Making My Own Cloth Diapers

[happyindprs]

Well here is a new topic that I have not seen here before. I would like to try making my own cloth diapers instead of paying an arm and a leg for some of the ones I see for sale on the internet. O did some searching and found that "diaper" flannel only comes in twenty-seven inch widths but regular flannel is forty-five inches wide, is there a difference between them? Will one out perform the other? Any tips will help, thanks

[LILJIM]

I'm not sure if there is a difference in the two. But before sewing any cloth together prewash them to shrink them first. A friend I meet years ago; said he learned he should have. He sewn 1-2 up then washed them and they shrunk all out of shape. I like flannel because all the different colors and prints you can get on it. I want tractors and dumper-dumper trucks on mine and maybe ducks. LOL

[abrichiebc]

You'll find diaper flannel is a bit heavier than regular flannel. I have made all my own cloth diapers using regular flannel and no problems. I used to look for receiving blankets in the childrens aisle and use the prints for one side of the diaper while using white for the inside. The blankets had to be at least 36 x 36 to make a medium fitting diaper. Mine are all flat prefolds with either 8 to 12 layer soaker in the center.

To do this, just sew two squares together face to face on three sides, turn inside out, insert the soaker, sew up the last side then sew the soaker through the outer two layers.

But like Liljim says, it's best to prewash the material and tumble dry to preshrink it before making the diaper.