Cloth Diaper Options

I just started 2 weeks ago making cloth fitted diapers for my nieces baby, not only are they fun to make in cute patterns, they are also very earth friendly, they help save our landfills from filling up and most moms are able to use them for several babys before they need to be tossed away.. And lower in cost over time than using disposable diapers, my niece will save over $4,000 dollars using cloth versus disposable, a nice little nest egg put away for my nephew. I started making the fitted diapers for her and researched more about what fabrics are best to use and what kinds you can make. You can do a search and find a lot of great info on how to get started on your own batch and several groups you can join with members that sew there own diapers. There are also sites that offer free patterns to get you started so you can save money out of pocket and decide which pattern/diaper you like best before investing money in that. Here's the kind of diapers you can make.

fitted diapers-all layers are sewn together including soaker pad in the middle,back and legs of diapers have elastic, and tabs can be closed either with hook and loops or snaps.

pocket diapers- sewn the same as fitted but have a pocket opening in the back of diaper to add the soaker pads, alot of moms like these as they can add more soaker pads for night time use, and they also take less time to dry as they are not bulky.

Aio-all in one diaper- sewn like the fitted diaper, but contains a layer of material that is waterproof so that no diaper cover is needed, they are the most expensive diapers to make or buy.

contoured diapers-shaped like fitted diapers but they have no snaps, velcro or elastic in the legs or back. You lay these in a cloth or waterproof cover. You can also use baby pins with these to hold the diaper closed.

You can use plastic pants to go over the cloth diapers to hold in leaks or you can make cloth covers to go over your diapers.

I used the following materials to make my nieces diapers, they came out very cute, affordable, durable and they do a great job.

* heavy terry cloth towels,flannel, fleece,microfleece, microfiber towels,sweatshirt material, blue jean material-used as soaker pads and layers for diapers.

* For tabs regular velcro works okay, but if you plan on not making a large stockpile of diapers and need to wash your current stock a lot then touch tape or aplix holds up very durable for multiple washes. You can use snaps but you need to buy a snap machine to attach those.

If you enjoy sewing but no babies in your house, there are a couple web sites that are looking for volunteers to make cloth diapers and they are given to low income families to help them out. I have been making some up and donating diapers using recycled cloth which is great that i found a new use for clothing i no longer wear and it will help others in return.

There are many ways we can all help the planet while saving money in our pocket also, we just need to be creative.