Hooter Hider Tutorial

My sister asked me to do this for her, so don't pay attention to this post, or pay attention if you want to learn how to make a hooter hider.

Materials:
one yard of fabric
half of a yard of boning
a small amount of fabric for the pocket (usually white or another light, neutral color and a softer material)
2 - 1" D rings
thread
2 cloth diapers/burp cloths (optional)

Measurements:
26" x 36" cut out
2 1/2" x 10" strip
2 1/2" x 18" strip
2 - 7 1/2" x 20" cut outs (for the burp cloths if you so desire)
9" x 9" for the pocket (using the other fabric)

First, cut out all those lovely pieces. Then we'll start with the big piece. I always start with the sides of the piece first. When the hooter hider sits, the sides will be the shorter length. Fold down the fabric about a 1/4" all the way down the side. (I use my fingernail to press a crease into the fabric.)

Then fold the material over again all the way down.

Pin those sides down, but leave an inch or two at the bottom so you can fold it up. Guess what you're gonna do now? Yep, fold the bottom using the same technique. Before you pin it down though, fold that small piece of fabric for the pocket corner to corner diagonally. Stick that fabric on one of the corners of the hooter hider where the folds will fold over.

(Do you see my tiny little arrow on the 1st picture? Put the corner of the pocket on that creased corner.)

After you get everything pinned down, just start sewing. Sew both sides first and then the bottom. As with starting all sewing lines, go down about an inch or so, then sew back up, then sew back down so all the edges of the sewing line are nice and sturdy and won't fall apart.

Now let's move to the top. Fold the fabric 1/4" down first, like how we did on all the other sides. Then you'll fold it over again but wider so that the boning will fit through it. This will usually be about an inch wide.

You'll want to sew the bottom side of the fold over and the top side, so be sure to leave enough room for those stitches, and also be sure to have the top stitching be right close to the edge.

Then slide the boning in there. Make sure it's right in the center. It will stay there because we are putting our straps on each side of the boning. 

So let's move on to the straps. Fold both straps in half length-wise and then sew. That's it for the shorter strap, but for the longer one, sew one end of the strap as well.

Once those are sewed you come to my least favorite part. Now you have to turn those babies right side out. You can do it using whatever strategy you think works best. For the longer strap I usually use a pencil or pen to help me. 

When they're turned right side out, iron them flat. Then fold a tiny bit down for where you'll attach it to the hooter hider. You'll fold down the unsewn end of the longer strap and both ends of the shorter strap. Before you pin the shorter strap on, slide the two D rings on there and then pin it on the hooter hider folded in half. It doesn't really matter which side you pin each strap onto, just be sure to pin them right at the edge of your boning. (Come to think of it, I usually pin the shorter strap onto the right side of the hooter hider because most people are right handed so it's easier to strap on. But either way works.)

Sew those little lovelies on there. They will usually be harder to sew on because of all the material you're trying to sew through, but just give the fabric a little push or a pull if it needs it. I go all the way around where those straps attach twice, so it's making two squares.

After the straps on on there, sew a little line right up by the D rings so they don't have very much sliding room. Otherwise it gets tricky to have them stay in place.

Last step on the hooter hider - back to the pocket. Use a ruler or measuring tape or whatever so you can measure it evenly. I've found that the entire length of the pocket piece is about 12", so I make a mark at 4" and 8". From those marks, draw a line with a pencil, all the way down to where it meets the fabric and add a third line connecting those lines.

 Then just sew along those lines so you're making a three-sided square. I usually start on the top side and just follow it down, turn the fabric, follow it down, turn the fabric and follow it down so it's continuous.

When you're done sewing that pocket, the front side of the hooter hider will look something like this:

(Don't mind that I can't sew a straight line.)

Now your hooter hider is complete!

You may be thinking, what should I do with this extra fabric? And that is where the burp clothes come into play. Perhaps you already cut out the pieces for the burp cloths. Good for you! Let's get into it then.

If you haven't already, iron the cloth diapers. They are usually very wrinkled from the packaging. Then take the material and fold down the long sides down about a 1/4" to a 1/2".

Place it on the cloth diaper and center it as best as you can. Pin down the sides and the fold over the ends and pin those down too (just below the diaper's edge).

Now just sew everything down. I like the way it looks when I sew a little into the cloth, rather than from edge to edge, but you can do it however you wish.

Welp, now you're done! You have just made a pregnant or nursing woman very happy. YAY!

The Rest of December

I'm finally going to catch up with the end of our 2012 year. I'll just get right into it:

A couple days after Yale's birthday, Lish's dad came out for a visit for a few days. It was so fun to have him here, as usual. He's such easy company and Yale loves spending time with his Papa Mitch. The Harris boys drove into Zions National Park to go for a hike, while I stayed home to watch Presley. They seemed to have fun and enjoyed the adventure. Then we drove into Vegas early the day Mitch was leaving to spend some time walking around and enjoying the beautiful weather. Other than that, we didn't do too much while Mitch was here.

We had a couple weeks to ourselves before we headed back up north for the holidays. It was nice to have that little break with the busy-ness that had engulfed us, but we were excited to get up and see some family. We spent the first weekend with my dad, a few days after Christmas with Lish's mom, and then a couple days up at my mom's. We jumped around a bit for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but we usually do so we can spend time with everyone. And of course we had the annual skiing/snowboarding trip the day after Christmas with my dad. Everyone in my family got sick though while we were with Karen, so we were lucky enough to not get it. (Well, I did technically get it, but not nearly as badly as everyone else, and for that I am blessed.) It just cut our time with my mom a day short, which was sad, but the time we got with her was awesome.

We love our family and love all the time we get to spend with them. Thanks everyone for a wonderful Christmas!