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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Making cloth nappies

A few months before bub arrived, I started to get interested in cloth nappies. Not just those flat white squares of terry or flannelette but the fitted type. Man oh man, have you looked into cloth nappies?! There are like a million different types- AIOs (all in ones), pocket, fitted etc. I spent hours on the internet researching the different types and how to make them as I thought i'd give them a go. I ended up buying a handful of different types just to get my head around how they're made. The net has a few free patterns too, so I got to work trying to make a few. I didn't want to make too many before bub arrived though, as I couldn't test them out to see which ones worked or not.

This is the first one I made of hubby's old T-shirts and some flannel. I guess it's a fitted type. It doesn't have any waterproof layer, so it'd need a cover or just as a quick day time nappy.
It's too big for bub right now, so I haven't tested it out yet. Talking of waterproof layers too (which most cloth nappy websites call PUL), it cannot be found in fabric shops anywhere! Arrrgghhh! Most fabric shops hadn't even heard of it. Talking to some other people who use and make cloth nappies, it seems the best place to buy it (and other nappy making goods) is off the net, mostly imported from the states. I tell ya, this is a huge gap in the market and if I was business minded in any way i'd open a cloth nappy materials shop in Melbourne.

This next one is made from old cotton T-shirts and microfleece. It isn't waterproof as such but the microfleece stops most moisture coming through. I've used it a few times and it fits well and works a dream too. When I get some time, I want to make a few more of this type.

The next one is a pocket nappy. I made it with microfleece and a vinyl. I had in mind to stuff it with any booster of bamboo, hemp, cotton or flannel etc. I've only tried it once so far with a cotton booster and it leaked. So i'm not sure if it was the booster or the nappy design. I'll give it another go with a different material booster.


I had a heap of old cotton T-shirts and old flannette sheets, so I made a few boosters/soakers too. They work pretty well but I don't think they're as absorbent as bamboo or some other more 'fluffy' materials.

9 comments:

Perogyo said...

Those look great! I am totally impressed.

Don't waste bamboo on inserts. :) It's very sought out for a reason- it's so soooft! I made myself some yoga pants with the bamboo I bought. I wanted Julian to share with me. :) Bamboo is a great topper for anything, I especially like it for mama pads. I like it as a flat under wool or fleece too.
Oh, the best fleece to use is Malden Mills which I can find in fabric shops in Canada so you might be able to as well.
Can't wait to see them on little May!

Nay said...

Wow, they are fantastic!! Are they difficult to make? My fiance and I have been discussing lately what type of nappies we want to use (when we get actually have a baby!), and I found the fitted type on the internet. However, when I went out looking for them, I couldn't find them! What shops stock them? I look in Myers, Target, K-mart etc.

Anonymous said...

Nice work. Are you against the impact of disposable nappies on the environment? If so, good for you for being so proactive. I wish I could find the motivation. And you've just had a baby too...

Nat said...

Just as a tip on pocket stuffers - cotton terry worked really well for me until DD reached about ten months. Now I'm having to look into other options as her wees are getting heavy duty and the terry isn't cutting it any more.

tik-tiki said...

these are fabulous!!
great work

Tamakikat said...

What funky nappies! Your baby will be leading the way in fashion!

Anonymous said...

Hello. Congrats on your new addition. I visit your blog every so often and remembered that you had posted about making cloth nappies. I found this online pattern which I thought may be of interest to you. http://fairythreads.com/?p=587

Taylor said...

Those look great! I really wish I had learned to sew when I was younger... maybe some day.

kasandora said...

My goodness! You are my hero!