How to Sew Your Own Flannel Prefolds

Cloth diapers are inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

Cloth diapers are an alternative to disposable diapers. They enable you to wash and reuse diapers rather than purchasing disposables and throwing them away. There are many types of cloth diapers including fitted, one size and flat or prefold. Prefold cloth diapers are flat rectangles of fabric with an absorbent soaker sewn into the center. You can buy prefold diapers, but if you have some scrap terrycloth, a yard of flannel and a sewing machine you can make your own.

Things You'll Need

• 1 yard 45-inch-wide flannel or enough flannel for the measurements in Step 2
• Terrycloth towels or other absorbent material
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Ball-point sewing machine needle

Instructions

1. Wash all of your fabric in hot water and machine dry it. Doing this before you begin prevents the finished product from shrinking.

2. Cut two rectangles of flannel. You will want rectangles that are 11 ½ inches-by-14 ½ inches for a baby up to 6 months, 13 ½ inches-by-18 ½ inches for a baby aged 6 months to 2 years, or 15 ½ inches by 21 ½ inches for a toddler-sized diaper. These will become the outside of your diaper.

3. Cut six pieces of terrycloth for your soaker pad. For a newborn up to 6 months, cut rectangles that are 4 inches-by-13 ½ inches. For a baby between the ages of 6 months and 2 years, cut rectangles that are 5 inches-by-17 ½ inches. For a toddler, cut rectangles that are 6 inches-by-20 ½ inches.

4. Stack all of the terrycloth layers of your soaker pad together, pin and sew around the outside ¼ inch from the edge.

5. Zigzag around the soaker again right on the edge to keep the raw edges from fraying.

6. Center and pin your soaker to the wrong or back side of one of your flannel rectangles.

7. Attach the soaker to the flannel by sewing down both long sides of the soaker, making sure to sew through all of your layers.

8. Pin your two flannel rectangles together with the right sides facing each other. Your soaker pad should be on the outside of the diaper.

9. Sew all the way around the outside of the diaper, leaving a 2-to 3-inch opening in one side.

10. Turn your diaper right sides out through the opening and iron the diaper flat.

11. Sew around the diaper as close to the edge as you can get, making sure to tuck in the fabric edges when you get to your opening.

12. Secure the soaker pad by sewing along the long edges of the pad through all of the layers of your diaper.

Tips & Warnings

• You can make these diapers from many types of flannel including old sheets or flannel receiving blankets.

• Fasten these diapers to your baby using either diaper pins or a Snappi.

• Since these diapers are not waterproof you will need a waterproof cover to keep them from leaking.

References

• Cloth Diaper Sewing: DIY Prefold Diapers
• Fern and Faerie: El Cheapo Prefolds

Resources

• Sew Your Own Diapers: Pre-Fold
• Smart Mama Diapers: Confessions of a Diaper Fanatic