¡Aydame, por favor!

[Contrariety]

i'm a complete newb in the world of CD... but absolutely want to take the leap... the problem is that i'm an CLOTH DIAPERING DUMMY! i am SO overwhelmed : by the myriad of options! oh, so many options (which is, actually, a huge appeal of CD'ing)!!

i've done enough research to know that i want to transition to CDing with gDiapers. i've purchased a few and i really dig them so far and am fairly impressed by their versatility. i have yet to actually use them for cloth... which brings me to the "Diaper Making" forum.

I have this brilliant plan to make my self up some cloth inserts... my idea is to get some absorbant material... microfiber towels? cotton? hemp? and use a few layers of that covered by a wicking material... bamboo fleece? micro fleece? and serge around the edge, making a nice pad-like insert. sound good so far?

maybe i'm a little too ambitious, as i don't know how to sew really well and therefore know very little about different fabrics (i WILL learn to sew, dangit! even if it's baptism by fire!). i went to JoAnns today and the lady there looked at me like i was nuts when i asked where i could find bamboo fleece. so i went to the fleece depo and was, once again, completely overwhelmed : by options... microfleece? no-pill fleece? premium fleece? polar fleece?

ACK! get the drift of my problem?

so ladies, if you don't mind...

what in the world do i look for in the fabric store to make my inserts? what works for you?

what, exactly do i tell the nice old lady at JoAnn's that i am looking for? if i go with cotton, what kind of cotton do i ask for... just whatever, anything made of cotton? what kind of fleece works best?

any recommendation will be immensely appreciated!!

TIA!

[ReneeC]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Jesus

i've done enough research to know that i want to transition to CDing with gDiapers. i've purchased a few and i really dig them so far and am fairly impressed by their versatility. i have yet to actually use them for cloth... which brings me to the "Diaper Making" forum.

gDiapers are nice for transitioning, but I have heard that the covers don't stand up well to washing and drying. You'll probably be best off making a cover from one of the many patterns in the first sticky

I have this brilliant plan to make my self up some cloth inserts... my idea is to get some absorbant material... microfiber towels? cotton? hemp? and use a few layers of that covered by a wicking material... bamboo fleece? micro fleece? and serge around the edge, making a nice pad-like insert. sound good so far?

This isn't a bad idea though! You can make cloth inserts that are the same dimentions as the gDiaper insert, and you should be able to use them with other covers as well

Microfiber towels are great for absorbency, but you will want to cover them with something. Microfiber is so absorbent that it will pull moisture out of baby's skin and cause a rash if it is in direct contact with the skin.

Bamboo fleece is absorbent. It makes a great "soaker" material, but it isn't a "wicking, stay-dry" material. For that you want polyester microfleece, suedecloth, or velour.

maybe i'm a little too ambitious, as i don't know how to sew really well and therefore know very little about different fabrics (i WILL learn to sew, dangit! even if it's baptism by fire!). i went to JoAnns today and the lady there looked at me like i was nuts when i asked where i could find bamboo fleece. so i went to the fleece depo and was, once again, completely overwhelmed : by options... microfleece? no-pill fleece? premium fleece? polar fleece?

Joann's won't carry bamboo fabrics, and probaby no hemp either. For specialty fabrics, you'll have to order online. There are a bunch of sites listed in the second sticky

The "fleece department" at Joanns is all polyester fleece, which is non-absorbent. "Anti-pill", "blizzard", "premium", "alpine" or "polar" fleece makes good covers, but is too thick to wick fast enough to use as a stay-dry liner. Polyester microfleece is what you want for that.

ACK! get the drift of my problem?

so ladies, if you don't mind...

what in the world do i look for in the fabric store to make my inserts? what works for you?

what, exactly do i tell the nice old lady at JoAnn's that i am looking for? if i go with cotton, what kind of cotton do i ask for... just whatever, anything made of cotton? what kind of fleece works best?

any recommendation will be immensely appreciated!!

TIA!

Ok, I've taken care of some of these questions already
So far as what kind of cotton--the closer to 100%, the better. Polyester and other synthetics aren't absorbent (the exception is microfiber towels, but that has to do with the fibers and the way they're knit), so why waste space with them? Cotton fleece (sweatshirt fleece) is nice, flannel is great, and a high-quality terry cloth (don't get the thinish stuff, it wears out quickly...) is great too. You can also use 100% cotton twill or birdseye if they have it at your store.

What to tell the nice (confused) ladies at Joann's? Tell them you want 100% cotton materials that are soft and hold up to washing, so that you can make diapers from it. She might know where the diaper fabric (either diaper flannel or diaper twill) is hidden in the store (usually with the "utility" fabrics).

HTH!

[Contrariety]

Thank You!!