just like others did for us, when our 'new' baby was born & when our daughter had open heart surgery.  Those experiences & gestures are what they will remember when they grow up.  They won't remember mom saying no, or one of their 25 My Little Pony's, they're going to remember the look on someone's face that they helped.

I must be doing something right, because my 12 year old son, jumps at the chance to help anyone he can in need.  Just today at the store, when an elderly person knocked over a display of spices, he ran over and helped pick them up.

I'll keep doing my best to teach my children, the best I can.

*usually my dishes are a huge pile, but for today, I can say they are blissfully done.  My sink is a sparkling!! Fly Lady would be proud!

-Kiersten

My fitness pal

I think I may have figured out my fitness pal!! A group of my friends were talking about my fitness pal. I'd heard about it, but really didn't know what it was all about. So I downloaded the app and dove in to figure it out. First I friended my friends, then I looked at the diary section.

Hmmm...how many calories do I eat???

So I filled out that days info...ouch! I was already over by dinner time & there was NO stopping my nightly cookies! At least I had an idea on how it worked.

Start day #2, realize sweet tea is a new nemesis. Drink it anyway. I still went over, but only by about half the amount as the day before.

Day #3...I rocked!!!! I managed to be under, drink a sweet tea & eat cookies. I still ate some good food, didn't starve & had an awesome time at Zumba.

Things I've learned...

Mayonnaise may not be worth the 90 calories per TBS.

In order to eat cookies at night, I'll have to earn them at the gym doing Zumba.

I didn't starve today eating 1500 calories.

Here are my atrocious food diary numbers & my awesome day today....

Dishes are done

My dishes are *done! My sink is clean! I started 2012 the same way though, vowing to do the dishes daily/nightly. It lasted a good while, but somewhere along the way, I fell off the wagon. I'm really hoping I won't do that this time. I hope that by creating a lot of new habits & a new me, I'll stick with everything.

*They're clean. There are 3 glasses & a plate in the sink though. I started the dishwasher tonight before I left for the gym, so I'll have to unload & reload tomorrow after work.

I give you my sink...

Toys & the playroom

Oh, our playroom! Boy has it always been a disaster! No matter how many times I went through it, organized, got rid of toys, etc. it would still turn into a toddler tornado zone. We finally found a solution! I wanted to go o Ikea & get something to store the toys in. We walked around, picked out what we wanted & headed to the check out. But wait!! There's the clearance/As-is section! We mosey on over and low & behold, we find a bunch of sets similar to one we picked! They are from the same collection, just a different one. I had picked out one tall case, but here are FOUR bench sized cases. They were screwed together in a square shape with a train/car rug screwed to the top. My husband could easily see past this HUGE monstrosity that would have engulfed our playroom. "We can just unscrew it!" Genius! I married a genius! So we got 4 of them & a rug for only a little more than we planned to spend originally.

We get home & put 2 in the playroom & 2 upstairs in kids' bedrooms. I had 6 bins to organize & label for the playroom. We came up with - Barbies, My Little Ponies, Lalaloopsies, Baby's toys, Misc. (no label yet, currently has balls & plastic alphabet Popsicles), & babies/dolls. We also have a big toy box with Legos in it & a few toys on top of the benches. I labeled each bin with my label maker (Christmas gift last year from the husband)

It's been a few weeks & the room has stayed clean. It's easy enough for the kids to clean up & if I'm left to pick up it only takes a few minutes!

Am I lazy now?

Ok stupid question...  It's more like I *was* lazy.  But now when I have everything picked up, and I go sit on the couch, I feel lazy.  There is a ton more I could do.  Only the downstairs of my house is presentable, and even that still has a whole room of "crap" to go through.  It is oh so nice though, to look around and feel peace knowing the house is "clean".  There isn't piles of dishes or laundry on the floor.  All the toys are picked up and organized.  It's just so nice.  So far I've been keeping up with what I've accomplished.  I will add more to it soon.  I'm enjoying relaxing, while still cleaning up throughout the day, and receiving compliments on how nice the house STILL looks! :)