Any ideas on how to make a waterproof bed pad?

[sewcool]

Id like to make a few for my son who wants to wear underwear to bed. I was thinking vinal with a layer of batting and a cotton top think that would work? Maybe someone knows of a tutorial ro has some tips or expierance here?

[LaughingHyena]

I planned to back a couple of hand towels with some PUL fabric.
It was cheeper for me to buy towels than terry fabric.

I would just lay the two fabrics right sides together and sew round 3 sides. Then turn the pad the right way out and sew up the last edge.

I have to say I never actually got round to doing this as I found it hard to get hold of PUL in the UK.

[sewcool]

towels is a great idea but i do want a cotton top so i can make it pretty!

[Pumpkincat]

i have the same thing on my mind. I have put the word out that i am looking for wool sweaters to felt, cut and sew together to make wool covers for the beds. Wool does wick up moisture. I am not sure how well this will work. I have only heard that it would.

As far as vinyl goes, it gives off chlorine gas and is full of phthalates, so i personally do not think it is a good choice to with for developing children. That said, really, a single mattress cover made from vinyl is only about $10.

I am wondering if there are new kinds of waterproof bed covers, like there is nonvinyl shower curtains. Hmmmmm.

Good luck with your endevour

[sewcool]

i have thought of the wool idea however i cant imagine washing those every night

also i did not really mean vinyl prolly something more like cloth dipe fabric but i definitely would not be using something "toxic" we are very natural so no worries there.
Also I know i could buy something but id really love to be able to make something and choose my own design and all its more fun!

[Pumpkincat]

I hope it did not look like i was implying that you would knowingly use something toxic. Many people are not aware of the problems with vinyl. It is inspiring that you are.

As far as the wool covers go, i do not think that they have to be washed each time. Washing everyday sure would be a chore being that they are not supposed to go into the dryer and line drying is hard in the winter. I want to ask some folks who use them how they find them to be.

I have some bedwetters myself, so i have been washing when they wet. I need some covers.

[sewcool]

you didn't i just wanted to make sure you knew that i am aware of the dangers of plastics and i did say vinyl in the first place. I really just did not know what to call the stuff.

you wouldent wash the wool cover every night if they peed on it every night?

[Pumpkincat]

Originally Posted by sewcool

you wouldent wash the wool cover every night if they peed on it every night?

I intuitively would want to wash something that was peed on, that is for sure.

I have never used wool shorties, longies or the mattress covers, but I did read that some people do not wash them every time, which seems odd to me. The claim is that somehow the wool keeps dry and does not smell and only needs to be washed occassionally. I am not sure how it works, but am very interested in learning.

I have been working to get rid of synthetics where i can, it is difficult indeed and not possible to go 100% natural, but I am trying.

Maybe tomorrow I will go take a look at the store to see if there are new materials being used for mattress covers. I have read that EVA and PEVA are new plastics that do not off-gas. I bought some PEVA shower curtains and they have no smell at all.

Have you had a chance to look at them yet? If so, what did you find out? If you haven't had a chance yet, i will share what i learn.

[sewcool]

no i havent but i also heard about them. Ive also heard of the shower curtains and was thinking about using those as the waterproof part do you think that would work> let me know what you find

[reeseccup]

I just got heavy 100% wool military surplus blankets, lanolize them and put them under the sheets, easy and inexpensive for the most part. Oh and the wool breaths unlike the rubberized cotton fabric or the PUL. You shouldn't have to wash lanolized wool every time, only when it starts to smell, but have a second one on hand so you are able to air dry/out the one that was soiled.

I did this for our bed as well for milk leaks when I was nursing, worked great.

[Jojo F.]

Originally Posted by reeseccup

I just got heavy 100% wool military surplus blankets, lanolize them and put them under the sheets, easy and inexpensive for the most part. Oh and the wool breaths unlike the rubberized cotton fabric or the PUL. You shouldn't have to wash lanolized wool every time, only when it starts to smell, but have a second one on hand so you are able to air dry/out the one that was soiled.

I did this for our bed as well for milk leaks when I was nursing, worked great.

I am in the process of doing this, next is my bed.

We bought a couple wool army blankets, one for DS's bed and one for a changing pad for the new babe, washed and lanolized them. Right now the blanket for DS is just laid down on top of his sheets, I'm too lazy (or sleep deprived at this point!) to actually put it under his sheets.

I chopped up the other blanket, sewed pieces together (4 layers worth), also made a sleeve with a couple other pieces so I could remove layers as needed. Works great!!

Benefits of wool- link to a few good articles.

I : wool!!

[reeseccup]

Very cool JoJo!! We still have the army blankets under our sheets, using them as matress pads. I love how in the summer they breath and in the winter, well we're warmer.

[Pumpkincat]

Originally Posted by Jojo F.

I am in the process of doing this, next is my bed.

We bought a couple wool army blankets, one for DS's bed and one for a changing pad for the new babe, washed and lanolized them. Right now the blanket for DS is just laid down on top of his sheets, I'm too lazy (or sleep deprived at this point!) to actually put it under his sheets.

I chopped up the other blanket, sewed pieces together (4 layers worth), also made a sleeve with a couple other pieces so I could remove layers as needed. Works great!!

Benefits of wool- link to a few good articles.

I : wool!!

I read the link you posted about the benefits of wool, i am both feeling like i want to hurl and weeze all at the same time. I am peeved that we do not have an army surplus store here.

To Sewcool, there are polyethylene (sp?) mattress covers at walmart. Yay! I really want wool tho. i may have to order it, arg!

[reeseccup]

Originally Posted by Pumpkincat

I really want wool tho. i may have to order it, arg!

Look at places like "sportsmanguide", they often have wool army blankets for sale at reasonable prices. Just be sure to look at the fabric content, many are wool blends, they still work, but aren't quite the same.

Fabric stores and even WalMart fabric section usually cary the rubberized cotton in bulk, that's another option to consider.

[naturalthinker]

There are PUL drop-cloths for painters available at home improvement stores - they are cloth one side, PUL on the other, white. A large sheet (~15' x 20') costs about $18.

What i like about them is they don't crinkle and they breath (like the PUL diapers). Ikea sells little crib-sized pieces of this for ~$8.

I have a lanolin allergy to i tend to avoid wool in general; this might be a good alternative for some.

I just got a blue one yesterday from ACE hardware (it looks about the same) to use under chair cushion covers so i don't have to worry about the pad getting soiled...

[naturalthinker]

Also, yes, there are full-on traditional, breathable waterproof mattress covers that use the PUL too - Lands end are my favorite, but i've seen them elsewhere too. No crinkles, off-gas, easy to wash, and super comfy.

[Jojo F.]

If you can't find wool in your area you can search ebay, amazon and other sites like that for army blankets. I have seen some for fairly cheap.

[sewcool]

thanks for all the ideas