lining wool - am I crazy?

[catalabella]

So I really like the look of thrifty diapers, and I'm so cheap... err... frugal, so I promised myself to make my baby's stash only from recycled sources.

I have a lot of lovely wool sweaters felted and ready to be made into covers, I have made some butt sweaters, longies and shorties but I also want to try the almost wool-in-one sytem with a wool wrap and snap-in soaker or mini dipes.

The problem is that I'm perfectionist and while sweaters are very soft I dont like the look of the wrong side, so I was thinking about lining them with something yummy and light. Two layers of wool seems toasty hot for summer (I'm due in september) so I was thinking about the following options:

1) line with a lightweigh wool or cashmere, I have a couple sweaters in some kind of wool jersey that should work, but not enough for my plans.

2) line with acrylic (from sweaters obviously) very light and soft

3) line with microfleece

4) line with a poly knit.

5) line with silk

I have no idea if it works and if it would hold in the wash and/or lanolizing. My concern is that wool is supposed to be washed differently than other fibers, like cotton, but I don't know how differentl would it be in washing terms from acrylic, poly or silk.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

Catalina

[Lissybug]

How odd that you ask basically the same question I was going to ask. I was thinking of getting some light weight wool crepe to use with my recycled sweaters. I don't like using polyester, and I can't find thin enough sweaters to use for lining. However- as far as washing goes I think you'd be fine with mixing a synthetic. My only concern would be the fact that some synthetics hold stink quite easily. Check out Fern & Fairies website- I think she talks about using acrylic.
I was wondering where I would find a lightweight wool to use on the inside of my dipes.
Curious about the silk idea.... but I think that would be not good.. it would wick moisture maybe?...not sure what silk does in diapers actually.

[morlando27]

There are basically 2 issues with using something other than wool for an inner layer:

1 - Laundering requirements - Wool only has to be washed once every few weeks due to natural antibacterial qualities, most other fabrics require more frequent washing.

2 - Lanolin - If you're planning to lanolize the wool, it can make other fibers, particularly synthetics, tacky.

I think it's doable if you felted the sweater and skip the lanolin. You could just throw it in the wash after each use with your diapers. You would benefit from the breathability and absorption of wool, but not the antibacterial properties that allow you to go longer between washing. If your wool is not felted, I would be concerned that the agitation necessary to clean the inner layer would result in unwanted felting of the wool.

[Jayneysews]

Maybe you could use some very lightwieght wool fabric to make T and t'd covers?
If you wanted,I too would steer away from any other fabrics with wool,use wool with wool!

HTH

Jayne

[jillybeans]

Originally Posted by morlando27

If your wool is not felted, I would be concerned that the agitation necessary to clean the inner layer would result in unwanted felting of the wool.

I agree with this. I also am a perfectionist, and dealt with this problem....how are you making the covers?? I use the triangle method, from this site:
http://diaperfabric.wahmart.com/stor...llary.asp?ID=3
I turn it inside out before doing the second sewing step, that way when I fold the waist down no seams show. I tried a liner, with soft old buttery tshirts, and it just didn't get clean. So now I just use fitteds underneath. It's a sacrifice I had to make, cause i would rather have her clean than have her diapers perfect. Good luck!

[catalabella]

Originally Posted by jillybeans

Ihow are you making the covers??

I have made some with the triangle method and those don't bother me too much as seams are "hidden", after serging and toptitching they turn out pretty nice.

My problem is with wrap style covers, like those traditionnaly made of nylon or PUL (bummis come to my mind) that close with velcro. I like those better for contours, mini dipes or prefolds, but then the wrong side of the fabric becomes more visible.