Help Me Make A Better Diaper

[WickedStuff]

For several years now I have been sewing cloth diapers for newborns through toddlers. I've thoroughly refined and just about perfected my design. I've got a great product that sells primarily through word of mouth, but thanks to a new consumer product safety law governing products geared to children under 12, I will be out of business (or face six-figure fines) next month. BUT, I am open to the not-so-vanilla lifestyle and I thought I could put my skills and expertise to good use sewing for the adult-baby scene.

The problem is that I'm a little clueless about what it is that makes a good ABDL diaper. It's very important to me to produce excellent quality products that will last and be enjoyed, but I need some input and feedback. So far I've heard that most want a THICK, highly absorbant diaper, and want it to look babyish (prints are a plus for many)...

So far I've made diapers that have a waterproof PUL cover, a soft feel-dry layer and a snap-in absorbant layer. They can be made very trim fitting, or big and bulky depending on preference. The whole thing snaps and unsnaps for easy changing and laundering. Here are some pics, just to give some idea of the style of diaper I already make:http://s541.photobucket.com/albums/gg390/Imakewickedstuff/Finished%20diapers/?action=view&current=fd1aca97.pbw Guest login: fluff

So anyway, thatnks for helping me adapt my diapers to fit ABDL needs

[Leilin]

For several years now I have been sewing cloth diapers for newborns through toddlers. I've thoroughly refined and just about perfected my design. I've got a great product that sells primarily through word of mouth, but thanks to a new consumer product safety law governing products geared to children under 12, I will be out of business (or face six-figure fines) next month. BUT, I am open to the not-so-vanilla lifestyle and I thought I could put my skills and expertise to good use sewing for the adult-baby scene.

The problem is that I'm a little clueless about what it is that makes a good ABDL diaper. It's very important to me to produce excellent quality products that will last and be enjoyed, but I need some input and feedback. So far I've heard that most want a THICK, highly absorbant diaper, and want it to look babyish (prints are a plus for many)...

So far I've made diapers that have a waterproof PUL cover, a soft feel-dry layer and a snap-in absorbant layer. They can be made very trim fitting, or big and bulky depending on preference. The whole thing snaps and unsnaps for easy changing and laundering. Here are some pics, just to give some idea of the style of diaper I already make:http://s541.photobucket.com/albums/gg390/Imakewickedstuff/Finished%20diapers/?action=view&current=fd1aca97.pbw Guest login: fluff

So anyway, thatnks for helping me adapt my diapers to fit ABDL needs

Interesting!

I know that I've been, personally, looking for a decent All-in-one cloth diaper product in the US that is Velcro-closed (because I'm a very thin person and snaps tend to leave WAY too much extra room), and would personally love to see one of those in a decently thick form, as they're incredibly rare, it seems, unless you want to have them shipped from China, which I do not. The diapers that you make are very cute, so I'd love to see what you could do in that vein (which, for what it's worth, might capture the petite bedwetter who's aware of the ABDL community market. Namely, me. )

[Alice-chan]

Very nice work. Would you be up to making a custom order of not diapers but perhaps diaper covers? I found some diaper covers in an AB manga that are very cute and I want a couple pairs. The only thing is that they are only sold in Japan and they are very hard to find for sale on ebay. I would be happy to purchase them from you if you could make them.

The Angel of Hope,

Alice

[Darkfinn]

Personally I would love to see an adult sized cloth "pocket diaper". I've seen them for the kids and they look super cool...

Ya' know... the kind with a nice thick waterproof outer layer and a pocket for putting in stuffers. Make it as thick or as thin as you want!

I've ordered some adult sized velcro-on cloth diapers from China, and they are pretty darn good... but shipping is a total pain.

Also... if you make all-in-ones.... make the outer plastic nice and thick and durable. Thin outer plastic that tears or melts in the dryer isn't cool.

While it may be okay for a baby diaper to be hand-wash only... adult sized ones really need to go in the washer.

