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A New Wool that I Love

2K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  lifetapestry 
#1 ·
It's wool diaper liners-- not liners that go next to your baby's skin (though you could I suppose, if you want), but liners that go under a doubler or a soaker to increase the absorbency in a fitted diaper.

They are hand-crocheted of natural virgin wool and they are really cool, and they work really well. I used a daytime dipe (5 layer hemp diaper) with one of these puppies underneath the soaker last night, and I couldn't believe how dry the front of the diaper was with my super soaker in the AM. No huge diaper butt at night. I was amazed.

I'm a bit skeptical of the claim on the site that you can reuse fitted diapers and just change the doubler or soaker, but they do really increase the diaper's absorbency without much added bulk. You can read more about them on Michelle's site (www.smjae.com)-- you will find them instock, about 1/2 way down the first page.

Best of all-- they cost $2.50-$3.50, a nice price for any hyena's budget.

And, Michelle makes wonderful doublers and wipes if you're in the market for those. I've never seen such perfect serging.

Karla
 
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#7 ·
Yep, I have one that I'm trying out on Kenny . . . they are fabulously crocheted AND I love the pic on her site . . . makes them look so soft and fresh (and they are)


Yes, they sort of are the 'opposite' effect as fleece. Bottom line *pun intended* they make your diapers absorb more by repelling the moisture and forcing the soaker to actually allow more to soak into it.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by frognladybugmama
well, i've got more than one concern about these, but mainly i am worried about all that wetness in the doubler all smashed up against my sensitive-skinned baby's butt
: it seems like this would be asking for a rash?
This is my concern, too. With the rash problems we've been having, it seems like it could be asking for trouble. I'd be interested to hear more details addressing this issue from those that have used them.
 
#11 ·
It's good to hear a review of these! I've been eyeing them for awhile, wondering if they'd be worth it. However, I keep going back to Heather's article about absorbency (in other words, that I should end my quest for super absorbency) and also have been wondering if it would add a lot of bulk, but hadn't considered it for nighttime. Hmmmmm!

Edited to add . . .Aww, I just ordered 2! Gotta try 'em.
 
#12 ·
I was just thinking about making some of those earlier this week, but wasn't sure how it would work. .You would need to put it underneath a doubler.. Figuires.. When i finally have a good idea.. Someone else has alrady had it 1st...



Warm Squishy Feelings...

Dyan
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by mara
How is it different than using a wool cover if the wool thingy goes under the soaker
:
Because the wool liner is between the soaker and the body of the diaper, whereas a wool cover is on the other side (outside) of the fitted dipe.

That help?

Karla
 
#14 ·
Looks interesting! Have to add those to my list now!
Thanks for the link!

I think if you put a fleece liner on top of a doubler, on top of the wool - then baby's bottom would still stay dry, but you'd still get the effect of the doubler absorbing more. Right?


And, pynki - I think you should make them anyway. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a doubler topped in fleece, with wool on the bottom, all sewed together into one? If that's possible? Go ahead and use that idea since I don't OWN a sewing machine and don't have an OUNCE of creativity when it comes to stuff like that! The last time I sewed was 9th grade home-ec when I sewed my two shirt peices together...one wrong side out and one right side out.


Laura
 
#16 ·
I would use these solely for night-time. At present we use Wool Covers at night unless we are using the (2) LD AIWs that we have.

The LD AIWs have a fleece topped doubler, so as the velour snap-in and the doubler absorb the moisture, Kenny stays feeling dry through the night.

When we use prefolds, we use a Stay Dry Liner to get the same effect and a wool pull on cover or a Fuzbomb - usually the Wool pull on works best over bulky 'night-stuffed' prefolds.

I am interested in these for night-time, because I want the diaper to be absorbent and yet, I don't want something that won't breathe at the same time.

I'm not going to get up in the night to change a diaper unless Kenny nurses (and he has dropped night-time nursing) and feels wet. So, this is a great way to get 'more' (in my opinion) out of a doubler.

In the daytime I wouldn't use it - more frequent diaper changes is much healthier from what I've read.
 
#17 ·
OH most definatly, wool is a super soaker. In Germany there is a diaper that uses a wool soaker (not a soaker=cover but soaker as in middle of the diaper) in a pocket fasion. You just pull it out and wash it with the rest of your diapers and dryer dry too
how easy is that?! I have cut up an old wool blanket and serge edges adn use that for inserts to my all cotton pocket diapers (have been for MONTHS). Makes for a super trim and soaky (I prefer that word to "thirsty" lol) diaper and I let my ds run around w/o a cover. I wash the "inserts" with the reg diapers and dry, so no special treatment. It's the lanolin in wool that "repels" the liquid, but w/o lanolin or little lanolin, wool soaks wonderfully. I may have to get out my hooks and make some pretty ones, lol but happy with my felted wool blanket for now.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by reeseccup
It's the lanolin in wool that "repels" the liquid, but w/o lanolin or little lanolin, wool soaks wonderfully. I may have to get out my hooks and make some pretty ones, lol but happy with my felted wool blanket for now.
It sounds like these from SMJAE do have lanolin in them so act more as a repellent than as a super soaker layer. But I like your version with no lanolin. Those I would imagine would be fantastic for nighttime use - soak up tons of liquid and don't force too much into the soaker, thus making baby feel wetter.

