Anyone Cloth Diaper? - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[mole]

Great, thanks! I will now search for flats rather than prefolds!

[cryswilkins]

I love flats. I am not really sure why people like prefolds better. I learned to fold mine watching youtube videos.  What did moms do before the internet, lol.

[Carlin]

I agree completely Cryswilkins! We went with fitteds, but I think I'll fill out my stash with a few flats this time. Where did you get yours? I'd love to find some that are organic cotton and made in North America rather than in China, but so far no luck.

I learned to fold them while babsitting as a 13 year old. lol. If a totally inexperienced (and spatially challenged!) 13 year old can manage it, anyone can!

[cryswilkins]

Most of mine are the Ikea "burp cloths", but I also have some Swaddlebees.  

[love bug]

For sure! I still have and will be using our almost 10 year old MotherEase one size. Not great for new born but they have been used for our three and a couple of others over the last 10 years so I can't complain:)

With DS1 we were only using cloth but with DS2 and DD we EC'd so they were used less and DS2 was out of diapers by 2 and DD at 18 months (day and night). We will EC again for sure with the cloth as back up.

I avoid looking at new cloth diapers because i know I would buy too much! but I will knit up and felt some pants and  sew a few felted sweater pants too because I LOVE them and passed most of mine on already:)

[judybean]

I LOVE flats too!!!  Seriously LOVE them!!  My favorite fold is the oragami fold!  Or, when my kids get to mediums and I'm lazier (and/or just ready to throw in diapers and go), I use the flats to stuff into pocket diapers (which is another diapering system that dries FAST!!!!).  I like to tie dye my flats to spice things up a bit... and then those flats not only get used as diapers, but aslo as dolly blankets, burp clothes, baby spit-up rags, etc!  They're awesome.

(that said, I still want fitteds for the newborn stage. They're my favorite. And I need to make some more PUL covers. Yes, I have plenty of wool and I really do love wool.. but sometimes it's all about as much simplicity as possible in the eary days! Especially trying to keep up with a laundry/etc for a family of SEVEN! holy heck!)

[love bug]

judybean, I read laundry for seven and stopped breathing. then I realized that I will be up to laundry for six! and just about cried!  Wow! that is crazy!  When we were expecting our dd four years ago I made some changes in our house to deal with the laundry. we have a small house with no more room in the bedrooms for dressers so I cut a hole in the floor (in one of the kitchen cupboards:)) so that all laundy can be dropped right down to the washer. and then all our clothing is kept in the basement next to the washer and dryer. the only stuff I dragg upstairs are towels. otherwise the clothing come out of the dryer and goes into label baskets. and all the laundry mess stays hidden!  oh and diapers made their way to the changing area too.

oh on a side note I found myself on etsy the other night and there are some super cute longies, cover and such out there! I need to sell more of my wax wraps so that I can use paypal money to get some new baby goods:) they are so hard to resist!!

[jodieanneanton]

Etsy is DANGEROUS!!!  So much goodness on that site! I could really go crazy there.  :)  I remember seeing (and passing up on) some longies for dd2 (she was a march baby).  But, since this one will be Sept. and will get some use out of longies, I may get a pair.  Having a new beautiful pair of longies may inspire me to make some, too.

[WindyCityMom]

Anyone know of cloth diaper sewing patterns.... *without* a serger needed?  They're so expensive... making my own would be awesome! 

[Faliciagayle]

this is my favorite pattern for diapers.  Mostly I make pockets, but I've done covers and fitted diapers with this pattern, from NB to toddler :)

http://www.darlingdiapers.com/buyddu.html

and frankly, you can turn and topstitch (T&T) most any diaper pattern if you start out thinking that's how you'll sew them.  I have a serger and I've never serged a diaper in my life... way too many curves!! 

[jodieanneanton]

Originally Posted by Faliciagayle 

this is my favorite pattern for diapers.  Mostly I make pockets, but I've done covers and fitted diapers with this pattern, from NB to toddler :)

http://www.darlingdiapers.com/buyddu.html

and frankly, you can turn and topstitch (T&T) most any diaper pattern if you start out thinking that's how you'll sew them.  I have a serger and I've never serged a diaper in my life... way too many curves!! 

