KnappyKnickers

Originally from New Zealand, I'm now in Houston, TX for the second time. I have two kids, Elyse is 17 and studying at the Alberta Ballet School in Calgary, Canada, pursuing her dream to be a ballet dancer. Ollie is 14 and is at school in Houston.

I learnt to sew with my mother, many years ago, but hadn’t done any sewing for years aside from making curtains, blinds and cushion covers, until I had the idea for Knappy Knickers when my daughter was tiny. The Australia/NZ name for diapers is nappies, and these were knickers for wearing over nappies, hence Knappy Knickers.

The inspiration came when I got sick of the sight of an ugly saggy nappy/diaper hanging out from under my daughter’s dresses, and couldn’t find anything other than frilly bloomers to cover the nappy/diaper. I wanted something more funky and streamlined than frills.

So I found some stretchy fabric, tested a few prototypes on my daughter, and finally took the plunge to test the market for my Knickers. So I sewed like mad to make enough for my first craft market in Perth, in November 2007. The Knickers were really well received at the market and I sold lots more than I expected so I continued from there, mainly doing markets in and around Perth until I took the plunge and opened my Etsy store in 2008.

Since then, Knappy Knickers relocated to Houston, TX in 2008 for 5 years, before returning to Perth in 2013. 2020 saw us return to Houston, right in time for a pandemic! I no longer have a full time model at home to use for my Etsy photos, as my kids are long past the nappy wearing stage. But you can see them featured in the photos for my other Etsy shop, Red Fox Kids, where they model the teen/tween pyjamas I make: www.etsy.com/shop/redfoxkids