The absorbent material?

[grniys]

I'm buying some cloth diaper material this week. I'd rather do it sooner than later since it'll take some time to arrive. What I'm wondering is what have you found to work best as the absorbent layer in AIO's? Or the stuffer thing in pocket dipes? I'm sorry I don't know what they're actually called.

I've heard people use sherpa and hemp and microfiber and terry and birdseye and flannel for it.

What do you use? Do you do a combination? What should I buy? A yard of several different kinds? I know exactly what I am ordering except for this one little thing. I plan to make AIO's and pocket diapers. I'm ordering PUL and microfleece.

If you could give me any tips on what I should use for the absorbent part (and how much!), I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Mrs.Oz]

I can't tell you whether it's the best, but I decided on Burley Knit Terry ordered from Very Baby as my soaker material for the dipes I'm making. Currently DS is wearing the first one I made, so we'll see how it works. I used three layers in my fitted, and the inner and outer fabric of the dipe is unbleached birdseye (although I did a test diaper using flannel, and wow was it nice to sew with!!!). The BKT at Very Baby is 60 inches wide, which means you get a LOT for the yardage. I ordered three yards to make 10 diapers, but I honestly think I can get more soakers out of this amount due to the width.

[ckumelos]

I used microfiber cloths (since I had an abundance buying at Sam's club), and it seems to work well. It is the same material the BumGenius makes their soaker from.

[mamasthree]

I've tried lots of different materials (in my own and buying others) and here's my take on absorbant materials...

flannel or birdseye--thin, need a lot of layers (like 8-12) to be absorbant enough, inexpensive, not my favorite for sure

burley knit terry--thick, very absorbant (you only need a few layers with this), dries pretty quickly, I like this, though it can be a bit rough

microterry/microfiber towels--need a layer between baby & soaker material, thin and absorbant, I'm not a poly fan (I get stink issues with poly soaker/inner fabrics) but these work well. If you get microfiber towels from the automotive dept. be sure they can be washed on hot. I've found these tend to lose absorbancy over time & lots of washes.

hemp terry/hemp fleece--very absorbant, can get stiff after washes, works well, though some have issues with hemp holding stinkies (I never have)

cotton fleece/bamboo fleece/organic cotton fleece--very absorbant (especially the organics), soft, more expensive, holds up very well over time, this is my favorite category and most of my current stash is made up of AI2's with organic cotton fleece for the absorbant soakers. These do take about 8 washes to reach their full absorbancy.

Check out yahoo groups for co-ops--sometimes they have in stock items and are usually a bit cheaper than buying from a retail internet store.

Have fun sewing!

[CanBoo]

The material I love for my fitted is cotton waffle (tea towels fabric). I have found 100% cotton one in a local fabric store and it is awesome! It is inexpensive, faily thin and it absorbs like you cannot believe. Not only it absorbs in one spot like terry, but a little like prefold twill, the moisture travels through it, so it is ready to take more after a little bit. I have not tried it in pockets, but I suggest to try it in your AIOs if you find some.
I just topped it with a softer fabric (cotton jersey/microfleece or flannel) because it has a funny texture straight on the skin.

[ccook]

I agree with mamasthree! Although I make my AI2s with a PUL outer, suedecloth inner and 4 layers of hemp fleece, my pockets are the same outer and inner, and the soaker is 3 layers of microfiber. I'd suggest getting the microfiber from a diaper store as it seems much thicker than the shop towels i bought. I bought some from Kids in the Garden and really like it.