  I just got a serger last week but before then, I would do the turn and topstitch trick.  :) I just add a little extra fabric for seam allowance (maybe a quarter inch) and sew wrong sides together leaving a little hole.  Flip the diaper rightside out and straight stitch over the edges (carefully closing where the hole is).  It looks really nice that way, too.  Also, I would *Fake* a serge on some items I didn't mind looking bad by doing a straight stitch and then a tight zigzag stitch just outside of the straight stitch and then trim the excess fabric close to the zigzag stitch making sure not to cut the stitches

[goin' green]

Totally agree with Falicia, but just an fyi, I have a serger that I use for my Etsy shop that only cost me around $100 off Amazon and it's a workhorse!  I love it!  It took a little getting used to at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was super easy to use.

[MacKinnon]

I forgot you did flats Crys! I need to get some, my Mom prefers flats and she regularly babysits.

I sort of failed on CD with DD2. By the third child, with work, I just couldn't keep up on the laundry. But with two in diapers? I'm going to have to get back in the game. My DC have always had very sensitive skin, so I had to use cloth or be super careful with the diapers I pick. DD2 got a blistered rash on her butt when I grabbed a pack of Pampers (and they have the BeDry chemical or whatever added), instead of the Huggies Natural that we usually use.

I have two dozen newborn pre-folds, and a dozen semi-fitteds that use snappi's, and 10 or so assorted newbie covers. So I don't NEED anything.

[Brambleberry]

Originally Posted by mole 

I need some detailed advice from the experienced parents, please! We do not have a drier, we dry everything on a clothing rack in our entry way (very small urban apartment). I think that means that we need to use prefolds and covers as those will dry the quickest. 

We don't have a dryer and we use fitteds.  In less than ideal drying weather we'll put a fan on low on the drying rack inside and it does a nice relatively quick job (8-10 hours in damp weather).  We started out with prefolds and just couldn't handle all the blow-outs.  Part of that was that I had TOO much milk which led to extra explosive poos.  Now, as a toddler, I can't imagine trying to get dd into anything without snaps (that's hard enough sometimes!).  

I'm an enthusiastic wool supporter - we've tried a couple other types of diapers including a fuzzibunz and g-diapers, and I'm sold on wool for it's leak-free aspect compared to those as well as the fact that it is the most plastic/chemical-free way to diaper.  I prefered wrap covers for the infant stage and longies or shorties once dd was more mobile. 

I've made almost all of our wool covers and longies from used sweaters - I've become addicted to buying nice wool anytime I see it at a thrift store!  Covers are actually much easier and faster to make than diapers because you don't have to deal with soakers.  I've not made very many fitteds, we've mostly found them used on e-bay or really cheap ($5-6 ea!) on etsy.com.  I don't have a serger either, but wool doesn't ravel too badly once it's felted a little.  For my wraps, I just roll the edges over once and zig-zag.  This afternoon I was planning on starting on a cashmere sleep sack for the potential new baby and instead here I'm on the computer!

[cryswilkins]

Originally Posted by MacKinnon 

I forgot you did flats Crys! I need to get some, my Mom prefers flats and she regularly babysits.

I sort of failed on CD with DD2. By the third child, with work, I just couldn't keep up on the laundry. But with two in diapers? I'm going to have to get back in the game. My DC have always had very sensitive skin, so I had to use cloth or be super careful with the diapers I pick. DD2 got a blistered rash on her butt when I grabbed a pack of Pampers (and they have the BeDry chemical or whatever added), instead of the Huggies Natural that we usually use.

I have two dozen newborn pre-folds, and a dozen semi-fitteds that use snappi's, and 10 or so assorted newbie covers. So I don't NEED anything.

Yup! We have pockets for sitters but use flats normally. I am trying to decide if I want to buy more prefolds or just use the couple prefolds i have and flats for the baby. I am not sure if DS will PT by Sept or not.

I do want some of the new thirsties AIOs for baby. They look like they will fit a newb well, and the owl print is adorable.

