2 Questions: Best kind of fabric, and anyone know any good books?

[Mamja]

Ok, 2 questions here.

1. What type of fabric do you like best for sewing your own fitted diapers? A lot of places and patterns I've seen say "Use flannel, or terry, or cotton, or this, or that...". This doesn't help much since I've got all these fabrics on hand. What works best? Does anyone have a recommendation of what combination they use, i.e. flannel outside and inside, terry for the soaker pad? One layer or every single fabric they have on hand, lol? Can you really make a good diaper using ONLY old t-shirts? I guess this is one of those things I'll learn from experience as soon as my LO is here, but for now I'm lost.

2. Are there any books about diaper sewing? I'm still a fairly amateur sewer, and while I know the basics, I was wondering if there are any books that teach techniques specific to diaper sewing, or have patterns. I've looked on amazon and found tons of books with patterns and instructions for DIAPER STACKERS but none for cloth diapers!!! And if there aren't any, we should write one!

[frogger]

I've used the fern and faerie recycled t-shirt pattern. It uses well, old t's. they worked just as well as some of the other diapers that I've used.

as far as what works best, I think it depends on the child. are they a heavy wetter? you'd want more absorbent layers. frequent light pee-er, then I'd go with not as many layers.

I think there is a book out there,...hmmm...I thought I saw it over at Zoombabygear but now I'm not seeing it. I know there are a ton of tutorials out there that you can look at that would have specifics for each type of diaper.
There's also this website that's a great starting point.

[jessielove]

Originally Posted by allibut

Ok, 2 questions here.

1. What type of fabric do you like best for sewing your own fitted diapers? A lot of places and patterns I've seen say "Use flannel, or terry, or cotton, or this, or that...". This doesn't help much since I've got all these fabrics on hand. What works best? Does anyone have a recommendation of what combination they use, i.e. flannel outside and inside, terry for the soaker pad? One layer or every single fabric they have on hand, lol? Can you really make a good diaper using ONLY old t-shirts? I guess this is one of those things I'll learn from experience as soon as my LO is here, but for now I'm lost.

My favorites are cotton velour inner and outer {or a pretty knit outer} with a hidden layer of cotton jersey or interlock, hemp french terry or hemp fleece, and a soaker of sherpa, hft or hemp fleece. These are my favorites right now, but I've not yet tried cotton fleece or bamboo velour and both sound scrumptious to me.

Some of the first diapers I made were with terry toweling, flannel and old tee shirts. You definitely CAN make a whole, good diaper using only old tee shirts. The flannel ones tended to wear out and become threadbare pretty quickly and the terry towelling went flat over time {though they worked well while they lasted and still had a pretty decent run}, but the repurposed tees lasted a good long time.

My daughter was a super soaker, so you might not need quite so many layers, but I found that I had to use at least 3-4 layers of terry plus some flannel or jersey to make it absorbant enough. It takes a LOT of flannel or jersey to be absorbant enough for her. Like twelve layers. Most don't need that much though, afaik.

2. Are there any books about diaper sewing? I'm still a fairly amateur sewer, and while I know the basics, I was wondering if there are any books that teach techniques specific to diaper sewing, or have patterns. I've looked on amazon and found tons of books with patterns and instructions for DIAPER STACKERS but none for cloth diapers!!! And if there aren't any, we should write one!

I've heard rumour of a diaper sewing book, but haven't seen one. There are several helpful web forums though, with a lot of people willing to patiently answer any questions to the best of their ability.

[SophieAnn]

I don't know about books, but for patterns and sewing tutorials check out these websites:

Free patterns with instructions/tutorial on sewing from old t-shirts etc.
http://fernandfaerie.com/frugaldiapering.html
I have made stuffable fitteds out of old t-shirts from the pattern on this site and it worked great.

Chloe Toes - diaper pattern for sale and free cover pattern
http://www.chloetoesboutique.com/store/WsPages.asp?ID=3
I have bought this pattern and it is excellent. The pattern comes with detailed instructions on every step of the process with lots of pictures. The fold-over-elastic sold on this site is excellent quality and was actually much easier to sew with than I thought it would be. Tutorials with pictures are on this site too.

Rita's Rump Pocket diaper pattern (Free)
http://handmadebyrita.blogspot.com/2...t-pattern.html
I have heard this pattern is excellent, though I haven't tried it yet (having too much fun sewing Chloe Toes). Even if you don't use the pattern, I found the instructions/photos in the pattern to be very helpful, especially the part about 2 different methods of sewing in elastic.

Edited to add:
Here's another link I found in my Favourites. It's a step-by-step photo tutorial of sewing a pocket diaper.
http://www.diapersewing.com/hbpocketinstructions.htm

[love2bmom]

I prefer cotton or bamboo/cotton fabrics for diapers. I think there are plenty of tutorials online to help you along. I have a bunch of tutorials on my website. Although they all use my diaper kits, they should apply to just about any diaper pattern out there.

[Mamja]

Thank you for all the links to patterns and how-tos. However, the reason I wanted a book was to be able to read offline, and refer to if needed. I'm much better and reading books while sitting in my recliner than reading tutorials online. I'll definitely check them all out though, thanks!