Hi Riki, I used to live in Ketchikan (no roads) and I'm totally feeling your pain about the shipping thing. We've been talking about moving back up there, but I think I would bring tons of fabric with me if we go!
I just wanted to mention that you should comb the thrift stores for rain gear that you can turn into diaper covers. There are a lot of different kinds of waterproof fabrics that are comparable to PUL. They are usually not as durable as PUL, so I don't think I'd make AIOs out of them because you would probably want to wash them by hand and hang to dry. You could make a few covers, though.
I vote for getting some PUL from an online co-op (if you don't know what co-ops are or how to use them, find out. It's worth it.). But making covers out of recycled rain gear could give you some practice and something to do while you're waiting for the PUL to arrive.
If you want to get really creative (and crazy), here's something you could try. I got this idea when I was hanging out with some family members. My Brother-in-Law was wearing some old work jeans, and his sister was noticing a part of his jeans that had caulking smeared on them. She said, "wow, I bet your jeans are waterproof in this spot." I immediately tuned in when I heard the word "waterproof", and I asked him how long ago he got the caulking on his jeans. It had been at least a year, and those jeans had been used, abused, and washed plenty of times since then, but the caulking was still fused to the fabric.
So then the wheels in my head started turning, and I wanted to try making my own waterproof fabric. I got some really groovy nylon or polyester swimsuit type of fabric, laid it out, and spread a thin layer of tub & tile silicone caulking on the fabric. It was the kind that goes on white and dries clear. Getting it to spread nicely and smoothly was a bit of a pain. I used a small plastic blade thingy and that worked pretty well. I also left about an inch along the edges dry so I could hold it there with one hand while I smoothed with the other. (there weren't a lot of fumes, but you might want to play it safe and make someone else do this part since you are pregnant.) I let it dry for a couple days, but the surface was still really sticky. So I put another layer of thin polyester stretchy white fabric on top of that. I made a wet bag out of it and it is holding up great! But the two fabrics are not sticking together very well and sometimes it gets kind of wonky in the wash. Next time I am going to put the white fabric on top before the caulking dries, that way it will be totally stuck together. And I'll try making covers out of it. It's a little bit thicker than PUL, but it's a good way to make your own custom waterproof fabric!
And the silicone caulking is flexible, so the fabric is still pretty stretchy. I love it!
Have fun getting your Alaskan stash together!
I bet there's lots of cool earthy people there who would buy cloth dipes at a market, there's probably lots of people out there who would be using them if they ever actually saw them in real life! Good luck!