[WickedStuff]

I know that I've been, personally, looking for a decent All-in-one cloth diaper product in the US that is Velcro-closed (because I'm a very thin person and snaps tend to leave WAY too much extra room),

I'm not sure how well my design would translate from snaps to velcro, but i'd be willing to give it a shot. That being said, I think that I could get snaps to work for you (by using more of them and having them placed closer together). Snap placement is really important in getting a diaper to fit and function well. One of the great things about being a small business is that I can easily make little changes (say, because I am making for a petite person) that can really affect how well something works

Very nice work. Would you be up to making a custom order of not diapers but perhaps diaper covers? I found some diaper covers in an AB manga that are very cute and I want a couple pairs.

Thank you, mine actually are covers that just have a snap-in absorbant insert (also known as an AI2 or All-in-2). As for making the ones you saw in the manga, can you send me a link or e-mail me a pic? then we could just go from there.

i know the biggest problem i have with all diapers i have ever tried including cloth, is i always wet my shirt unless i hold the front flap down against my skin while i urinate, and some diapers only give me half an inch of plastic above my penis to stop the flow from doing that. i would like a diaper that either has a horizontal leak gaurde above the penis OR extra extra long in the front i have yet to find this and would purchase some promptly if i could

That's pretty much just a high-rise diaper. Not tough to do, it just costs a tad more for extra material and an extra row of snaps. I may also be opening a TMI can of worms here but what direction are you "aimed"? I know with baby boys, you have to be sure the lil guy's lil guy is pointed down when you diaper them, or you get the problem you've been having.

Personally I would love to see an adult sized cloth "pocket diaper". I've seen them for the kids and they look super cool...

Ya' know... the kind with a nice thick waterproof outer layer and a pocket for putting in stuffers. Make it as thick or as thin as you want!

(...)

Also... if you make all-in-ones.... make the outer plastic nice and thick and durable. Thin outer plastic that tears or melts in the dryer isn't cool.

While it may be okay for a baby diaper to be hand-wash only... adult sized ones really need to go in the washer.

I can do a variation of a pocket diaper, but pocket diapers are actually patented (so I can't call them that). Mine would actually need to be more of a "tunnel" diaper , which, consequently is a lot easier to put back together than a pocket when you are using thick absorbant stuffing.

As for launderability, I use a PUL layer for the waterproof cover. The manufacturer of that fabric claims it should last 300 laundering cycles. I've had some diapers I got second-hand that have been in pretty much constant use for upwards of four years now... and they're still going strong. NOW, I personally don't put my covers in the dryer, because I believe that doing so drastically shortens their lifespan, but I know people who do.

Like I said above though, Mine aren't actually an AIO, they are an AI2, which gives you the best of both worlds. The entire diaper is machine washable, the "takes-freakin-forever-to-air-dry" absorbant inner unsnaps and is machine dryable. The cover, once unsnapped from the inner absorbant layer, is then able to air dry in about the same amount of time (or even less) than it takes you to machine dry the stuffer!

OMG, seriously though, I just about choked when I read "While it may be okay for a baby diaper to be hand-wash only". Please introduce me to any moms you know who have time (let alone the inclination, ick!) to handwash their baby's diapers. I wanna be on whatever performance enhancing drugs they're taking!

I don't think I could sell a single "hand-wash only" diaper. You can rest assured that these are VERY machine wash friendly. Thank you Darkfinn! I needed that chuckle : )

[Leilin]

I'm not sure how well my design would translate from snaps to velcro, but i'd be willing to give it a shot. That being said, I think that I could get snaps to work for you (by using more of them and having them placed closer together). Snap placement is really important in getting a diaper to fit and function well. One of the great things about being a small business is that I can easily make little changes (say, because I am making for a petite person) that can really affect how well something works

Thank you, mine actually are covers that just have a snap-in absorbant insert (also known as an AI2 or All-in-2). As for making the ones you saw in the manga, can you send me a link or e-mail me a pic? then we could just go from there.