[Faliciagayle]

Okay, I have a yard of merino wool that I think I will sew into soakers and longs and you all are inspiring me to get in on a  birdseye bolt :)

[Brambleberry]

I just posted this on another cloth diaper thread, but I thought I would also add this tip here about cloth wipes:  Cotton T-shirts make wonderful soft wipes!  You don't need to hem t-shirt material - the edges will curl a bit but it doesn't unravel or fray.  Just cut into squares that will fit nicely in whatever container you plan on keeping them in on the changing table.  Just cut and your done!  I don't know why anyone ever buys cloth wipes!

I like to keep some wet and ready to use, but they will mildew unless you add a few drops of tea tree oil to your wipes water.  I started out making a wipes solution from a recipe I found online, but then I read that plain water is best for sensitive skin and it really works just fine, so why go to all the hassle or expense of wipes solution?  I mix the tea tree to the rate of 5 drops in a quart of water that I keep handy on the changing table.  It keeps the wipes from mildewing for several days at least.  I have had them mildew in the diaper bag over a period of weeks since we almost never have a poop when we're out now that she's older.  So we keep disposable wipes in the diaper bag now.

I was a little hesitant about using cloth wipes at first.  I wasn't sure it was worth the effort since disposable wipes aren't that expensive or that much bulk to fill the landfill (but the cheap ones sure are full of chemicals).  But a friend convinced me, and I've found it's true, that it was actually EASIER to use cloth wipes if you're using cloth diapers because then you don't have to dispose of the wipes separately from the diaper.  You can just sit them on the dirty diaper as you finish with them, and then the whole thing gets wrapped up and thrown in the wet bag (unless you have to scrape or spray off the poop of course, but you don't always have to in the early days).  They take up hardly any space in the wash and don't need to be folded or anything.  They are a little bit of extra work to hang to dry outside, but we just drape them over the edge of the wash basket so we don't have to use clothespins on the line.  I've been known to just leave them crinkled in the bottom of the laundry basket outside if it's really nice drying weather.  They're so thin they dry fast even like that.  But DH doesn't like them drying all permanently bunched up like that - he thinks it makes them harder to use if you have to un-bunch them at the changing table.

[judybean]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom 

Anyone know of cloth diaper sewing patterns.... *without* a serger needed?  They're so expensive... making my own would be awesome! 

I own *far* too many cloth diaper patterns. (like.. really... I own at least 10 probably).  I really like the Darling Diapers pattern (already linked).  This pattern: http://www.etsy.com/listing/66142139/trimsies-diaper-pattern-cloth-diaper?ref=sr_gallery_8&sref=&ga_search_query=cloth+diaper+pattern&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet= for Trimsies is designed as a turn & topstitch (T&T) pattern. I made a few of these in the smaller size for dd4 when she was little and they worked fabulously.. and do hold up to their name for being trim. I made quite a few diapers from the Little Comet Tails Little Half Moon pattern ( http://www.amazon.com/Little-Half-Moon-Diaper-Pattern/dp/B001IS0LP2/ref=pd_sim_ac_4 ) in mediums and as pockets (that I still use now for dd4).. and the pockets are all T&T. I also have the Little Starters patterns (http://www.amazon.com/Little-Starter-Cloth-Diaper-Pattern/dp/B001GQ82Y8 ) and made a few newborn fitteds from this (I did use my serger, but the pattern covers T&T too).  Another one of my favorite patterns is the Fattycakes pattern, but for some reason I'm not finding it online.  For a very versatile and very functional pattern (one size! no closure!) I use quite a few RRPs http://handmadebyrita.blogspot.com/2007/10/classic-rrp-ritas-rump-pocket-pattern.html ... simple and easy and will last forever! No bazillions of sizes needed!  The Very Baby AIO pattern is only a T&T pattern, and I also have the VB fitted pattern (though I've only made it with serged edges) ... I've used both and really like that pattern too!!

Seriously. I'm an addict.  And I haven't even listed reviews for other patterns I have.  And THIS is why I'm having so much trouble deciding what the heck to make in the newborn size!!  Ack!! ;)