It’s Valentines Day, my Dad’s Birthday, and it’s Mailbox Monday! Every Monday (if I have received a submission), I will answer reader submitted questions, and ask readers to weigh in with their opinions.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or Fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Melissa says:
Hi Maria,
I know you usually purchase your diapers but I was wondering if you have any advice for making your own cloth diaper. I am currently pregnant with my first so I am still a newby with all this. I have found several great templates with step by step directions online and they all recommend using flannel as their main material. I was wondering about using fleece for the layer that touches that baby’s skin, since that is what seems to be most popular with the name brand diapers. What is the difference between the fleece that I can purchase from the cloth store and microfleece? Is it really necessary to purchase microfleece?
Also, do you have a source for good wool soakers and longies?
Thank you so much for helping me wade through this world of cloth diapers 🙂
Melissa
You’re right that I don’t sew my own diapers! I don’t have a sewing machine and while I thought about getting one, I don’t realistically think I’d have time to spend on that right now. I think it’s awesome that you are a) going to cloth diaper your first baby (why was I such a chicken??) and b) sewing your own!
So, when I had my bright idea that I wanted to try to make my own diapers, I joined the group Sewing Diaper Divas on Cafemom. There is lots of great information there on materials, patterns and techniques, though my membership lapsed since I wasn’t active there. There are also a lot of talented WAHMs in the Cuties With Cloth Booties group on Cafemom, that can give you tips!
The benefit of fleece against baby’s skin is that it will wick moisture away from the baby’s skin into the insert or soaker of the diaper, while flannel will stay wet against the baby’s skin.
Microfleece and fleece are both polyester, but microfleece is made of smaller, and more tightly woven fibers. It is a lighter “weight” than something like Walden Mills Fleece (which can be used as the outer of night time diapers.) Generally speaking, water will pass through the microfleece more easily, and it doesn’t get as pilly over time.
What materials you use will depend on what you want to make. It’s not a bad idea to just start out with some extra, or inexpensive flannel receiving blankets, and get some practice before buying materials.
I have three wool soakers: a Little Beetle Little to Big Cover, a Kissaluvs Kissa’s Wool Lover Diaper Cover and a Mobums Wool Interlock Night Night Soaker. Wool longies/shorties/skirties are often stocked in The Cuties with Cloth Booties Congo and The Bliss Congo, both of which are stuffed full of talented WAHMs!
I don’t own any wool other than what I listed above, largely because wool is just out of my price range.
I think the readers would be better qualified to answer these questions this week! How about you all? Do you make your own diapers? Do you have a favorite place to buy wool?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
>I recently started playing around with making some diapers. I don't NEED any right now, so I'm making some newborn ones for a friend. I'm trying to perfect a pattern I just made up, and wondering if I should play around with water proof types of materials. I do have some fleece (not sure what kind it is, it was a steal at a garage sale) so maybe I'll either make some soakers or try sewing the fleece into the diaper?? @Beth–Thanks for sharing, I'd love to read your tutorial. Interesting about the regular velcro. I think that's what I've been using. Its actually hard to find 1 1/2 in my area!
>Thank you so much for the information! I can't wait to get started.
>I have made most of my own diapers too 🙂 I really the Darling Diapers free newborn pattern for babies. I used fleece as my outer(it is water resistant) and for babies, since mine even at 8.5lbs didn't weigh enough to compress her diapers, I like flannel inners until they are a little bigger. The groups Maria mentioned are terrific for helping out. Sewing Diaper Divas answered every question I threw at them! Good luck and Congrats Melissa.
>I have made almost all of my own diapers! I prefer the pocket style (my dryer is really bad, so they dry really fast on a rack) and I used flannel, and really, it seems to hold on to the stink much more then the fleece, and fleece will also keep the baby drier, and I use regular fleece instead of micro fleece. I find that it doesn't add much bulk, it's cheaper, and it will withstand MUCH more washing! And DO NOT use regular velrco, it will stop working very quickly, find Touch Tape or Aplex if you're going to velcro route. And if you're going to do snaps use plastic, they hold up better in the wash. I also use fleece liners, they are just rectangles that are cut from fleece that fit between the diaper and the baby, so when poo comes out it is trapped there, and it's easier to clean. Does that help? I'd be more then willing to answer more questions about making cloth diapers, I'm actually planning on putting up a tutorial on making them, and giving my few years of making/using experience up on my blog.