10.20.2010

Homemade gDiaper Insert Tutorial

This post was a little longer in coming than I wanted. The past couple of nights, we've been transitioning Baby D from sleeping with us in the big(ish) bed to slumbering in the co-sleeper. He is literally ONE FOOT away from where he used to be, but the move has transformed him from a baby happily sleeping three- or four-hour stretches into a little guy who is waking up every hour and a half. UGH. So I've been feeling a little zombie-like, and not inclined to blog. But here I am, so let's get started!


Because of my apartment situation, I need two qualities in a soaker: the ability to be cleaned with one wash cycle, and the ability to air-dry well. I also wanted as little bulk as possible. Picky, picky! Most of the tutorials I found involved several layers of an absorbent fabric encased in an outer layer of fleece, which made me a little nervous about both the cleaning and the drying aspects.

So here's the design that I came up with.

Materials needed:

  • Fleece
  • Microfiber (I used those cleaning cloths found in the auto section at Wal-Mart)
  • Scissors
  • Thread
  • Sewing machine (you could do it by hand; it will just fall apart sooner)

Step 1: Cut the fabric. You will need one 15x7 piece of fleece and four 13x5 pieces of microfiber. I apologize in advance for any eye injuries caused by looking at my fleece. That's just what I had in the closet!




Step 2: Stack all four microfiber pieces on top of each other, then center that on top of the fleece. Pin in place.

Step 3: Mark a line in the middle the top layer of microfiber, lengthwise (2.5 inches from the long edges).



Step 4: Stitch along the line.



Well, that was easy, wasn't it? You now have a new soaker! The microfiber should have a lot of free flaps, for easier washing and drying, like this:




Be sure that the fleece is the part touching baby's bottom. Microfiber will wreak havoc with baby skin!




And, of course, we need a practical demonstration! :-D :-D :-D




The 8-pack of microfiber cloths cost me five dollars, and it yielded four inserts' worth. The fleece, which I dug out of the closet, was free! Final cost: $1.25 --compared to $5 for one gDiaper-brand insert!


P.S. My cousin Rachel suggested also using prefolds as inserts. I tried this out using my small prefolds, and it worked just great! I am jazzed to be able to keep using the prefolds after Baby D outgrows their conventional use; plus, he will continue to have natural cotton against his skin-- that was my one misgiving about using fleece. But I still plan on using these liners for nighttime diapering, because the microfiber is super-absorbent, and the fleece wicks away that moisture from the skin!

4 comments:

  1. Good work! And I'm swooning over the demonstration photo :)

    Sidenote: Are those new pictures on your sidebar? So cute!

    Another sidenote: Any particular reason you started him in the bed and then moved the foot to the cosleeper? Just curious!

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  2. Yes, those are new pictures! I HAD to find SOME way to put that picture of Baby D on the blog! :-D And that picture of Adam wearing the cat has gotten some of the best reactions!

    We started him in the bed simply because I was sooooo tired after the hospital stuff, I just really needed some sleep. But we were all cramming onto our double bed, which proved to particularly problematic for my 6'2" husband! And the bed is part of a bedroom set that's been in the family for at least four generations, so we're kind of stuck with it. It's definitely better peace of mind for me, not having to worry about people falling off the bed on either side!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wish I was clever enough to make or even use cloth diapers. Diapers are so expensive. But my hubby and I would rather just throw away the icky thing and be done with it.

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  4. He looks like such a happy little guy.

    ReplyDelete

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