Cloth Diaper Basics

A year ago, I posted on Facebook that I had cloth diapers to give away. An older friend suggested, "They make great cleaning rags."

I told her, "Though I do have a few of the diapers you're picturing, you'd be surprised to see how different most cloth diapers are now!"

"Really? How different can they be?"

"Have you heard of pocket diapers? Those are the kind we use most often. The ones we use are one-size; the covers are polyurethane laminate lined with a soft, fleece-like fabric with a slit near the front. We stuff absorbent inserts (picture long rectangles of thick cotton terry cloth) into the "pocket" between the PUL layer and the fleece-like layer of the cover, using the slit I mentioned as the entry point. We use two inserts per cover. Once they're inside the pocket, the diaper is the same shape as a disposable, and goes on in much the same way. There are snaps to secure the wings in the back to the panel in the front, and there are adjustable elastic straps (just like you would find on a bra) sewn into the leg gussets so that the diapers will fit one child from start to finish. 

We didn't start with them, though. In fact, his first diapers were thrift-store t-shirts folded inside velcro-closure PUL covers called Thirsties. These covers did not last well in the washer and dryer, so we will be ordering more because we were too lazy to hand-wash/hang-dry them. That's okay, it's like 30 bucks.

Another type of diaper we use is an "All-In-Two," which is like a cross between the pocket diaper and the unlined PUL covers. There is a strip of material at the front and the back, sewn into the inside of the PUL cover in such a way that specially designed inserts can be tucked underneath and anchored down. This way, the insert is the thing against the baby's skin. Some inserts are made of organic unbleached cotton, some are made of a synthetic material designed to wick moisture away from the skin, and some are disposable - but they're made without the plastic, perfume and dyes that lead to respiratory problems in children who wear conventional disposable diapers. 

We own some of each of these inserts, but more often than not end up using square flannel receiving blankets origami-folded in the way that "flats" were in the days before "prefold" diapers, which I assume are the ones you have in mind. We fold the flannel over the baby - often with an extra absorbent insert thrown in - and snap the cover on over. No need for pins or other fasteners.

Another type we have, yet rarely use, is "All-In-One." As the name suggests, all the elements are sewn into the diaper, so it goes on and comes off exactly the way a disposable is, and then is washed and dried and reused. The drawback is that if you hang dry them they take forever and end up feeling stiff; if you machine dry them, the elastic and velcro-closures wear out.

There are several other kinds of diapers as well, like a cross between the pocket and All-In-Twos, which have a long strip of fabric sewn into one end, which can be folded and stuffed into the pocket the way an insert would. Or the same design, with no pocket. Or a PUL cover with mesh inside, into which double-layered inserts are then snapped at each end to be held in place until washing. And so on!"