Cloth Nappy Making #3

This is a thread for those who sew their own nappies to discuss techniques and materials and share hints and tips.


Your moderating/admin team for this forum are:

Astrolady - astrolady@bellybelly.com.au
Sammi-j - raven@bellybelly.com.au
Tanya - tanminotti@bellybelly.com.au

For basic cloth nappy information, please checkout the Cloth Nappy Information sticky.

Previous thread HERE

Haha with your new thread let's change the topic ploy! Point taken.

So how many ppl are in this thread making naps? Just to think that 4 months ago no one was (I think?)...

I can't keep up with you girls!!!

I intend on making nappies, I first have to make myself a bikini that covers my bum as I figured out my other 6 do not do the job! I went into Spotlight and it doesn't look promising for fabrics for the nappies there, looks like ebay will be the shopping port of call....

I make my own nappies.

Its moving into the wrong season for nappy supplies in SL. I like their little additions microfleece, some of the polar fleece & also I like the cotton rich fleece. But its all going out of season so they are not reording winter stock (as far as I can tell). I have laybyed a heap of cotton rich material (9 meters) because I got it really cheap because it has moved to teh clearence rack. Just waiting for the microfleece to get a bit cheaper & then I will pounce LOL

Ahhh ok, so I should keep my eyes open then... I wanted to get hemp or whatever else is recommended for the AIO's but I could only remember hemp when I walked in there and that was a no go :( I will def stock up on groovy micro fleece then :)

They don't sell hemp or bamboo there unfortunatley. There are heaps of flannelettes though and fleece this time of year. If you want to buy PUL the online stores sell it. Look up bubbaearth or nappiescovered. They've got everything so it's probably more cost effective to get enough to make a few from the one store so you save money on postage. Last time I looked bubbaearth had flat rate postage ;)

Cat rofl I wasn't changing the topic by starting a new thread ;) It just happened to be that time...again!

Sarah - Just beware the white 'nappy flannel' at Spotters as it's super stretchy and that's not good for patterns! Not mine anyway!

CAT i finally made a wool cover tonight from the blanket you gave me!!! man that FOE is hard to sew with, i think i'll leave the wool covers to the experts!!

I bought micro fleece and double sided terry toweling the other day and I was going to get PUL and then forgot what it was :rolleyes: I should be able to make an AIO with the PUL and micro and terry shouldn't I? Somehow I think I am in over my head...

You wont find PUL in SL. Thats another one of those Online things only.

Hey ladies!

I have just dug out my sewing machine and decided i am going to make some nappies. Just a couple of pockets, as that is the type I find the easiest to use at the moment.
I am going to order some PUL today! BUT just wondering, for those of you who have made their own MCN already, what did you use as the inside lining (as in the bit that touches babys bum)?
The pockets that I bought and have been given are fleece on the inside. So, could I just go to Spotlight and get normal polar fleece? They still have some, but not much as its going out of season. I've got a whole lot of Sherpa Polar Fleece at home which I bought for something else a while ago and never used. Its very soft. Anyone know if this would be appropriate or is it the wrong type of polar fleece??

If you go to Spotlight look for the "little Additions" range of Microfleece. Thats what I have found to be the nicest to use in the range of microfleece/polar fleece at Spotlight.
There is also a Polar Microfleece at spotlight but I found my sewing machine liked to drop stitches with that so I avoid it now. Its not the right season for fleece etc at SL so you might not have much selection.

Thanks.
What is microfleece?
Is it just like polar fleece but softer?
So my sherpa polar fleece is not the right stuff?

Microfleece is thinner so less bulk in your nappy. You can use polar fleece, it will just make your nappy a bit more bulky.
Sherpa Polar fleece?? Not sure what that is.. Is it from SL? Its not that Cotton Rich fleece that looks a bit like Sherpa is it? If its just polar fleece (100% polyester) you can still use it for your nappies. If its the cotton rich stuff which is 80% cotton it will be absorbant but not repel the water. I use the cotton rich on fitted nappies, its nice.

Any of the Polar fleece's at SL can be used for MCN, if you do 2 layers of it (or just a second layer in the wet zone to help keep the bulk down) it will give you a fairly good barrier as long as you boost it well. I made up a heap of pocket nappies like this when I was first starting with making nappies. But I like fitted nappies teamed with some woolies now so I use Microfleece for my inner(next to bub) then some nice pattern or cotton rich or flannel material as my outter & then what ever I happen to have as my absorbant material in the middle. So I have a 3rd layer with a long rectangle of absorbant layers sew on to that then my inner & outter layers. Add my snaps & im done!
there are lots of pics on my blog if you wanna see.

