Homemade Diapers Are Easier than You Think!

I have to shift attention from the woodburning for a bit to tell you that I have the most adorable little grandson (all you grammas out there can share baby pictures with me). He is just past 2 and has decided that he’d like to go pee on the potty. His mama thought she could almost give up the diaper scene when he decided maybe he was too busy to bother. So I am back in the diaper-making business, going up from the size you see pictured at left (when he was around 1).

My daughter takes a balanced approach when it comes to diapering. Cloth diapers are great for most the time; paper diapers are convenient at other times, especially when you’re camping or on travel.

When my kids were little, cloth was all I had available. It was nothing fancy. A T-towel folded in a triangle worked pretty well. Velcro was not widely available; we used the archaic and dangerous apparatus, the “safety” pin – which had nothing to do with “safety” at all. These pins were huge. Does anyone use them anymore? Seems kind of scary to poke those in close to a wiggly baby, but I can remember running them through my hair to lightly oil them and pushing them through layers of cotton with never a miss for years. Course, my kids ran around naked a lot, too. Little kids always like taking off their clothes and running free. Seemed natural enough to me. Heck, we all did it – and it was a lot of fun. Course, some would call me an old hippie; I was privileged to be able to stay at home with my little ones in a little house in the big woods. Nowadays kids grow up in daycares; running around naked is a little frowned upon at these facilities.

But young parents are coming back around, some out of necessity, some out of conscientious choice, or both.

My advice is to avoid the whole “paper or plastic” issue (and what is that gel stuff inside?) and just make your own. Frugal moms have been recycling cloth for generations, and it’s amazing what you can put together with an old T-shirt and a towel.

Course, I had something a little fancier in mind for my grandson. I mean, with the Internet, we now have all knowledge and things readily available at the click of a button and a charge card number.

I spent a little time researching patterns and comparing measurements on some of the commercial brands. Ok, so I spent a LOT of time. I mean, how big is a baby’s butt – exactly? And how many different sizes could there possibly be? Turns out, plenty.

I ended up making my own patterns in a modified T (hourglass) shape. Something practical, adjustable, and easy.

Then I researched fabrics and ended up ordering (ahm – only the best for this baby):

• Bamboo velour – strong, naturally antimicrobial, and the softest fabric you can imagine – nice for the inner layer next to a tiny newborn.
• Hemp terrycloth - knit on one side and loopy on the other, again, naturally anti-microbial, very strong, and extremely absorbent — also less expensive than the velour, though not as soft.
• Microfiber – has the ability to act as a wick. I purchased this from a diaper fabric outlet. It is white and extra thick; a little on the spendy side. I am not sure this should be directly next to a baby’s skin, but it does well as a light-weight, super-absorbant inner layer. (Note: I found inexpensive bright yellow microfiber in the auto department of some local stores – but it was not the same and smelled of chemicals).
• 100% cotton flannel for the outer layer: I found some with little green frogs hopping around on it. This kid is stylin. Oh yeah.
• PUL fabric – also purchased through a diaper fabric outlet. PUL stands for Polyurethane Laminate. It was created for hospitals and can withstand going through an autoclave, so it’s perfectly fine through your dryer. It is coated on one side to hold liquids in; nice cloth on the outside. Waterproof, yet breathable – it sounds like the diaper alternative to Gortex in the outdoor gear world. AND it comes in colors. A soft green for my little grasshopper to coordinate with his frog friends.

A good source for all this is at Diaper Cuts, but there are others out there as well.

Ok, so I did get a little extreme – but this was STILL far less than what you’d spend on disposables, not counting my time, which I am still not counting. And, of course, you could make something for far less with what you’d find in your rag bin.

Fasteners:

• Velcro – I like the idea of Velcro, but it proved to be kind of a hassle to sew on and ended up getting full of lint in the wash and snagging on things. Plus, the kid can pull them off and run around naked and all that, which is ok by me, but not always appropriate, as we mentioned.
• Pocket flaps – an idea to protect the Velcro – turn them around the tabs when you get ready to wash. Also more hassle than they were worth (in our opinions).
• Snaps – Once I got over my initial fear of messing these up, these were the easiest and quickest solution. With two sets in front, there are plenty of adjustments for changing sizes.

Elastic: A little along the back of the PUL pants keeps it snug. Elastic is a little trickier around the legs. How pudgy are your baby’s legs? Every little kid is different, some more roly-poly than others! Tight enough to hold things in, not so tight to leave a mark is the goal. Elastic comes as traditional ribbons, fold-over strips, or something that looks like clear tape. Options are to run it through a casing or stretch & sew. I tried all these. For me, what ended up being easiest was threading it through a casing and stitching at both ends to secure.

Design: All-in-one, pocket-type with or without attached soaker, sewn-in soaker, or everything separate: Our final design used the pocket concept with a separate soaker, which, although a bit of a hassle to insert, greatly reduced time in the dryer or hanging on the line. The diaper has 3 components: 1) an outer PUL, 2) the main diaper, consisting of an inner hemp and an outer flannel layer (the newborn size used bamboo instead of hemp), and 3) the soaker, consisting of a microfiber layer sandwiched between 2 hemp layers, or for newborns, just 2 layers of bamboo. The inner soaker was a simple rectangle – a little wider on the back side. For newborns – since you’re changing them every 20 minutes or so, it was easier to make a pile of extra soakers and just lay it on top inside the diaper.

Seams were either serged or sewn with a regular straight stitch; zig-zags on the elastic. If straight-stitched, I sewed the wrong sides together and turned inside out to form an envelope for the soaker, which could be inserted on the top back edge.

So there you have it. Ready to wrap with love

All this and then a baby poops in it!  But that’s the idea. Good luck! (and you have to admit, this little guy is adorable!)