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?

The problem was that I had very few fitteds that still fit my daughter.  So, I really had to get some diapers made as soon as possible since I didn’t want to switch to disposables.  Since I don’t like velcro and I’m not a huge fan of snaps, I though snappiable/pinnable diapers (as shown in the picture below) might be the best choice for me.  I decided to try the BSRB style and I think the diapers came out looking pretty good.  I don’t think I’ll make the rest of the diapers like this though.  I have something else in mind :-)

I also needed to make some wool soakers to go with the diapers.  I finally received some wool interlock and couldn’t wait to make my daughter a few stretchy soakers.  The wool interlock I have is 95% wool and 5% lycra, so there’s quite a bit of a stretch to the fabric which I really like.  I ended up making four soakers as shown in the picture below.

I must admit I like making wool soakers a lot more than diapers, especially diapers with snaps.  They’re quite a bit simpler and take a lot less time to make.  I still need to work on the pattern a little bit, but overall I’m really happy with the results.

Northern Baby Fitted Diapers (v. 2)

When my daughter was born we had a package of Pampers Swaddlers ready, and we thought we’d be using disposable diapers until she was potty trained.  We had a couple of packages of cloth diapers, but they were too big for my daughter for the first month or two.  Also, because I didn’t know anything about modern cloth diapers, I wasn’t in a hurry to use them.  I’ve heard some horror stories from my mom about cloth diapering, so I didn’t think I’d ever want to do it.  I later found out that modern diapers are not the same as what my mom used on my sister and me when we were babies.

So, we used disposable diapers for a couple of months until I couldn’t handle the rashes anymore.  My daughter was a lot more sensitive to the chemicals in disposable diapers than my friends’ babies, and there was no cream that would prevent the rashes from coming back every few days.  The constant rashes led me to do some online research.  After reading about the chemicals in disposable diapers, I decided to give cloth diapers a try.  Even though the diapers we had weren’t amazing, I kept using them.  Thanks to more online research, I found out about bumGenius diapers and just had to try one.  Thanks to the bumGenius diaper, I actually enjoyed changing my daughter – a task that I’ve always hated before.  Also, the rashes weren’t as frequent anymore which made me want to stick with cloth diapering.  So, I decided to buy 6 more bumGenius diapers.

Even though my daughter had fewer diaper rashes, she still had some from time to time.  One day while doing more online research on cloth diapers, I discovered that some babies can be sensitive to synthetic fibres.  I knew that the bumGenius pocket diapers had a synthetic lining, so I decided to look for diapers made with natural fibres.  The diapers I decided to purchase next included an AMP hemp fitted diaper, a Sugar Peas hemp fitted diaper and six unbleached Indian cotton prefolds.  I couldn’t believe how fast my daughter’s rashes went away and stayed away after I started using those diapers.

In the first couple of months, I also learned which detergents to use and which not to use with cloth diapers.  However, I still run into detergent issues many months later.  Whenever I use a different washer or want to try a new cloth diaper detergent, I’m running into some issues.  The one thing that’s never given my daughter rashes is soapnuts.  To find out more about the soapnuts I use, please visit the Superior Soapnuts website or the Eco Bebe Boutique.

Today, most of my daughter’s diapers have been made by me.  I’ve tried a lot of other diapers, but there was always something about each diaper that was bothering me.  It took me many months to perfect my diaper pattern, and since I’m a bit of a perfectionist, I’m still not 100% satisfied with it and probably never will.

I’ve never regretted switching to cloth diapers even when the poops got more stinky and detergents almost drove me insane.  To find out exactly why I’ve stuck with cloth diapering, please read one of my previous posts titled, “Things I Love About Cloth Diapers“, if you haven’t already done so.