I Want to Knit My Own Wool Diaper Cover. Guide Me Please!

[OurLittleNest]

We are just starting on cloth diapers with our 6-week-old newborn. I would love to knit a wool diaper cover. At the cloth diaper class I took, the woman said they are great for using overnight and that you only need to wash them once a month (if you only use it at night). I like to knit, especially for my children, and want to knit my own. But when I came on here and searched, I felt overwhelmed by all that I didn't know. I saw posts about felting and lanolizing and other aspects of this project that I didn't know I needed to worry about. Tell me. Is this not as easy as picking out a pattern and grabbing some yarn from the store? Please point me down the right direction. Are all wool yarns created equal? Also, how does sizing work? If you knit a cover, does it fit the baby for awhile? Thank you!

[motherhendoula]

Hi!  I just finished my first wool soaker - and my LO is 6 months old!  I joined this Yahoo Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wool_soaker_group/

and i think lurking on there a while will help with terms.   i found this pattern:

www.ottobredesign.com/en/print/pdf/wool_diaper_cover_en.pdf

and so far - it was easy...i did use a 100% wool, i have read that wool /alpaca blend also works well.  I think my next will be a blend because this wool feels very itchy to me.

I have read that if they only get pee on them, they can be air dried, and wont smell - and can be washed every 3 -4 weeks.  Its important to use lanolin on them after the wash IF you use regular detergent.  If you use a 'wool wash'  you shouldnt need to 'lanolize' all that often.  Lanolin is the natural grease found on the sheep in their wool - its this 'grease' that makes wool such a good choice for diapering, but frequent washing can rinse the lanolin out of the wool and you may need to put some back in.  I buy lanolin at:  http://www.jeansgreens.com/

i should be done with the ribbing around the leg very shorty - hope to use it tomorrow!

[staceycanada]

Wool covers are amazing. You only need to wash them when they actually start to smell. This can be more or less often depending on how saturated they get.

They need to be washed by hand. A warm sink with a little baby shampoo works great. Then you need to replace the lanolin that will be removed by washing. I used the lanolin sold in the baby section of my pharmacy and Walmart. It is used for breastfeeding moms. A pea sized amount is all you need. Put it into a container and shake until dissolved.Soak the cover for 20-60 minutes and then squeeze dry in a towel and hang to dry the rest of the way.

For soaker patterns check out a site called Ravelry (google it). They have a lot of patterns and several free soaker patterns.

Use 100% wool not super wash it doesn't absorb the same.

Send me an email if you need more help. [e-mail]