wool puddle pad?

[VBMama]

Has anyone made a wool crib puddle pad or mattress pad? I'd like to try to make one, but I'm not sure what kind of wool fabric to use...novice sewer here!

[NocturnalDaze]

We use a lanolized wool blanket on our bed. I found a fairly cheap wool blanket at the army/navy store and threw it in the wash on hot with an entire tube of Lanisoh (lanolin) that I never used. Just kind of hold the tube under the hot water and it will liquify. Then I just ran it through the first wash cycle until the water drained out. Don't rinse it and hang it to dry.

Washing it on hot will felt the wool so you will have to wipe out the machine because it will be full of fuzzies (I was suprised when the happened, I'd never felted anything before). I belive if it is felted you can cut it without it unraveling so you don't have to worry about sewing the edges (kind of like fleece).We just lay it on top of the bed under the fitted sheet and it doesn't move around too much. It fits all the way across our mattress but doesn't go down to our feet so we just keep it where we need it the most. It would definately fit a crib mattress though. If you want to do that I would just sew elastic at all four corners to keep it in place.

Oh, my daughter rarely leaks. Once in a while she's a little damp and that has never gone through to the mattress. One day I guess her diaper wasn't on right and she just completely leaked (like a river!) and that didn't go through either.

[kathryn5kids]

That's so funny you mentioned using the old army wool blankets under your sheets. Before I was aware what wool really did. I took over my Navy dad's wool blankets. I would use it under my sons sheets just because I wanted his bed to be softer. I never knew that when he accidentally peed his bed the wool prevented the leaks to penetrate into his mattress. Now that I recently became a cloth diapering person I found out why! HA, HA!

[VBMama]

Thanks, I'll try the lanolin trick with a wool blanket & some elastic to hold it on the corners!

[Rebecca]

I also use a shrunken old army blanket under ds's sheets. It works well and adds softness and warmth.

[Selena]

you could also just buy a yard or a yard and a half of wool fabric and use that

A friend of mine made a couple for me, I don't know if I can mention names here, though. I haven't hung out here a lot since the new boards went up and I know there are a LOT more rules, now...

Anyhow, a yard of 100% or close wool fabric would do in a pinch Wash on hot, rinse cold, dry hot. Repeat if you wanna

[VBMama]

I did actually end up finding an appropriate-sized piece of wool fabric on the sale table. I washed & dried on hot a few times, rinsed in hot water with dissolved lanolin, and wow, water just beads up & rolls off! It's so nice and soft, too...thanks for all the tips!

[NocturnalDaze]

[lovelee]

Oh, I hope your all still around!

I really wanted to make one of these! I had bought one of those waterproof pads for cribs to use in our bed, my son has potty trained but we just got a NEW mattress (we co-sleep) and I want to make sure it doesn't get peed on. Anyway the crib pad makes he and I sweat terribly.

I went to the Army surplus store and looked at their wool blankets, but none of them have a label stating 100% wool. There were probably 6 different kinds. Actually one said 55% wool, 45% undetermined fibers. They all *felt* like wool, but I don't want to go through the trouble if it doesn't work. Will it still felt if its not 100% wool?? The wool at the fabric store was $18 a yard-way to expensive.

I want it to be big enough because I'm expecting soon, and also concerned about my water breaking in the bed.

[Selena]

I think you can get 100% wool from most diaper fabric companies for less than $18 and definitely cheaper at fabric.com...

Maybe you could post an ISO at the trading post for wool fabric? YOu can specify that you dont need soft wool because it will be under your sheets, so something that a diaper wahm wouldn't be interested in might get passed on to you

Good luck!

I dont think that a blend of 45% non wool would work...

[fraya]

This is such a great idea -- I'd been looking for a breathable option. So I took a wool blanket and felted it, though the lanolin didn't appear to melt in the machine; I wonder if I forgot to put it on hot? Then my husband threw the lanolin away. Still, I washed on hot and dried on hot and it seems felted and water resistant.

Two questions:

1. Do you wash it after a peeing accident? It doesn't seem wet, and it doesn't smell like pee, but I've been washing it just incase.

2. Do you put detergent in when you wash it? I'm worried that might strip some of the lanolin.

Thanks!

[Selena]

I have two, so yes I wash it when it gets wet and I use detergent-how else will it get clean?

The wool works great without the lanolin added for us. SO I don't worry about lanolizing it. If you are worried, you can always buy a big bottle of eucalin and wash it with that

[lovelee]

I probably wouldn't wash it right away, I use my wool soakers at night only and then only wash them about every 2-3 weeks, wool needs to dry, but doesn't retain odor.

When wool is washed it should be washed with eucalan or somthing similar, if you use regular detergent it will strip off the lanolizing. Even when washing with a wool wash you'll still have to re-lonolize occasionally but not nearly as often, HTH!

[lovelee]

Interesting, you dont' lanolize and you dont notice ANY leaking through the pad?? Is the baby in diapers though? I'd be worried to try that since my son is just in underware and ther'd be *alot* of umm... "liquid", LOL!

[Selena]

Daniel is 3.5 and has had "full accidents" on it with no problems

Of course, that might depend on your wool and your little ones "output" but it works for us

[LaLa]

a loving friend bought some organic wool spun into yarn from a local farmer. Then she crochet 2 puddle pads for baby bella. They are my most valued child care items! They are so amazing, I can't even begin to describe!

She also made one with storebought wool yarn, but the softness difference in the organic natural unprocessed yarn is unbelievable!

We love it!

Of course she is not making them now, but you could try your hand at it??

[fraya]

My son is not in diapers, no. We're talking full accidents.

What is eucalin and where can I get it?

[Selena]

eucalin is a wool washing product that has some natural lanolin in it. Most of the diaper wahms carry it, you can find it in some yarn stores or quilt shops....

Our pads work for us for full accidents

[lovelee]

Eucalan is a wool wash, lots of places that sell cloth diapers sell it too, my local yarn shop sell it too if you have any place like that.

If you need some links, let me know!

[fraya]

OK. I can look at places like that. I'd like a link to a WAHM site just incase. And if you aren't washing your puddle pad after an accident, are you just air drying it? As I said, mine didn't even smell or feel wet. I didn't have any success with the wool diaper cover for my son, so I never even had to memorize the washing issues but now that you mention it, I do recall it saying that it shouldn't be washed often.

thanks.