Since we've been having this horrible rash problem, I'm looking hard for a good solution to nighttime diapering; I'm anxious to get back out of 'sposies at night. I may have to hunt around to see if I can find an army surplus store in the neighborhood.
 
#19 ·
OK, I'm trying to get this. So it's for when you use a doubler and you put it between the doubler and the diaper? So it's having wool on the other side of the 'soaker' that is helping. I still don't see why then wearing a wool cover over a diaper (without a doubler) doesn't do the same thing
: I think it sounds like a great idea, I'm just trying to wrap my brain around it.
 
#20 ·
OK, I went to the site and read her descriprion. It isn't acting like an absorber like those German ones, it is acting like a repellant. In essence she is using the diaper almost like a cover.

" Because no wetness reaches the outer diaper, it is possible to simply change the doublers without changing the entire diaper"

interesting. I'm going to have to at least try it.
 
#21 ·
mara
In essence it does the same thing that a wool soaker would do, but might protect your wool soaker or cover a bit longer as far as being 'soiled' with urine.
It 'breathes,' but it is the same barrier system as wool and basically is a double whammy of the same effect . . . trying to get the diaper to absorb what it can without soiling the cover, but being breathable.
 
#22 ·
After using these for a few days, here is how I think that they work and how they work best. My goal was to see if I could use one of the wool liners to prevent the body of the fitted dipe from getting wet. It is possible if all these conditions are met:

1. The wool liner is placed under a soaker that is pretty substantial (for my heavy wetting son, that means a good sized soaker and 4-5 layers of hemp fleece).

2. The wool liner is slightly larger than the soaker, and the soaker snaps into the back. If the soaker snaps into the front, you can't get the wool liner all the way underneath it, and then moisture will will from the very top of the soaker onto the body of the diaper. I also didn't have good luck with a lay-in soaker-- it seems that (at least for my active baby) that the soaker can shift if not snapped in and compress against the body of the diaper and then moisture will wick onto the body of the diaper.

3. The diaper has to have a good, snug fit against baby's body, especially in front (I have a boy; this might be different for a girl). If the diaper not right up against baby's skin, then when baby pees it goes everywhere (not just right into the soaker) and the whole system is shot.

For those who are curious about the wetness factor-- have you experienced the phenomenon with hemp where it doesn't really feel damp, but you know it's really wet (as opposed to sopping wet when you remove the dipe)? What seems to happen when hemp works well (and is most absorbent) is that the fibers suck up more of the moisture rather than laying right on top of it). Although the fiber surface of the fabric can absorb, underneath the surface is the fiber core microstructure (which looks like millions of tiny spong-like tubes under a microscope). (see picks and more explanation from FuzDaddy here: http://www.fuzbaby.com/articles/art-absorb.htm )

My theory is the that wool liner forces the moisture into the fiber core of the soaker (hemp/cotton fleece in my experience), which means there is less moisture on the surface of the fabric. When I take off the fitted diaper that has had the wool liner underneath the soaker, it doesn't feel like I could wring out the urine from it (as it would if I hadn't used the liner). It is that dry-damp feeling that I think comes from the fabric absorbing into the core microstructure as opposed to the fabric surface.

make sense?

Karla
 
#24 ·
I was also looking at those wool liners and thinking they sounded cool....

So could you do the same thing with a piece of felted wool sweater? I have leftover wool sweater pieces from making a bum sweater...maybe I'll try one out tonight.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by nancy926
I was also looking at those wool liners and thinking they sounded cool....

So could you do the same thing with a piece of felted wool sweater? I have leftover wool sweater pieces from making a bum sweater...maybe I'll try one out tonight.
Give it a try. The only caveat I would see is you might run into the same problems as with with recycled wool covers, which are hit-or-miss with respect to their water repellant abilities. Some wool sweaters may not retain much of the original lanolin because the machine processing wipes it out, and since the lanolin needs to regularly be replaced in wool (and how many of us with wool sweaters want to do that?) or the wool hairs dry up and get brittle (though this can only be seen at a microscopic level, you won't feel it on the surface of the wool), so if the sweater is real old the wool might have lost its water repelling ability. Also, some sweaters that are sold as all wool may actually be part nylon, which will wick the moisture straight out. But it's worth a try and I would lanolize the liners before you try using them. Cut them a bit larger than your soakers/doublers.

Let us know how it works!
Karla
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by lifetapestry
Some wool sweaters may not retain much of the original lanolin because the machine processing wipes it out
If there's no lanolin in it (or very little) wouldn't you still get the great absorbancy of wool, though? So even if it doesn't repel the water back up into the soaker, it should still work as a super-absorbent layer, as Reese alluded to above. Right or wrong?
 
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