A Slow Year / Discuss

These Days in French Life    says:

Cloth diapering is going well even though our French friends think that we are totally INSANE and POOR. We are both, but that is besides the point. I am just happy not to add ten thousand 'sposies to the local landfill. I do a load everyday at midnight when eletricity is half price and I am trying to calm a screaming banchee. A couple of people have asked me how to make them and I took these photos thinking that I would post about how to make your own cloth diapers, today L from Odessa Street (love her blog) asked about them and I finally got the demon child to snore peacefully in her sling for a moment so here ya go!


First make a pattern, it's basically an hour glass shape. Or a rectangle with two half circles cut out on the side --like those trippy candle holders that you can order that is your profile. I know I am being vague about the inches (cm) and stuff, that is up to you to trace out a diaper that you already have for the right size. I bought some cloth diapers online and then knocked them off.



You will cut out this pattern for the many pieces, like the outside, I like to use polar fleece and if I have some from 'merica PUL which is a washable waterproof fabric, haaloohah! If you dont use a waterproof exterior you will have to cover your diaper with a diaper wrap (you can make these too out of your husbands wool sweaters that you shrank)And your inside fabric, thick terry cloth is super. You can also do an inner absorbent layer if you like.



I made a ton of small or newborn size but then I had a "bout de chou" that was born early so her walnut sized butt cheeks didnt fit into any of them. I got to start with cloth at 2 and half weeks. Which is good anyways since the butt tar at the beginning will never come off of cloth.


Next sew some of the soft side of velcro on that bottom half (this will end up on the outside to fasten the diapers. Velco is our friend and Saviour. Amen.


Then I stitch up some extra piece of terry cloth, old towels, husband's shirts, what ever absorbs into a liner and then cover it with polar fleece, which is supposed to keep their butts drier since it wicks the pee into the terry and away from their ass. (god, just think of all the crazy google searchs that I will get from this post?!)

Now the fun part, the elastic, sew it to the terry on the part that will go on the inside. Use an elastic stitch or zigzag if you dont have number 16 like I do. You st-t-t-tr-et-cc-ch the elastic out as you sew it, so then the sides of the hourglass scrunch together, this is important so that you dont get leg leaks.



I also do a little elastic along the top half to contour the diaper to their backside. That is optional. Notice that I am not wearing my wedding rings, my hands are too fat and I refuse to get my rings sized up incase I do loose the fat in my fingers--its baby fat, I swear! Wearing ex boyfriends ring that was always too big.



Then put the two pieces together, with the pretty ones both facing each other on the inside, like when you make a pillow and then leave a space and inside it out. You know what I mean? God, I hope so... it will look like this.... leave the top part open (where you sewed the elastic if you so choose to) so you can reverse it all out. You then sew this closed ---or this is complicated or maybe not really-- you can leave it open and make it a pocket diaper (insert extra terry in here for heavy wetting and long car rides) you will have sew down the edges so that wont fray in the million times that you wash them.



Now add the scratchy part of the velco to the tabs on the sides so that they line up when the diaper is closed. Voilà. I make them four at a time, assembly line style. I'm pretty fast at it now and can make four in an hour and half. My husband says that I have a regressive chinese gene. At 16 bucks a pop, I am happy to make my own!
Posted at 9:27AM, 6 August 2007 PDT (permalink)