In the hunt for products that are gentle on the budget and the environment, many new and expecting parents turn to cloth diapering, only to be surprised at the large up-front cost involved in purchasing reusable diapers that are beyond the simple white prefolds and diaper pins of yesteryear. A wide variety of cloth diapers is available on the market, but at costs of $10-$20 apiece, some parents may begin to wonder just how much savings there really is when compared to disposables.
Some parents researching cloth diapers and the associated costs may simply return to disposables, seek “green” disposable diapers, pay for an expensive diaper service or fork over the large initial investment for the cloth diapers. However, one option that parents can consider if they are marginally skilled with a sewing machine is sewing their own reusable cloth diapers from purchased fabric, or even fabric found around the house.
Modern cloth diapers have come far from the simple diapers worn by our parents, and typically require an absorbent inner layer (such as a traditional Birdseye cotton diaper or flannel) a waterproof barrier made from fleece, wool or PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) and a wide variety of covers to make diapers soft and cozy for baby’s bottom. In their simplest and hardest to use form, homemade cloth diapers can be made from re-used flannel shirts for as little as $60, but with some searching, free downloadable diaper patterns can be found online that are easier to use All in Ones (AIOs) and pocket diapers which are more similar to disposables and use Velcro or snaps to fasten.
One such wonderful website is operated by Ottobre Design, a retail children’s clothing pattern company from Finland which offers some patterns for free on their website to entice parents to purchase other patterns. Their patterns are detailed and easy to read (yes, in English) and offer pointers on fabric selection for diapers as well as wool diaper covers.
Another novice diaper-maker site which makes sewing cloth diapers a pleasant learning experience rather than a confusing trip to internet retail sites is The Nappy Network. Available on this site is an introduction to cloth diapering fabrics, as well as a wide variety of patterns, in various degrees of professionalism. Or particular interest is a pattern for newborn babies, which features a cut out for healing umbilical cords. This site also offers a forum for members where questions can be answered by more experienced
All of these patterns, it should be noted are exclusively for home usage, and not intended to be used for those wishing to resell the pattern. Many of the women and men who have created these patterns are parents who struggled to find inexpensive cloth diapers for their own children and wish to help other parents gain from the knowledge learned through their experience.
Carrie Henderson Weston - Carrie Henderson Weston is a writer from Kalamazoo, Michigan who has found herself living in the big city of Minneapolis, MN. Formerly she ...
