I love cloth diapers. I have been using them for a little over a year now. I tried to think about what it was that I liked about using cloth diapers - is it the environmental aspects? money saving? bragging rights? Yes, yes, and yes. But it is more than that. I just like using cloth diapers. I can't say it is fun to clean them, not that it is hard to do but really, who likes to touch things with poop on them? Anyhow, as I was thinking about it I realized that I like it for a lot of reasons, which is probably why I have stuck with it this long and don't foresee myself stopping. I like to think it gives me "Old Lady" clout.
Now that baby number three is on her way I need more diapers and covers - I started with cloth diapers when my son was 7 months old so I am lacking the smaller size. A few friends threw me a baby shower and they were able to get a group of people together to chip in for a snap press. Let me say, it is wonderful. I am able to put industrial plastic snaps on everything. It is so much fun! Last week I went to Mill End Fabrics here in Portland and was able to buy some PUL. I would have preferred white but all they had was navy blue. I decided to get a yard and give it a try. It was really easy - it took only about 45 minutes from start to finish. I used this pattern, also from my baby shower, but instead of using the velcro, I used snaps.
Now, you may be wondering why I am so into snaps. I bought a whole set of diaper covers for my son with velcro and after about seven months the velcro stopped sticking. I was, and still am, ticked off that I paid $11 each for these diaper covers that are supposed to last through "multiple children" and they haven't even lasted for one child. So, that is why I am sold on snaps. I put snaps on all of my son's covers and they work like a charm - and they don't leak, which was a concern that was brought up.
Back to the cover I made, I couldn't find fold over elastic (FOE) here at Mill End and I didn't want to drag a toddler around town looking for something that I wasn't sure I would be able to find so I settled for a 1-inch cotton swimsuit elastic that I just folded in half and sewed on as I would have done with FOE. It is soft and works fine - no wicking. I used two layers of PUL because one side is plastic and one side is polyester. I thought that having the plastic up against his skin would be uncomfortable and I didn't want to use any fabric that would absorb moisture or wick it to the outside. The PUL doesn't slide around or anything. Next time I am going to mark where I want the snaps to go before I sew on the elastic because it was difficult to get them in a straight line once the elastic was attached. Overall, I think they turned out quite well so I am excited to get some white PUL and make a whole set for the baby to use.
