Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: Week #1

Week number one in our cloth-diapering adventure had its ups and downs, but over all was a tremendous success!

It feels good to be able to wash out a diaper instead of tossing it in the trash. And really, the washing was not as bad as I imagined. Of course, she pooped a super-nasty poop the very first time I put her in one, but it didn't even stick to the liner! I had nightmares about having to scrape it off with a spatula...seriously.

First cloth diaper, bought on Etsy
We are still not fully using cloth diapers yet because we have to build up our supply, and they aren't cheap! We ordered a few on Etsy and got one in the mail so far. Unfortunately, it was not the diaper that we ordered, but the seller resolved the problem and we ended up with a free diaper! It is an AIO (all-in-one) pocket diaper. It was cute and worked perfectly, washed up easily and dried quickly. My only problem was that it was very bulky because it's designed to fit up to 35 pounds.

My original plan was to try out a couple different kinds to find out what I liked best before attempting to make my own, but I just couldn't wait! So I read some tutorials on-line and watched a couple youtube videos, got my fabric together and took the leap...

First homemade cloth diaper!
After a bunch of mistakes (thank goodness for seam rippers) and two hours of being frustrated and wanting to give up, I pulled through and ended up with a diaper that works and is really cute! This one has an outer layer made out of vinyl tablecloth fabric, an inner layer made of an upcycled fleece blanket, and a 4-layer soaker made of up-cycled flannel burp cloths from my first kid! It is 75% upcycled (could be 100% if I had used an actual old tablecloth, but I bought the fabric).

There are definitely a few changes I am going to make for next time and I am super excited to make more! Thanks to all of my friends and family for your support and cloth-diapering advice :-)

10 comments:

  1. Looks great! I hope it works out for you!

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  2. Now you can make a few dozen for that cutey pie.

    ♥♥♥
    Sue

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  3. awesome! I wish I had done cloth diapering when I started with my girls

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  4. My cousin has 4 kids under the age of 8, and she decided to use cloth diapers for the last two. I remember trying babysit one time and like it was really tough for me to understand how to fix it! haha But that black and white one is so cute!

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  5. Good for you!! Those are so cute too. Maybe with my next one I'll take the plunge. :)

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  6. Very interesting how you put together the diaper and what you used.

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  7. Congratulations!! I used cloth diapers when my girls were babies and had to pin them on and use nasty plastic panties to cover them...cloth diapers are SOOOO much better now! My DD has used them with her two littles. She installed a sprayer hose in the water line to their toilet to spray off diapers and drop them in the soaking bucket that sits right next to the toilet. I had to swish diapers in the toilet years ago..so another wonderful invention. :) Good for you!!!

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  8. That's awesome and the more you make, the better they will get!

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  9. Incredible job! Such a stylish diaper! Check out www.keeperofthehome.org. She has incredible info on cloth diapers!

    <3,
    Emily, Cherished Heart Shoppe

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  10. That is great! Your little one is definitely fashionable in that diaper. Keep it up and as you said it will go faster!

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