How to pin prefolds and keep poop off cover?

[Ilovelife]

Who uses this combo? I've alternated between a trifolded PF in a PUL wrap and fitteds with wool. But now that summer is on it's way, my boys are getting too hot in PUL. I'm not crazy about fitteds. They are so bulky & take too long to dry. I know I can't just trifold in a wool wrap, because the poo goes everywhere with the trifold (although proraps hold it in well, but still I don't want to be washing wool wraps as often as I'm soaking the proraps!). So I guess that means I need to get up the courage to start pinning. How exactly do I do that? I tried a couple times, but couldn't get the dipe anywhere close to being tight enough to work. The pins are SO big! How do you pin? And will the PF/wool wrap combo work ok?

ETA: Questions. So what I need to know is:

1) How do you pin & get the diaper tight enough?
2) Is it feasible to use prefolds with wool wraps/covers (like Nikky)? That is, can I get a prefold on good enough to not get poop on the cover every time?

Thanks!

[lauriebeth]

bump! also interested in this...

[3kidsunder2]

It's alot of practice!!!!! to the the prefold nice and tight, that is..

Snappi's are easier to get the prefold fastened tighter.. but I prefer pins. - I pinch up the fabric and get the diaper tight as I'm pinning it.. putting the pins in a bar of soap helps get it through. Fill the pin with fabric so it doesn't slip..

I think diaperpages (diaperpages.com???) has pictures and instructions?

[Ilovelife]

Thanks. Off to check out that website. Anyone else have suggestions?

[savithny]

Couple things

First, if you don't have Dritz pins, get some. The cute ones with little duckies on the heads aren't sharp enough for a good pin job.

If they're not going through clean and fast, they might have developed burrs on the end. You can file them off with a knife-sharpening steel.

I started pinning on my babies as newborns, so I got lots of practice while they were tiny and not very mobile, which helped. By now, I can pin a prefold onto a moving target, and DH is actually bette rthan I am!

Tips: Pull it tighter than you want it to wind up. Put your fingers behind the back layer to prevent pin-sticks to baby (you'll get it yourself instead!). Be sure to get the bottom layer on both the downstroke and upstroke of the pin, but don't try to get it through the entire foldover (if you're doing a fold-down in front fold.

You might try a bikini twist, depending upon leg shape. My first had skinny little bird thighs and the twist didn't work well, but #2 had those big hammy thighs and it worked great.

As for the poop on cover problem. Hm. Until he started solids, my DS pooped every 5 days and hit the cover EVERY time. But it was every 5 days, so - eh? DD pooped more often, but less, but still hit the cover fairly frequently. Not with EVERY poop, but more than I liked. I didn't start wool covers with her until she'd started solids and the poop was less likely to travel - but that was also based on seasons.

[Kari_mom]

The jellyroll fold is great for containing poop. I wish I knew where to find a link, but I don't. Basically though you roll the long sides of the prefold towards the middle of the diaper, making walls that hold the poop in. Concentrate on rolling each side in the middle, and the front and back will naturally stay loose so you can grab the corners and fasten them.

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by savithny

I didn't start wool covers with her until she'd started solids and the poop was less likely to travel - but that was also based on seasons.

Yup, same here. I consider myself pretty good with the ol' CPFs (we use them almost exclusively) . . .but I could kick myself for the times I DID use wool and the poo escaped. Even though it didn't happen often, it was a pain for me to clean.

Your other option would be fleece for this stage. . .more breatheable than PUL, but so darn easy to clean.

[Dez]

I use snappis instead of pins. I'm not that brave. And it took me about 1 1/2 mon to perfect my prefold fold. i do the bikini twist and the angel fold, someone posted a thread to hyenacart that has the folds I use. They work for me!

[Dez]

oh and www.diaperpages.com has some good folding pics. the bikini twist fold is on there. And so is a variation of the other fold I use.