Spotlight and nappy making

Hi, as I am having my third bub I have decided to make my own cloth nappies, especially with DS2 still in them and there will be plans for a 4th and that I would like to experiment with nappies that will work best on my kids. The best shopping place for sewing materials in the area is a spotlight store (Im not a fan of online shopping) and was wondering if anyone has been successful in getting all their nappy making needs from there? Any advice on what they found good and what to stay away from?

As far as I know they don't stock either PUL or bamboo fleece which are commonly used.
Even if you buy Minky, you will still need some waterproofing material, and I can't even think of a suitable replacement absorbent fabric that you can get from spotters.....sorry.

Did you have an idea of what you like in the nappies you already have?

Yeah, unfortunately you will need to order online for the bulk of your MCN needs

You could use polar fleece as an outer, but it's not as waterproof as pul. Otherwise you would just buy two covers and make loads of nappies and inserts.

I've made some using bamboo batting (used for quilting) and cut up old towels and tshirt lying around. You will need Velcro and some elastic too. The fold over elastic is my favourite but again not at all spotlight stores. You can do a seam though and thread normal elastic though.

It's really easy to make nappies, but they aren't as good as some if the store bought ones with the fancy fabrics, but you just have to change bub more often. You will save loads of money though!

I'm another who recommends online for mcn material. There are some that would stock all your needs, and sell per nappy cut as opposed to per m.

Thanks :) not keen on being less waterproof or absorbent as DS2 is a big wetter when he goes rather than lots of lil wets (which should help when he is ready to TT) so looks like online it is :)
For online, is there places that send out small samples (not actually enough to make anything) as I like to feel the fabric myself before properly ordering, plus that way I could also attach it to something DS2 is wearing for a couple hours to see how he reacts to it as he gets skin irritations and excema at the drop of a hat.

You can always ask, check out places like darlings down under etc.

I'm pretty sure that if you contacted someone like Greenbeans or Fairy Fabrics, they wouldbe happy to post you a scrap of a range of fabrics if you explain why you want it. There might be a small cost, but I'm sure it would be worth it. I've also made a bunch of my own nappy related stuff, (wet-bags, breast pads, boosters, prefolds and a few other nappies and covers) and it's definitely worth getting the fabrics from a specialist nappy shop. It isn't worth a whole lot of time, effort and money if you find that the nappy is not very absorbant and leaks, so you can use it anyway. You can always use old towels as boosters and so on, but for the main part of the absorbent fabric, I wouldn't.

Another is something like nappies covered.

The chick that runs Nappies covered is lovely. So's Fairy Fabrics.

Yeah I expect a small cost to go with it. Can't expect things for free after all :)

I can send you some little samples that I got from nappies covered. PUL, minky and bamboo fleece. All off cuts, but happy to share. Their bamboo fleece is incredibly hardy.

Snaps Australia will send you free samples if you like their facebook page. I buy all my stuff from them and love the quality :)