I am just starting, too - my dd is only 3 months - but we are using handknit wool full time and it's working great.
Here's my trouble-shooting pattern:
1) I've been told that first of all, the wool is only as good as the dipe underneath. If you are soaking all your absorbant material, it won't matter how nice the wool is. Are your inners completely sodden? If so, add more absorbancy. If not - move on to 2.
2) Is something compressing the wool? Wool doesn't work as well when it's being crushed, such as if a onesie is snapped down over it. This will make the wetness wick through. If not - move on to 3.
3) Is the diaper sticking out at the leg or waist? If the absorbant material of the diaper can reach around the wool and contact your baby's clothes, it will wick the urine onto the clothes. Check the fit of your wool and tuck in any visible diaper material. If not - move on to 4.
4) Is the woolie knit too loosely? If you can easily see the diaper through the woolie, there probably isn't enough wool to do the trick. I've never had a problem with this, knitting in worsted on 6's or 7's. A too-loose woolie might be salvaged by slightly felting it to make it thicker, if you have the extra room to accomodate the shrinkage. If not, go to 5.
5) Did you lanolize it very well? There are tricks. I have read that solid lanolin (such as lansinoh) works better than spray on or liquid, and that most woolies need 2 full treatments to really get their superpowers working. Or maybe more, if you started with one of the more processed wools such as you may find in a chain store. I have also heard that superwash wool doesn't work at all for some mommies - the treatment which makes it washable closes the scales on the fiber where it would be absorbing water, so that it is almost like an acrylic, and will need to be washed with every use. I've also heard they work fine for some mamas, this seems to be controversial. I haven't tried superwash and don't intend to.
That's the end of my trouble-shooting decision tree. I'll wrap up with a description of my lanolizing process in case that might help.
I knitted my woolies from 100purewool, which is a fairly unprocessed merino. I swish them in a lukewarm bowl with a SudznDudz wool wash bar, and gently rinse until the water runs clear. I put my soaker or longies to one side, and fill the bowl with tepid clean water. I put a jelly jar half full of water in the microwave with a 1/2 to 1" strip of lansinoh solid lanolin (more for a larger woolie) and heat it until the lanolin melts. I add a tiny tiny drop of baby shampoo, screw the cap on and shake to emulsify the melted lanolin. I pour the emulsified lanolin into the clean tepid water, where it makes a thin scum on the surface. With the woolie inside out, I dip in into the bowl, making sure the most important parts hit the surface first - crotch and butt areas. They get the heaviest treatment that way. I gently swish the soaker in the lanolin water, and then let it stand for about an hour, swishing a couple times and turning it right side out near the end. Then I remove it, press in a towel to get most of the water out, let dry and use!
Good luck and keep on trying! I luuuuurrrve my woolies, and my baby's butt is so happy and healthy with it!
I am crushed. I really enjoyed knitting the cover and I want to make more, but they have to work.
Hope you find success. There's also a Yarn Crafts forum here on MDC.