That's pretty much just a high-rise diaper. Not tough to do, it just costs a tad more for extra material and an extra row of snaps. I may also be opening a TMI can of worms here but what direction are you "aimed"? I know with baby boys, you have to be sure the lil guy's lil guy is pointed down when you diaper them, or you get the problem you've been having.

I can do a variation of a pocket diaper, but pocket diapers are actually patented (so I can't call them that). Mine would actually need to be more of a "tunnel" diaper , which, consequently is a lot easier to put back together than a pocket when you are using thick absorbant stuffing.

As for launderability, I use a PUL layer for the waterproof cover. The manufacturer of that fabric claims it should last 300 laundering cycles. I've had some diapers I got second-hand that have been in pretty much constant use for upwards of four years now... and they're still going strong. NOW, I personally don't put my covers in the dryer, because I believe that doing so drastically shortens their lifespan, but I know people who do.

Like I said above though, Mine aren't actually an AIO, they are an AI2, which gives you the best of both worlds. The entire diaper is machine washable, the "takes-freakin-forever-to-air-dry" absorbant inner unsnaps and is machine dryable. The cover, once unsnapped from the inner absorbant layer, is then able to air dry in about the same amount of time (or even less) than it takes you to machine dry the stuffer!

OMG, seriously though, I just about choked when I read "While it may be okay for a baby diaper to be hand-wash only". Please introduce me to any moms you know who have time (let alone the inclination, ick!) to handwash their baby's diapers. I wanna be on whatever performance enhancing drugs they're taking!

I don't think I could sell a single "hand-wash only" diaper. You can rest assured that these are VERY machine wash friendly. Thank you Darkfinn! I needed that chuckle : )

*grin* I guess that what I'm looking for in a diaper can be pointed out as something like Ebay's "Yuyun" with a few changes, then, to go the next step. I'd like to see something like that, but with prints, of course, and in cute colors as well.

Are you considering a system of custom making each diaper, out of curiosity? What realm would you be thinking of charging in?

[bbgirlmichelle]

Hi Wicked Glad to see you posted here *waves* I'm meshe from the other site.

After explaining that you do an AI2 style, I'm very interested and I would love to try your product out. I absolutely love the lavendar/purple color that you have in your pictures. Let me know when you are ready to start and I'll definitely order a couple.

*huggles*

Michelle

[SnuggleTime]

Welcome to Daily Diapers. You've come to the right place with your nice diapers. I'm sure they'll be a hit with us diaper-wearing guys and gals.

The diapers in those pictures are so cool! Finally, some adult-sized diapers that are as cute and fun as baby diapers. I would love to see the absorbent material and inserts in light, primary colors, like light-blue for boys or light-pink for girls. Do you have a website we can check out? I can't wait to buy one of my own

[WickedStuff]

*grin* I guess that what I'm looking for in a diaper can be pointed out as something like Ebay's "Yuyun" with a few changes, then, to go the next step. I'd like to see something like that, but with prints, of course, and in cute colors as well.

Are you considering a system of custom making each diaper, out of curiosity? What realm would you be thinking of charging in?

That looks doable, it actually isn't much different than what I am already making. I don't currently have any prints in stock. They are prohibitively expensive, but I can get them if you are willing to pay the difference in yardage (it could add as much $7-$10 per diaper). An equally cool (and often less expensive alternative to prints is to do either an applique, or some airbrushing on the bum. Cute babyish tend are generally easy to do because they tend to be simple designs anyway.

As for a "system" most of my orders so far have been custom. People tell me the size, color, thread type they want and I make it all to order. Sometimes I'll have just a bit of fabric leftover and i'll go ahead and use it up then sell it at a later date, but usually everything is custom. I don't have a website (yet) for now I figured I'd just come up with an order form that customers could just tick off the colors/options they wanted for each diaper and I'd do most of it through e-mail. Because I use really high-quality materials most of my adult-sized diapers will probably run somewhere around $30 for a standard solid color diaper with insert. Prints, extra inserts, airbrushing or appliques, adding extra rise or other options will add to the cost but it shouldn't be too much.

