Cloth Diapering

For many reasons, Eric & I have decided to use cloth diapers for our children:

1. I don't feel comfortable with the idea of adding a ton per child (yes, a TON) of diapers to landfills.
2. Cloth diapers will save us money - we'll be spending about $500 on cloth as opposed to $1500+ on disposable.
3. Cloth diapers are SO soft and cute!
4. We'll have to find out for ourselves, but I've read that children who are cloth-diapered are easier to potty train.

In addition to this exciting decision, I've determined that I'd like to try to actually make some cloth diapers. This will save even MORE money, which is very cool. So, I bought some supplies at Hobby Lobby to get started. Here's what I have:

PUL - Polyurethane Laminate fabric (1 yard)     $14.99/yd - 40% off coupon = $8.99
Flannel (1 yard)                                                                                          $5.99

100% Polyester sewing thread                                                                         $2.97
Elastic (1/4" width)                                                                                          $1.29
Roto Punch (from Wal-mart)                                                                             $9.99

                                                                                               TOTAL               $29.23 before tax

I've estimated that these supplies will make 4 diapers so my price per diaper sewn comes to about $7.30 per diaper for the first 4 and after that, just $4.81 per diaper (since the Roto Punch is a one-time purchase). And, of course, depending on the deals I get with coupons, the price could actually be lower for future diapers! :) I will need to figure in the cost for making the inserts, but I think I'll be spending well under $500 by making these diapers myself.

Before getting started, I watched a plethora of YouTube videos on how to sew cloth diapers. My favorite one is this one. I really like the pattern she used, but I didn't want to pay for the pattern, so I found a site that lists cloth diaper dimensions and created my own pattern!

Today, I sewed my first cloth diaper - a One Size Fits Most with snaps. A small pack of metal snaps came with our Roto Punch and I found that they're too industrial for the fabric - they're very difficult to unsnap and will probably tear the fabric. So, I'm going to pick up a pack of plastic ones and replace them when I have some time later this week.

Cute little owls!

The inside of the diaper

Hidden opening for inserts

The crotch is adjusted to a smaller size here.

Also, the elastic didn't do as well as I wanted it too, so I'm going to use a looser zig-zag stitch next time. I think the one I used keeps the elastic from gathering well. But, I'm very proud of my first try at it and I feel like the more I make, the easier it will be. :)