Affiliates Cloth Diapers Flat Diapers Flats Review

Diaper Rite Large Unbleached Flats (Flat Cloth Diapers)

diaper rite large unbleached flats 1

Although I enjoy pocket diapers and other modern diapers, I love knowing that I can cloth diaper really affordably, and even with things I have around the house. We have well water so a power outage means no well pump, no water and not even hand washing is possible. Things like receiving blankets and kitchen towels can be used as diapers in a pinch, and when you’re doing it by choice (rather than out of necessity) there can be something a little fun and relaxing about folding flats!

diaper rite large unbleached flats 2

Diaper Rite is sold by Diaper Junction, and offers quality, affordable cloth diapering products. (You can see my Diaper Rite pocket diaper review.)

diaper rite large unbleached flats 3

I picked up a dozen Diaper Rite unbleached Birdseye cotton flats in the large size (about 32″ x 32″ pre-washing) for $22. They are also available in a small size (27″ x 27″ pre-washing) which would be fine for pad folding or for smaller babies, priced at $17.50/dozen. Both sizes are also available in white.

Naturally, cotton shrinks quite a bit in the wash.

Pre-washing:

diaper rite large unbleached flats 4 pre prep diaper rite large unbleached flats 5 pre prep

Post-washing/drying:

diaper rite large unbleached flats 6 post prep diaper rite large unbleached flats 7 post prep 2

Even after shrinking, the large was large enough to snappi on my 2 yr 10 month old son, who is around 29ish pounds.

diaper rite large unbleached flats 8 on 29 lb almost 3 yr old

When you look at these next pictures, you will probably say “but Maria, you didn’t…and it isn’t…and it wasn’t…” You’re probably right. I didn’t and it isn’t and it wasn’t. But that’s the beauty of flats. You can fold them any way you want, totally customizing where you put the most layers, and they are very forgiving. I know some people have amazing flat folding demos where all the folds are crisp and the corners are sharp. Mine were done with an audience and were done very quickly, as they are in “real life!”

This is my sloppy version of the Diaper Bag Fold:

Fold each side to the middle

diaper rite large unbleached flats 9 diaper bag diaper rite large unbleached flats 10 each side to middle

Fold the bottom up (this is a great time to adjust the “rise” of the completed diaper, and put the absorbency where you want it. Then you’ll trifold and fan the back out, then fold the “waist” down.

diaper rite large unbleached flats 11 bottom up good time to adjust rise and add absorbency in front diaper rite large unbleached flats 12 trifold and fan diaper rite large unbleached flats 13 back down

Then fold the front up and wrap around baby!

diaper rite large unbleached flats 14 front up diaper rite large unbleached flats 15 close

When I was doing this one, my husband said “what’s this wacky diaper origami?” I said “yeah, it’s pretty much diaper origami!”

Again, flats are very forgiving! Nothing terrible will happen if it’s not exactly square or even. Fold in half, then in half again, so the flat is folded into quarters.

diaper rite large unbleached flats 16 origami diaper rite large unbleached flats 17 half
diaper rite large unbleached flats 18 quarters

Grab the bottom corner and pull it up to the top to form a triangle.

diaper rite large unbleached flats 19 grab corner diaper rite large unbleached flats 20 make triangle
diaper rite large unbleached flats 21 triangle

Then flip the whole thing over

diaper rite large unbleached flats 22 flip over

And fold the rectangular portion to the middle.

diaper rite large unbleached flats 23 fold diaper rite large unbleached flats 24 fold 2
diaper rite large unbleached flats 25 fold 3

Tuck the legs in and pull up over baby.

diaper rite large unbleached flats 26 fold up diaper rite large unbleached flats 27 tuck legs

Wrap the wings around baby and cover. You can secure with pins or a snappi first!

diaper rite large unbleached flats 28 fold wing diaper rite large unbleached flats 29 fold wing 2
diaper rite large unbleached flats 30 snappi and cover

Flats are just a single layer of fabric, but you can get 8-12 layers in the wet zone depending on how you fold. You can pad fold (basically just quartering and trifolding) another flat to use under for extra absorbency, fold two up together, or combine with an insert or whatever you like!

diaper rite large unbleached flats 31 on almost 4 month old diaper rite large unbleached flats 32 under a cover

The large size fits just fine even on my not-quite-4-month-old.

Have you used flats? I know many of you participated in the flats challenge last year. What was your favorite fold? What brand did you like best?

FTC compliance: Although I paid normal retail prices for the pictured items, this post contains affiliate links. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.


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Maria
Maria is an aspiring "fit mom" of 3 children, writing about cloth diapers, going green, and her life as a single mom. Maria works with many companies within the cloth diaper industry and beyond, providing social media management, product development, and other services.
9 Comments
  • March 15, 2015 at 11:14 pm
    Reply

    […] (Diaper Rite Unbleached Flats) When you look at these next pictures, you will probably say “but Maria, you didn’t…and it isn’t…and it wasn’t…” You’re probably right. I didn’t and it isn’t and it wasn’t. But that’s the beauty of flats. You can fold them any way you want, totally customizing where you put the most layers, and they are very forgiving. I know some people have amazing flat folding demos where all the folds are crisp and the corners are sharp. Mine were done with an audience and were done very quickly, as they are in “real life!” read more […]

  • May 16, 2014 at 3:25 pm
    Reply

    […] okay, too.  There are ways to save money through buying used cloth diapers.  You can try using flats, flour sack towels, or prefolds with covers.  And there are even organizations out there that can […]

  • May 3, 2012 at 10:59 pm
    Reply

    […] you may already know, I signed up for the flats challenge and I needed more flats. I’d never used a flour sack towel as a flat cloth diaper, and wondered how they compared to […]

  • May 1, 2012 at 10:22 am
    Reply

    […] birdseye inserts absorbed very well, and I’ve used the cover over flats also. It will definitely be the first cover I grab during the flats […]

  • April 25, 2012 at 10:22 am
    Reply

    […] I’ll be writing more about my thought process as I imagined doing this out of necessity, and I’ll also be posting about the hemp babies flats and flour sack towels I bought, as well as comparing them to the Diaper Rite flats I’ve already posted about. […]

  • April 5, 2012 at 1:22 pm
    Reply

    I participated in the flats and handwashing challenge last year. I think I would have done better with the Diaper rite large unbleached flats than the ones I used. I used 6 osocozy unbleached flats and 6 osocozy bleached flats. I found they were smaller than I liked for many of the folds with my daughter and often had to stack two together just to get the absorbency I wanted {and she was not a heavy wetter at the time}. I used the pad fold then, but since she was {just} really starting on solids, she had the breastmilk poop at that time. Yeah, not so much fun. Now the pad fold with those flats is wonderful since she’s now on solid foods.

  • Karolyn Mac
    April 5, 2012 at 12:14 pm
    Reply

    I have a sister who is 8 years younger and I can totally remember using flats on her. My parents used them as the last diaper over the two prefolds for night time. Two prefolds, a flat, and then those fabulous plastic pants! *laughs*

  • April 5, 2012 at 12:09 pm
    Reply

    My friend would pre-fold them all like this and stack them up ready to go.

    I use flats but I usually just fold them into a pad with more layers at the front (for trimness in the butt and front-absorbency for boys) and stack them up with my prefolds to pop into the covers. They are so versatile!

  • April 5, 2012 at 11:49 am
    Reply

    Oh my that looks like a lot of work. I love cloth with aios velcro or button. Hats off to the ladies that can successful do this every dipe change.

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