All About Flats

[HeatherB]

Come share all of your info and advice about flats!

This is one type of diaper I've never used (other than for burp cloths, and those were Gerber!), but am curious about. I've discovered that I like prefolds more than I thought I would, so flats are an obvious next step! As well, we'll be making a long trip this summer, and it occurs to me that flats might be an economical option to buy in place of our standard diapers. But, I'd need to know more about them to know if it will truly be worthwhile.

So, please share what you love (or don't!) about flats, what your favorite brands are, how to fold them and secure them, etc.

[MommaShark]

I have some OLD flats of unknown origin and not quite 27x27 - they are great as doublers and for little ones. I bought 36 flats (27"x27") from Nicki's Diapers - before Green Mountain Diapers had their unbleached larger ones available....

I LOVE THEM!!!! I loved prefolds but due to the padding in the middle they aren't as flexible and are bulky when folded down to fit the cover.....
Flats are cheap (a dozen for $14), clean very easily, dry in a flash, can be used birth to pottytraining - you only need 36......

What I love about flats is that they are totally customizabale! One for a newborn-infant, two for a larger kid and 3 for a toddler. I love the origami fold, but you can fold them like a prefold too. Here's some websites for how to fold:
http://www.diaperware.com/picturepages/flatfolding.htm
http://www.babycottonbottoms.com/clo...er_folding.htm (scroll down)

For fastening I use a snappi - but you can use pins or a wrap style cover.

They also make great kitchen towels, doublers, inserts and later rags!!!

[luckygreen713]

I like flats. I only use cotton diapers on my kids, mostly pf's, but I have some flats as well. I got mine from Green Mountain Diapers. They are very high quality, nothing like a Gerber flat. I fold mine to resemble a prefold. I use 2 on my toddler. I fasten them with pins or trifold them in a cover. Snappis work too, but I really prefer pins because there's not a lot of texture for the snappi to grip. Here's what I like about them:
-they are easy to care for-they wash very nicely and dry very quickly
-they fit any baby (although pretty bulky on a newborn, older babies need 2)
-they can be folded in quarters and then trifolded in a cover
-they make a trim but absorbant doubler
-they're cute, in my opinion
-they're so cheap

Here's what I don't like:
-dh has a hard time with them, so I'm the only one who can change dd when she's wearing them
-the complicated folding, like origami. I just fold mine like a pf.

I think they're a great choice for vacations/traveling because they're so easy to take care of. They can be handwashed and air dried better than any other kind of diaper because there are no layers.

[Juliacat]

gumbush.com for information, integritydiapercompany.com for purchase

I liked flats for traveling and found them handy for other emergencies, but the folding drove me bazongas on a day to day basis. I used to think "just for fun, let's go 3 days using flats only" and at the end of the 3 days I was soooooo glad to get back to prefolds!

[perditafoster]

I used them from birth to about four or five months with ds...then he was wetting too much and getting too wiggly, so I switched over to pfs, the same size as dd #2 so they were in the same dipes. They were okay; dh couldn't do them so I had back up bum genius for him. The folding was fine, since ds was little and he just waited patiently while I folded the origami fold. However, once he got bigger, he wouldn't wait and if I tried to fold it ahead of time, one of the other kids would come along and fling diapers all over the place, thereby undoing all my work!!!!

One flat worked fine until he was a bit older; then I needed two and there was no way I was going through that torture...I think if you are patient and have a patient child, flats are great.

[HeatherB]

Great information! Anyone else have anything to share?

[Mamatoabunch]

Interested too, thinking of switching. We have buildup problems constantly w/ our prefolds, front loader and hard water.

[battymama]

Flats make up the bulk of my stash, and i love them. They are the most common type of cloth nappy in australia. They are easy to wash and get clean, easy to dry too. Folding isnt much of a hastle, i could do it in my sleep and have I love experimenting with different folds, its part of the fun! but my favourite is the cone or the jo fold. Dh has no trouble with them, to learn the folds he just sits and prefolds a pile then he has it, i am good at just doing it once then i know what i am doing.

I used to prefold them once they where dry, but i find it just as easy to fold it as i am going to use it and just have a pile of them. With the cone i just lay it like a diamond fold the corners in lay her down, fold the front bit between her legs in 3 then snappi the wings, and writing it down makes it seem harder then it is.

Having said all this i cant compare to prefolds as i have never used them, the only package of prefolds i came across when i needed them was $100 for 12 so yeah you can get them cheaper online and i have considered it but... i really love my flats, there is something so simple and charming about them. And you just cant beat a row of fluffy flats on the line, its so satisfying.