I was given a year supply of disposables as a baby gift when Kathryn was born. That one year supply ended the day Danielle was born and we went from not buying diapers, to buying diapers for two (and two different sizes). About five months later I spent $80 at Costco on two boxes of diapers which I estimated would last 5-6 weeks. I decided that was way too expensive and emailed a good friend of mine who cloth diapered. I had previously told her that was awesome, but something I would NEVER do. Now I begged her to help me figure out cloth diapering because there was no way I could afford disposables much longer.
With her help, I bought some Chinese Prefolds online, and a few covers to start. I was also interested in pocket diapers and bought some DryBees (cheaper than fuzzibunz, or happy heinys). I refused to use pins, so we snappied our prefolds.
Those first few months of cloth diapering I learned a lot. I learned that you can't leave kids in cloth as long as you can leave them in disposables, I learned that my husband avoided snappi's and prefered the pocket diapers (as long as I had pre-stuffed them), and I learned that I hated un-stuffing the pocket diapers before I washed them. I started experiementing with AIOs (all-in-ones) and had the same complaints as most people... AIOs don't absorb as much as other options, or they take forever to dry. After trying several different types of diapers, I finally decided that the diaper I wanted didn't exist... and if it did, it would cost way too much... unless I made it myself.
So... I bought some diaper fabric and started sewing. I created my own pattern, but I can't completely claim the design because it's a combination of a lot of the diapers I tried (and some I just saw online). For my diapers, I use PUL (polyurethane laminate) for the outer, waterproof layer, Suedecloth for the inner, wicking layer (so baby feels drier), and bamboo fleece as the middle absorbent layer. I also use Aplix fasteners because I prefer the velcro-like closures (and Aplix is much stronger). Here's a pic of all the materials (I've already cut everything).
On the left is the PUL (this one is Sage green), with the Aplix pieces and size tag on top of it. In the middle is the bamboo fleece and on the right is the suedecloth, one piece to cover the diaper inner, and one piece to cover the bamboo flap that I make. I also use Lastin clear elastic (not pictured), just because I think it cleans better than some, and I think it's pretty easy to work with.
This picture shows the diapers all put together with the flaps opened. Each flap is two layers of bamboo fleece, so when they're folded up there's 4-6 layers of absorbent material, but when put in the wash there's only two layers at a time to clean and dry. From left to right they are extra small, small and medium. I don't put a front flap in the extra small because young infants don't pee that much. Here you can also see the velcro closures folded back on the "laundry tabs" so they don't stick to each other in the wash.
This picture shows the same diapers with the flaps closed. On the top flap is a layer of suedecloth to help little ones feel drier. On the diapers with the front flap I have the option of folding this layer of suedecloth in first and putting the other flap on top. This can help toddlers feel when they wet, and ideally help potty-learn earlier.
Here's all the diapers folded up. And below are two pics of my kids wearing the diapers. I prefer lower-rise than some, so I made my diapers that way on purpose... a lot of cloth diapers have a higher rise and sit closer to the belly button. The white diaper is a small and worn by my 2 1/2 year old (who normally wears mediums now) and the blue diaper is a medium worn by my 3 1/2 year old. I tried to get a couple of pics of my then 9 month old in extra smalls and smalls, but she wouldn't hold still long enough... go figure. *Note: my 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old are pretty much potty trained now, I just put these diapers on them so you all could see them. :)
My extra smalls fit my baby starting at about 6 weeks, and they still fit mostly, but she's a heavy wetter and the smalls are better suited for her now. The smalls started fitting when she was about 6 months and still almost fit my 2 1/2 year old. The mediums fit from about 18 months until 3 1/2 years.
***Special Note: My children are very tiny and have very tiny bums... When I was using prorap covers the medium covers were too big on my then 2 year old, unless I was using two premium prefolds.
Feel free to ask me any questions. I have several resources I can share if you need... I just don't have time to post everything right now, so it'd be easier if y'all just let me know what you want. :)
