I took all my toddler’s diapers away! Do you think she was happy with me? NO. NOT at all.
Was I happy with myself? YES! I now have no kids in diapers!! As long as I let her have a diaper, though, we were never going to get anywhere with potty training. The good news is that she went from refusing the potty to full potty trained in a matter of (a few very intense) days.
I use lots of rewards during potty training. We let her watch all her favorite shows while she sits to try, have unlimited juice and herb tea to keep things going, and lots of positive reinforcement. We even have a song for when she is successful. She feels on top of the world when her whole family is dancing and singing and cheering for her success.
I also can’t let them wear anything but a loose skirt, dress, or loose pants for the first week or so. If I put a pair of panties on her at first, she will think it is a diaper and use it just like one. YUCK. SO, after she has gotten the hang of it, I start slowly letting her wear panties.
I also made her this super fun cat shirt in fabric of her choosing. I have learned that toddlers LOVE control. So much of their world is just done to them rather than by them. She is my fifth toddler, and I have learned that when I talk to them about everything and give them choices when possible, they are happy little humans. I do not mean choices like “Do you want to go to sleep or stay awake?” I mean choices like, “Do you want to sleep in these pajamas or those?” You are telling them what is happening while letting them feel like they are somewhat in charge.
The Twist It Up Top
For her top, I used is the Ellie and Mac Kids Twist It Up Top pattern. I made a cozy fuzzy sweater out of the adult version of this pattern early last year. You can find that post here. Since it is still pretty warm here, I made my youngest and middle daughters short sleeved tops this time.
The pattern size range is from 6 months to size 14 and includes options for tank top, short sleeves, or long sleeves. The neckline can be finished with a band or a very nice cowl! I made the cowl on my sweater version last year, and it is nice and full!
Sewing Thoughts
The knot on this pattern is done in an interesting way. It makes it look like your shirt is tucked in. You gather parts of a hole that is cut out of the center bottom. Then, you twist and sew part of it on the inside. I always have to follow the directions really closely on this part, but it turns out really pretty. You do have to make sure not to skip the hand stitches on the inside otherwise the knot seam will continually push to the outside.
The rest of the pattern is really straight forward. The sleeves are cuffed so the only hem is on the bottom of the shirt. The only adjustment I made for hers was to grade to a 3T for height. Her width was only in 18-24 months so I used the 18-24 months for the wide part and 3T for the armscye, neck, and shirt length.
Fabric
I used cotton lycra for my youngest daughter’s top. This fabric was gifted to me from a friend when she cleaned out her sewing room. I don’t think I would wear a shirt out of it but kept it in case one of the kids liked it. This little girl thought it was the best fabric ever. I also made her a pair of panties out of it that she thinks are pretty amazing as well. She has a bad habit of showing them to everyone when she wears them so maybe now that she has a shirt out of it, she will keep her shorts up!
I think she was right about this fabric because when she wears this shirt, she gets SO MANY comments. “OMG, I love her shirt. Please tell me where you got it!”
My oldest daughter chose a solid black bamboo lycra. This fabric has wonderful drape and is really soft. She wanted a shirt that would go with lots of different outfits and this one has a fun little detail while working with lots of different bottoms.
My middle daughter was really cooperative for photos while my younger one needed cookies in exchange for photos.
My middle daughter was a straight size 10 without adjustments.
Let’s Stay Connected
I hope I have inspired you! I would love to hear your thoughts and questions. I also would love to stay connected with you.
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*Disclosures
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.
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