How to Make All-in-One Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers are making a comeback. Not only are parents discovering that they are less expensive than disposable diapers, they find they are often better for their baby. What is even nicer is that it's possible to make wonderful all-in-one cloth diapers yourself.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Choose the fabrics. Having the inner lining made of fleece and the outer lining made of flannel works well, but the color and patterns are up to you. You don't have to buy new material, but cut up old flannel blankets, shirts or whatever fabric that suits you.

2. Cut open a brown paper bag to use as pattern paper, and draw an hourglass shape. You can use another cloth diaper as a template.

3. Snip out your pattern piece and place it on the fabric for your cloth diaper. Have the right side of the fleece facing the right side of the flannel. Trace around the pattern piece with a pencil, then use a ruler to add ½ inch seam allowance all the way around. Cut out the fabric around the outer line.

4. Create a soaker out of a rectangular piece of burly terry cloth. This should run the length of the diaper. Pin this to the wrong side of the fleece and sew it into place. You can have two layers of soakers should you have a heavy wetter.

5. Measure the thighs of your baby and cut two lengths of ¼ inch elastic the length of the baby's thigh. Pin this to the wrong side of the flannel and sew it into place, being careful to make certain the elastic is stretch as you do so. Use a zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine or an elastic stitch if you have those options. Measure the baby's back, and cut a piece of elastic to length. Stretch this along the whole back of the wrong side of the flannel, pin and sew it in place.

6. Pin the two fabric pieces together, and sew around the stitch line on a sewing machine. Leave one end open. Turn the fabric right side out, and close the open end by hand or with a sewing machine.

7. Close the diapers with either diaper pins or by sewing Velcro tabs on the diapers. Either option makes the cloth all-in-one diaper adjustable.

Resources

• Very Baby has cloth diaper sewing notions.
• Cloth Diaper Blog is an interesting source of information.

[CrunchyMama]

on 4/23/2008 Another option to cut the drying time of an all in one is to sew only one side of the soaker down at the back or front of the diaper. Leaving the other side free allows it to "flap" while in the wash/dryer, washing more fully and drying more quickly. You can also make your soaker layer twice as wide as you need. Use half the amount of layers you would for a regular soaker. If you would normally use 4 layers of terry, use only two, but make it twice as wide. Sew down half the width of the soaker only on the front or back of the diaper. When you are ready to use the diaper, fold the soaker in half down the length of the diaper, making it fit into the width of the diaper. I hope you can picture that! It provides all the absorbency, but washes cleaner and dries faster.

[CrunchyMama]

on 4/23/2008 "Having the inner lining made of fleece and the outer lining made of flannel works well"

Umm, no that actually wouldn't work at all if you want a waterproof diaper. Flannel is a natural product, and therefore absorbs moisture. You inner layer can be made of flannel, microfleece or suedecloth. Your outer layer must be made of a waterproof fabric like PUL or Malden Mills or Windpro fleece. Also, resist the urge to "sandwich" your waterproof layer between two layers of absorbent material. Many people try this so they can get cute cotton prints on the outside of their diapers, but it drastically increases the chances of wicking/leaking, especially if you have a heavy wetter or go too long between diaper changes.
Another option to cut the drying time of an all in one is to sew only one side of the soaker down at the back or front of the diaper. Leaving the other side free allows it to "fl