Recently, I re-designed my bamboo fleece inserts for gDiapers.  The original inserts had two rectangular doublers of the same size attached at one end.  I found this a little too bulky for walking toddlers.

So, in order to remove some bulk and to make walking a little easier, I decided to make the second doubler a contour one.  The contour doubler can be either attached at both ends or it can be snapped in.  The snap-in version, allows for more thorough cleaning and faster drying.

The new insert is seven layers thick which should be enough for most babies.  If you have a heavy wetter, then another layer of bamboo fleece could be added.  If you have a light wetter and would prefer less bulk, the insert can be made thinner.

If you’re interested in giving this insert a try, they are available at the Doublers and Wipes Etsy shop.

Zorb(TM) is one of Wazoodle’s DiaperMaker fabrics.  According to the manufacturer, “Zorb absorbs 10x its weight in less than half a second — that’s 20x faster than cotton, bamboo or hemp. Zorb has incredible holding power too, a single layer holds up to 3 times the moisture of the best absorbing knits”.  How could that not make you want to try this new fabric?

The popularity of Zorb has been on the rise.  A lot of cloth diapering moms think it’s a solution to their night-time cloth diapering problems.  Some think it’s miracle cloth… at least until they try it.

As a lot of you know, I make Zorb doublers.  The doublers are actually made of two layers of OekoTex certified bamboo fleece and one layer of Zorb.  I think a lot of people forget about the bamboo fleece part of the doubler.  They forget that bamboo fleece itself is very absorbent (after several washes of course), that Zorb alone does not do all the hard work.

Zorb(TM) and Bamboo Fleece Doubler

Here are some pros and cons of using Zorb that I’ve experienced:

PROS:

• Quite absorbent
• Does not retain odours
• More cushy than bamboo fleece by itself
• Cheaper than bamboo, hemp and organic cotton.

CONS:

• I hate sewing with it.  I find that I’m spending more time serging Zorb doublers than bamboo fleece only doublers.  I also tend to make more mistakes when sewing with Zorb than without.
• I find the absorbency of one layer to be comparable to that of two layers of the thinner bamboo fleece.  Note that 1 layer of Zorb is approximately as thick as 2 layers of my thinner bamboo fleece.
• It’s not made of natural fibres only.  Might not bother most cloth diapering people out there, but it does bother me a little.  If you looked at my diaper stash, you’d see that most of my diapers are made of natural fibres only.

So, what do you think about Zorb?  What has been your experience with it?