(...) try as i do it will not stay there and is VERY uncomfortable for the time it is in that position, don't know what else to do other then a high rise diaper

Yeah, I think a high-rise is probably going to be your simplest option.

Hi Wicked Glad to see you posted here *waves* I'm meshe from the other site.

After explaining that you do an AI2 style, I'm very interested and I would love to try your product out. I absolutely love the lavendar/purple color that you have in your pictures. Let me know when you are ready to start and I'll definitely order a couple.

*huggles*

Michelle

Thanks again for refferring me to this site! Everyone has been really helpful.

It's probably going to be a couple of weeks before I can get started. I am still dealing with a backlog caused by the holidays ... But I will definitely let you know!

Welcome to Daily Diapers. You've come to the right place with your nice diapers. I'm sure they'll be a hit with us diaper-wearing guys and gals.

The diapers in those pictures are so cool! Finally, some adult-sized diapers that are as cute and fun as baby diapers. I would love to see the absorbent material and inserts in light, primary colors, like light-blue for boys or light-pink for girls. Do you have a website we can check out? I can't wait to buy one of my own

*Sigh* Sorry, no website yet. I'm really going to have to learn to do that soon. I try to use a fabric called butterseude for the (colorful) feel-dry part of the inserts, and I'm somewhat limited by the colors I am able to find. I *can* do the inner lining and inserts with pink or blue fleece instead of the butterseude (in the slide show, the diaper with tie-dye inner was fleece) but the fleece pills and just wears prematurely. So... I'm still looking for a source for pastel butterseude.

[Alice-chan]

Oooh goodie! But I dont see your email anywhere. If you tell me what it is, I'll send you some pics. If anything, just PM me later. I'd send you the pics via PM but I cant attach anymore attachments and the pics aren't posted on a site. The covers look rather simple to make as they are not too far off from what I've seen you make so far. I'll be waiting for your response!

The Angel of Hope,

Alice

[WickedStuff]

You can e-mail me at sewnmama@gmail.com.

[anondl]

Hi WickedStuff

Its a great idea asking us what features we want in our diapers. Here's my opinion for what its worth.

1 AIOs tend to leak. I think this is because they tend to be stiff ( ie. non conforming to the body) because of all the fabric. Solving this problem would go a long way to making a better diaper.

2 AIOs take forever to dry. Sew only the waistband area so the layers could delaminate in the dryer. This might also help to solve item 1.

3 Elastic at the waist is useless if it is only 1/4 inch. More expense and effort for the mfg and no utility for the user. If your going to use elastic, use something that is up to the task.

4 I don't like velcro because it picks up so much foreign matter particularly in the dryer and some mfgs use a lot of it. Japanese diapers have about an acre of it per diaper. Snaps are a solution but 1 snap per side at the waist and legs doesn't distribute the stress and the absorbent and waterproof layers can tear.

Sometime I think that mfgs of adult diapers don't test and evaluate their products. I'm sure this isn't true, but who can explain Depends maximum absorbency briefs (maximum?) or the early Attends with the plastic liner that was pure torture after five minutes in them. ( We should use them at Guantanamo).

Good luck with your new venture. I'd be happy to be a beta tester .

Anondl

[WickedStuff]

Hi WickedStuff

Its a great idea asking us what features we want in our diapers. Here's my opinion for what its worth.

1 AIOs tend to leak. I think this is because they tend to be stiff ( ie. non conforming to the body) because of all the fabric. Solving this problem would go a long way to making a better diaper.

2 AIOs take forever to dry. Sew only the waistband area so the layers could delaminate in the dryer. This might also help to solve item 1.

3 Elastic at the waist is useless if it is only 1/4 inch. More expense and effort for the mfg and no utility for the user. If your going to use elastic, use something that is up to the task.

