My
diaper sewing addiction waned as my first grandbaby grew up and
stopped wearing diapers. I had the opportunity to sew more diapers
when my granddaughter was born in 2003. More recently I have once
again been sewing away for my third grandbaby, another boy born
in Feb. 2008.
Thankfully I've moved
on in my passions and interests, but I still enjoy providing my daughters
with the opportunity to cloth diaper their babies.Iexplained,
Tips I've learned over the years
by trial and error
- My first diapers tended
to be too wide in the crotch. A narrow diaper works as well and gives
a trimmer look.
- My daughter likes to have
the wings overlap in the front so she can get away with only using one
pin.
- It is necessary to serge
or finish the terry cloth inner pad edges with a zigzag stitch to prevent
fraying inside the diaper. If you don't, you eventually you end up with
"cotton rocks" in you diapers.
- Six
to eight layers of flannel make good soaker pads inside the diaper.
This is a good use for those old not too pretty flannel sheets.
- It is not necessary
to have the soaker pad run all the way up the back of the diaper.
It can taper down to fewer layers.
- The woven elastic
(white ¼ inch) works better in the long run than the ¼
inch clear elastic.
- When sewing elastic
onto the inside of the diaper use a wide zigzag stitch with the
zig in the elastic and the zag off the elastic.
- Pins, Aplix, or snaps???
Personally, I prefer
pins because you can adjust the diaper for a perfect fit as the baby grows.
Dritz diaper pins are far and away than the cheap diaper pins.
Aplix is more popular
than Velcro. I think most moms think it is softer. It is good to add fold
back tabs on the diaper wings so the hooks don't grab onto things in the
washer. When using Aplix you can't fold down the diaper to fit a small
baby so the size range of the diaper is limited.
In the same way, snaps
limit the diaper to fit according to their placment. I have never had
luck in applying snaps to a diaper. Expensive snap machines are available
but probably only valuable for those who want to sew diapers commercially.
|
Brad - 18 months
Brad in a wool
"butt sweater"
Cyndie and Ashley
10 days old
|