fabric questions..sherpa, knit terry, velour??

[stampingmom]

Now that I have decided to try making my own diapers, I need advice on diaper fabrics. I was looking at diapershop.com and I'm not sure which to go with.

The stretch knit terry is the cheapest at $5.50/yard. But is it good for making diapers? How absorbant is it? Is it pretty trim fabric?

The sherpa is more expensive but it may be worth it. How does it compare to the stretch terry? And what about velour? I've seen where WAHM's use velour on the inside of the diaper, but can you use it for the soaker too? Is it absorbant? Trim?

I'd like to order something that will make some nice diapers even it is more expensive. Should I try hemp? I'm not sure I want to do hemp right now, though, because of the stink issues I hear about. But if I did go with hemp, which one do you suggest...hemp jersey, hemp french terry..etc?

Thanks so much,
Kelli

[chickadee79]

I'm no expert but I can tell you what I have found through my diaper making adventures, not many, since I'm fairly new to making them myself.

Anyways, I use Burley Knit Terry for soakers, it's pretty absorbant. I am not familiar with stretch knit terry, but it's terry so I'm thinking its somewhat absorbant. How much, I don't know, hopefully someone else will be able to answer it.

I have used flannel and microfleece for the inner layer, next to baby's skin. Both are nice. I'm in the same boat as you as far as trying to decide between sherpa and velour. I have a dipe with sherpa and its soft and absorbant, but I heard that it has a tendency to stiffen after time. I noticed mine did if I airdried it, so now I throw it in the dryer to soften it up, works great. I just got a velour dipe, and thats really ncie and soft, although it doesn't look as absorbant as the sherpa, less loopy. I'm probably going to go with sherpa. As far as using either of them for soakers, I'm not sure.

As for hemp, I'm no help there(of course that's assumign I was any help to begin with :LOL ) I don't have any experience with hemp at all.

Hope I helped at least a little bit. Good luck.

[Sophiasmomma]

I have sherpa and really like the way it feels next to DDs bum. It doesnt wick the moisture away really but it does stay nice and fluffy! I find it very absorbant- Id def. recommend it

I also have some hemp jersey?- I think??. I made a night time pocket fitted with it and its VERY absorbant. I also always line my hemp diapers with microfleece-just from a local fabric store cheapy kind!

[AinNJ]

i'm a big fan of hemp. i use hemp fleece for all my diapers. there are 3 main types of hemp available for diaper making: jersey, fleece, and french terry. jersey is like t-shirt material. it's very thin. you'd probably need 6 or so layers to make an absorbent diaper. french terry has a jersey knit on one side and is looped on the other. nice absorbent fabric. 3-4 layers makes a good soaker layer. fleece is the same fabric as french terry, except the loops have been cut and brushed so it's soft and fluffy. i make my dipes with 2 full body layers of hemp fleece (which is plenty absorbent for day time use) and 3 layer hemp fleece external soakers. and with a 2 layer diaper, i dont have trouble finding clothes to fit the bulky "CD Butt".

now for the other fabrics you've mentioned...
stretch terry... this is the stuff that you're baby's sleepers are made with. it's absorbent and thin. the stretch is nice. i think you'd probably need about 4 or 5 layers to make a decent soaker.

sherpa is soft and absorbent. it's a little bulky for my taste (but like i said before, i'm used to using hemp :LOL ). sometimes it has a poly content which will lessen absorbency, but not by much. as a general rule, the more cotton in the fabric, the more absorbent it will be.

velour. very soft and luxurious. sometimes it has a poly content, too. i've used terry velour and i really like that (i sacraficed an old spa robe ). i used 2 layers in the body and a cute printed cotton interlock for an outer layer. a little bulkier than my hemp dipes, but very absorbent, soft, durable, and CUTE! as far as using it in a soaker, yes, its absorbent and would work, but it's a little pricey and you could get the same absorbency out of a less expensive fabric.

leaving out the hemp, because we already know that's my fabric of choice , if someone gave me the fabrics you've mentioned, here's what i would do with them:
stretch terry doesn't do much for me, so i probably wouldn't go out and buy it. but if someone gave it to me, i'd use it for a body layer to make a soft, stretchy diaper.

sherpa: i'd love someone to give me some sherpa! LOL!! it's soft, cute, and absorbent, so i could be used for any layer of the diaper - inner layer next to baby and/or outer layer and/or soaker layers. definately good for soakers in diapers made with other fabrics.

velour: inner and/or outer layers. i'd probably use it most often as the inner layer next to baby for a luxurious diaper, with a cute outer and a sherpa soaker. but an outer layer would make a beautiful diaper! i'd pass on using it as a soaker layer.

other fabrics to consider:
cotton fleece (ie sweatshirt fabric). soft and absorbent. check the fabric content. 100% cotton is out there, but alot of times it's made with a small poly content.

flannel. soft and absorbent with cute prints, but doesn't always wear well. the prints sometimes fade with repeated washing and lesser quality flannels may pill. but a good quality flannel is very absorbent and durable! i like diaper flannel - it's only comes in white and 27" width.

[rubelin]

Oh, and don't forget hemp stretch terry. It's got a teeny bit of lycra in it so it stretches great and doesn't get saggy. It's my latest fave for overlocked dipes/ underpants, not bulky at all, considering it's terry. I don't like it loop side out, though, gets scritchy