4 I don't like velcro because it picks up so much foreign matter particularly in the dryer and some mfgs use a lot of it. Japanese diapers have about an acre of it per diaper. Snaps are a solution but 1 snap per side at the waist and legs doesn't distribute the stress and the absorbent and waterproof layers can tear.

I love your avatar! I haven't seen Animaniacs in... forever!

Anyway:

#1 Yes my diaper has a lot of layers, but the cover itself has only two, and they are highly flexible (even once sewn together). I will try to remember to add a picture of one draped over my hand- just so you can see how flexible they are.

A lot of the stiffness actually comes from having the layers sewn together You can take a few layers of a highly flexible fabric, quilt them together and suddenly they are stiff as a board- all because they can't move against each other.

#2 I make an AI2 instead of an AIO, so you get all the convenience of an AIO without the laundering issues.

Here's what I said about AI2's in a pp.: "Mine aren't actually an AIO, they are an AI2, which gives you the best of both worlds. The entire diaper is machine washable, the "takes-freakin-forever-to-air-dry" absorbant inner unsnaps and is machine dryable. The cover, once unsnapped from the inner absorbant layer, is then able to air dry in about the same amount of time (or even less) than it takes you to machine dry the stuffer!"

The absorbant part of the diaper snaps into the cover, rather than being sewn there.

#3- elastic

I use high quality swimsuit elastic called Lastin. It has great stretch and return, and properly applied it lasts a LOT longer than the standard latex based elastics (about 2-3x I think). It just works better, and I don't have to worry about manufacturing defects.

#4- I, personally think that velcro is a PITA and I don't use it unless it is specifically requested. Velcro can not only pick up a ton of foreign ick, it can also damage other diapers in your laundry. Any good diaper that has velcro on it should also have a "laundry tab" which is just a loop area that corresponds to the hook area and keeps the hook part from snagging. It doesn't completely solve the problem, but it helps. If your diaper has laundry tabs, use them. If not, you can get some velcro at a fabric store and just cut pieces to fit and just stick them on right before you launder them.

The placement of snaps is just as important as the quantity used. Because my snaps are strategically placed in relation to the elastic (both leg and waist) I get along just fine using just one snap per side for each (waist and leg) on babies' diapers. I think that will probably work for petite adults too, but when I do a bigger diaper, or a high rise type diaper, more snaps will be necessary. Oh, and I make it a habit to reinforce my snaps too, so I haven't ever had a problem with snap tear-out.

Sometime I think that mfgs of adult diapers don't test and evaluate their products. I'm sure this isn't true, but who can explain Depends maximum absorbency briefs (maximum?) or the early Attends with the plastic liner that was pure torture after five minutes in them. ( We should use them at Guantanamo).

Good luck with your new venture. I'd be happy to be a beta tester .

Anondl

Thanks, and how selfless of you to volunteer

I think that you'll find that very little quality control (and that includes efficacy, user friendliness, etc.) goes into products designed to be disposable. The converse is usually true too (though not always). If you do your homework, you can usually find a long-lasting, well designed, easy-(and enjoyable) to-use product. A lot of times it comes down to getting what you pay for, and of course I'm not just talking about diapers. I'm talking about stuff in general.

[Darkfinn]

What the others said about the "YunYun" diapers that are listed on e-bay is true... they are the best adult-sized cloth diaper I've ever seen. My only problem with them is that the outer plastic covering of their AIO diapers practically disentigrates after just a few washings. If you model your products off of those you'll be in good shape. Prints and what-not are cool and have their place... but there are those of us who do wear diapers 24/7 either out of necessity or by choice and want something that is as functional as it is cute.

I would definately be willing to pay good money for a high-quality product... and I'll be more than happy to take money away from the Chinese as they are the ones who caused this whole mess in the first place.

Thanks for being interested in marketting to AB/DLs... it's nice to see people still care about making quality products for a specialty market.