Pinning PUL, Fleece vs Flannel

[knittindigo]

I am due in about a week and have total diaper sewing fever but am running into a couple technical difficulties. I decided to go with Rita's Rump Pocket for my pattern. I've made a couple CDs so far that are flannel with a strip of PUL sandwiched in the middle. I spent maybe $20 on PUL from Kids in the Garden and received tons of used and new flannel from my mother and mother in law. I've spent maybe $10 on fabric myself.

I have been reading a lot about fleece, but don't really have any around the house to recycle and am wondering if it's really worth the investment? Can you use fleece on the inside or will it wick too much or cause irritation? Also how well does T Shirt fabric work? I know people will use old shirts to make CDs but is it as good as flannel?

After making about 5 RRPs with the inner strip of PUL, I realized that I will have to safety pin the PUL. This was my plan all along, but I didn't think about the holes it will leave. I know some people are obsessed with not puncturing the PUL unless totally necessary. Does anyone here safety pin PUL? Does it make a huge difference? I am considering investing in velcro, since I don't like snaps and snappi's won't work on my flannel. But I hate the idea of it sticking to everything in the wash and I don't really know about velcro placement on a RRP. So should I just pin the PUL and forget about it?

I've been making inserts out of old towels to tide me over for right now, but I'd really like to get back on the horse! So any input on this would be GREATLY appreciated. I'll be doing prefolds for the first couple weeks until the cord heals and she is big enough for the RRP, but I'd really like to get sewing..

[iowaorganic]

I would not pin the pul.  It will leave holes- especially if you have a big hole from a safety pin.  I would use those black binder clips you get in the office/stationary section.  I hate fleece- but I know others like it.  I think it gets smelly and never really seems clean.  I ind of go by the weight of the tshirt fabric to judge if I want to add an extra layer.  I made loads of diapers out of tshirts this spring and they are just fine- on the really thin jersey sheets I added an extra layer.  

I would just stuff them with the prefolds :)  As for velcro- I am becoming a big fan of using snaps.  Velcro just doesn't seem to last for me. The babyville velcro is horrid- I would order velcro from someplace like verybaby.com  theirs is great quality.  But I think the rrp is a one size diaper- and you might just think about the snaps.... once they get about a year they are clever little kids and can get velcro off.  Snaps are tricky even for my almost potty trained 3 yo.

Edited by iowaorganic - 6/22/12 at 7:12pm

[autumnfairy76]

I would not use flannel or cotton on the outside of a diaper, as it will wick moisture to the outside of the diaper, unless you are using a fleece cover over it, which would then be overkill. Micro fleece works great as an inner stay dry wicking fabric for fitteds/pockets/AIO or ai2s.
I believe joanns anti pill fleece is what you want for covers, but I've never used it myself.
I have no problems sticking many pins in PUL while sewing, as the holes can be sealed with a run thru a hot dryer, but I would not repetitively pin PUL.
Aplix or touch tape can still be sewn on to the diapers or you could try a Snappi which would probably work on flannel yet not pierce the PUL underneath.

[autumnfairy76]

Whoops, I missed the part about Snappi not working.... Hope I could help anyway!

[iowaorganic]

Ohhh as for fleece- I have used those little cheapie fleece blankets before- you know that ones that seem to multiply?  But I can't stand the smell....

[knittindigo]

Originally Posted by iowaorganic 

Ohhh as for fleece- I have used those little cheapie fleece blankets before- you know that ones that seem to multiply?  But I can't stand the smell....

I found a couple fleece blanket on sale for 1.50 so I got one of those and then picked up some blizzard fleece out of the scrap bin at JoAnnes for a really good price. Experimented with both of them and there's a definate diff when you get blizzard fleece. Also found one of those microwhatever cloths for cars and tried it. So far the only time my CDs have passed my tests is when they have that cloth stuffed in along with a couple recycled towel inserts. I guess I will find out about the smell with I actually get to put these diapers to use. Only one more week! Have any of you tried the CDs with the tie in front? I'm tempted to make a couple just because daddy dearest informed me that he is horrified of my wanting to use pins! hehe