As you may remember, I made my own cloth diapers when first starting out. I purchased a book with a few patterns in it and after using the diapers for less than a week, knew the inserts were just NOT going to work for my heavy wetter. I re-approached the issue and decided to make some basic cotton inserts. Well, as pretty as they were, those diapers were only mediums (which I felt fit more like a small/medium) and my little girl can no longer fit into them. =(
I purchased a lot of BumGenius 3.0 diapers gently used off of Craigslist. They work great and my hubby is really loving the pocket system. =) Problem is that they are all aplix and my little girl is so quick to pull them off and run naked down the hallway. I still had some diaper cuts I had made when originally sewing diapers that are marked as size large. I didn’t want them to all go to waste (because we all know how expensive that darn PUL is) so I decided I’m going to sew them up. =)
I love that my BGs are one size so I decided to customize my own to fit multiple sizes. After all, since they are large cuts it’s smarter to make them also fit a smaller size rather than cut them down and only get a medium diaper or only use them as the large they were intended to be. You can see I also added a hip snap because I noticed with my first snap diapers that wing droop is a common problem.
Another thing I knew I wanted to change was the fabric used for lining. In the book, they suggest a flannel. As I found out, flannel is an absorbent material so it traps the moisture right there and can hold it to baby’s skin if you don’t change often enough. My BG’s have a micro suede lining so I splurged and bought a yard to use with the new diapers.
I also hear about a lot of people needing to replace their elastic (and I know a few of my BGs could use it too) so I wanted to make sure that if & when I needed to do so, that it wouldn’t be a challenge. With the original handmade diapers we used a zig zag stitch while stretching the elastic to keep it sew in place. I can’t imagine how much of a hassle that might be to fix one day if I need to. With this diaper, the elastic is stitched very securely at the ends and rests in a casing.
I also knew I needed to widen the crotch area a bit so that regular inserts could also be used in the pockets.
All the color snaps had been added when they were first cut and made back in September or October. Therefore, I can say that having blue snaps and white snaps is a bit irritating to my eyes but still matches the diaper. I think the black and white pin dots are so cute and this diapers is the perfect style for my little girl as well as any future little girls (or boys for that matter) since it’s still pretty gender neutral.
So, what do you guys think?
Alex says
Have you thought about converting your bg’s to snaps? I’ve never done it, but I’ve heard of moms doing it!
Christine says
I LOVE IT!!!!! I wouldn’t mind sporting that when I get older. hehe 🙂 Honestly… you did a great job and I LOVE THE COLORS your choose.
Thanks for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer ~ From Dream To Reality!!!
Christine xoxo
Jenny Melrose says
These are so cute! I’m so glad to be past the diaper stage though. Thanks so much for linking this up at Whimsy Wednesdays at The NY Melrose Family.
Stephanie says
Love this post about diaper-making! You’ve earned yourself another follower!
Jen says
Great Job really cute diaper! I would totally try this if I were pregnant right now.
Stephanie H. says
good job, I wish I could have seen a manufactured diaper before I started testing the free patterns on the internet. But I was able to make several types of diapers for friends who couldn’t afford paper, nor the cloth diapers online. I The inside fabric of the diapers was all reclaimed fabric from old cotton sheets and clothing, with a polar fleece lining so the baby feels dry.
JT and Amanda says
This is adorable!! Where did you find such cute PUL?
Kassie Groll says
It’s not pul. It’s a cotton woven and the pul is a hidden layer between it and the suedecloth inner.