Serged vs. Turned & Top-Stitched Fitted Diapers

Serged or turned and top-stitched (T & T) fitted diapers? Have you ever wondered which one is better? If you’ve been cloth diapering for a long time, and have tried many different styles of diapers, you can probably come up with a fairly long list of pros and cons for each type of diaper. Below is what I came up with.

SERGED FITTED DIAPERS

Pros:

• Serged diapers always seem stretchier to me than T & T ones (assuming they’re made from the same type of fabric).
• Serged diapers are faster to make, unless you’re having trouble with your serger or have no idea how to use one.
• I find that the elastics in my serged diapers are gentler than those in T & T ones.
• Fabric in the leg area dries faster than in a T & T diaper because you usually have only 2-3 layers of fabric instead of 4-6 like in a T & T fitted diaper.

Cons:

• The serging doesn’t look as neat as top-stitching.
• The thread used to serge with can be irritating to some babies. I find that woolly nylon is the gentlest thread.
• The ruffles can make the diaper look bigger than it really is.

T & T FITTED DIAPERS

Pros:

• T & T diapers look neat (assuming they’re good quality).
• Might be better if your little one has eczema high on his/her thighs.
• Some of the most creative/artistic cloth diapers that I’ve seen were T & T diapers.

Cons:

• I find that the fabric in the leg area wears out faster than in serged diapers. The diaper shown in the second picture above has been washed less than 20 times and is already showing a lot of fading in the elastic area (not as clear in the picture). Also, the fabric is getting a little bit thin there, so I expect that some holes will be forming there soon.
• The fabric in the leg area takes longer to dry than in serged diapers because of the extra layers.

If you’ve tried both types of diapers, which one do you prefer and why?

Tags:  cloth diapers · Northern Baby diapers · serged diapers · T & T diapers · turned and top-stitched diapers