How to Make a Wool Puddle Pad for a Baby Crib Mattress

A wool puddle pad is a great alternative to a synthetic mattress cover for your baby's crib. Wool absorbs liquids naturally, it's easy to clean, and can be a certified organic resource. Wool puddle pads are a snap to make at home using a store-bought or home-mad wool blanket.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Buy a wool blanket to make into a puddle pad. As an alternative, you can recycle an old wool blanket.

2. Look for a 100% wool blanket that is neutral in color that's not visible through your crib's sheets. Make sure it hasn't been treated to be moth-proof or with "super wool" or "super wash", which prevents felting.

3. Knit or crochet a basic blanket about a third or half again as big as your crib mattress. Use a pattern with a close stitch, such as single crochet if you are crocheting. Use 100% wool yarn in a neutral color, such as off-white.

4. Felt and shrink by washing the blanket in your washing machine with a hot wash with a cold rinse. Felting and shrinking the wool causes it to become smaller and denser. If it's small enough, lay flat to dry.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't already own a wool blanket you're willing to part with, ask friends and family, or check second-hand stores for inexpensive used wool blankets.
• Wash your puddle pad according to instructions for wool diaper covers. If soap is used, dissolve the soap in a basin of cool water, then soak and squish the wool pad, rinse, and let dry flat.
• If more shrinking is required, dry the blanket in the dryer on hot. The more you heat and agitate the wool, the more it shrinks and felt.
• Clean your soiled puddle pad using wool-friendly washing methods, otherwise it could shrink too much. Dirty wool can simply be washed by hand in cold water, even if it has been wetted with urine.

Resources

• How to Wash Wool Diaper Covers.