| Sew-n-Show: Diapers |
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| My first presentable attempt at diaper sewing: a premium sized prefold turned into a side-snap diaper. I made 18 of these and have since passed them on to a friend who uses them on her 14 month old, 25 pound toddler. They are getting a bit small and she's asked me to make some toddler sized diapers for her. This time I'll add two layers of hemp fleece to the soaker zone since my friend's daughter is a heavy wetter. These diapers are incredibly easy to make and very cost effective. They also work very well!! |
| This is a very "girley" diaper I made for a friend of mine. It's a size large and should fit from about 18 pounds to 30 pounds, though it has not been tested that extensively yet. It's a side snap fitted with a snap-in doubler. With the doubler, this diaper has 5 layers of hemp fleece inside (this friend's daughter is also a heavy wetter!). Only soft, cushy, MM microfleece touches the baby; all snaps and elastic are hidden. |
| This diaper was made as a baby gift for a friend who had a two year old girl and a 2 week old boy. It is a one-size diaper modeled off of the SOS diapers from www.sosdiapers.com with hemp fleece inside and a doubler designed to be used for yet another heavy wetter! All told, there are five layers of fleece in this diaper's soaker zone as well. The soaker area was stitched with the same primary variegated jeanstitch thread that the edges were serged with. My friend liked this diaper so much that she filled her stash with "real" SOS diapers!! |
| These diapers are newborn sized side-snap diapers made to match a sleeper I bought. They have snap-in doublers and the soaker is 4 layers of hemp fleece. On the inside of the diaper, you will find soft, fluffy white velour. I tried to auction two sets of these along with matching sleepers, bibs, socks, wipes, caps and even Alexis covers, but they didn't attract many bids so I'm saving them for baby gifts. |
| In spite of the fact that I have honed my diaper-sewing skills, I still prefer to buy my diapers from Dianna at www.kissaluvs.com. I find that I love getting soft, fluffy diapers in the mail. The Kissaluvs fit Samuel remarkably well, require very little effort on my part, and are just as cost effective as any diaper I can make, especially after figuring in $5/hour for labor (which is a really low estimate!!). |
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| This is a wool wrap that I made Samuel recently. I've heard over and over again about the water repellent nature of wool and that it makes a great and breathable diaper cover, but I didn't believe it and certainly wasn't going to pay over $20 to find out if it really worked! However, at this point, Samuel had a terrible rash and I wanted to find something that would allow his skin to breathe and heal. I dug out an old US Navy surplus blanket we had. It was so itchy that it would be a really uncomfortable blanket to sleep with, so I didn't mind cutting it up! I made the wrap by tracing a Bummis snap wrap onto brown paper. I added a 3/4" seam allowance all the way around and another 1/4" for casing where I wanted the elastic in the legs and at the back. The cover is one layer of wool with foldover elastic casing at the back and legs and the edges are finished simply by turning and stitching. The snaps on the front are backed with a second layer of wool so that they won't wick urine to the outside of the cover, but I'm not sure if that's really necessary. The blanket was only 60% wool and the remainder was acrylic, so it's not 100% natural, but this wrap REALLY works. REALLY, even overnight. My next step is to have a friend with a heavy wetter test it on her baby for me! |
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| However, for my baby due in July 2003, I have bought a few different styles of diapers (including some Kissaluvs, of course!, and am making the majority of the fitted diapers in a one-size style. My diapers have started to look almost professional and I'm thrilled to look at them and say, "I made that myself!" |