FJ, thanks! yeah the sherpa polar fleece came from Spotlight. It looks and feels just like thin polar fleece and is the type that is fluffy on both sides. Its probably the same thickness as the fleece in my pocket nappies and is much thinner than some of the other polar fleece that SL sells, so maybe what I have is more like Microfleece than Polar Fleece. Its 100% polyester, so I guess that it would be ok then? Its just that I still had the docket in the bag and it says "sherpa polar fleece" and I wasnt sure if it was the same thing, but I suppose it is. Thanks for your help on that.
What does the cotton rich one look like?
Is it just like regular polar fleece, but cotton instead of poly?
Can you use flannel as the inner?
I have stacks of flannel and want to use it for something useful, lol.

Your nappies look great! You're so clever. The dress you made Isla looks so pretty too.
Did you get your snaps from SL?
I asked them the other day and they only had the tiny press stud type, and it didnt look like it would work very well on nappies because it was tiny..
Did you make your own pattern or copy another type of nappy?

omg Sorry for so many questions :)

The Cotton Rich is sort of like a low pile on one side & knitt on the other, the nappy on my blog thats orange with black snaps, the one I stuffed up the snaps on is cotton rich. Its not really the same as the polar.
If the sherpa feels thinner then I was use two layers.
I would use your flannel to make fitted nappies, use it as your outter layers. You could use it for your inners but then bub would feel wet & would have to use a liner to get that dry feeling. But you could also use your Flannel as your 3rd middle layer & even make boosters out of it. I found that Isla does ok with flannel boosters if its teamed with Microfibre.

The Snaps I get from "Snaps Austraila" you need a snap press to put them on. Snaps australia supplies all of this, its not cheap to buy the press though.
Where in Sydney are you? You could always supply our snaps & have your nappies snapped for you (I'd be happy to do this for you, Im in the Hawkesbury but moving up the mountine but I am sure we could work something out if your not that far away.) I know the thing your talking about in SL, that would be better suited to thinner materials I would say.

I orginally had a free nappy pattern I found on the net but over the months I have made up my own to suit Isla better. I have found what works for her & what doesn't. I still change it around almost every other nappy I make. I also have a pattern for Covers (basically the same as my nappy pattern but larger & wider) and I am working on a newborn size atm. But I haven't got a newborn to try out the size on so I have not idea if that is going to fit lol. There are a few pg girls on BB who will probably get one to let me know how the size is.

Ask away I don't mind :)

The cotton rich one sounds like tracksuit pants fabric...? I have some of that too, which I used to make a pair of pants in school for one of my sewing projects. I just got out my fabrics box and I cant believe how much stuff I have.
Yep, those are the snaps from SL. The tiny ones that probably wouldnt go through fleece. I might check out snaps australia. I'm in northern-ish sydney, near Ryde. I looked on bubbaearth but I dont really like the look of their snaps.

If I use flannel as the inner, will it give her a bum rash?

thanks for all your help :)

Ah ok, well maybe one day we could organise a meet up & I can bring my press.
If you used flannel inside its hard to say how she would react to being wet. You can only try.
Its abit like the tracksuit material but where the knitt side on trakkies in the outside(right side) its the wrong side with the cotton rich. and the fluffy side isn't as fluffy fluffy as trakkie material.

okay folks I'm just doing a spot of market research for a friend. Who would be interested in shaped snaps and /or engraved/embossed snaps to use on their nappies if they were available?
With the shaped snaps it would involve buying another die but the one die would fit all the shapes in the collection it is just that the diameter of the cap is a little bigger than the Kam ones so the shape lookas in proportion IYGWIM.

these snaps would be coming from a company that does all the snaps for Nike and Nautica, Adiddas etc and is compatible with all KAM presses so they are great quality polyacetal resin snaps. The price is also comparable with the KAM snaps.


Just interested in peoples thoughts

Karina I have plenty of nappies with a flanelette inner and never have a rash problem. If you're concernend about the wet you can just use a rectangular piece of microfleece as a liner.
There are so many gorgeous flanelette patterns! Much more exciting than microfleece on it's own ;)

Mel, I would use shaped snaps if available. Sounds very cute!

Mel, those snaps sound very cute! It would be a nice touch for the nappies.

FionaJill, thanks so much for your help. Sorry another question: for the fleece, do I ideally use something that repels or absorbs liquids? The fleece I have seems to just soak it straight up, but the fleece on my bought nappies doesnt.. the water sort of just rolls off, if that makes sense. ?

LOL I think I might just make something else with the fleece I have and get some proper stuff from spotlight.

Sammi, thanks! I have lots of pretty flannelette and I really want to use it for something! Maybe I could use it for the outer so it actually get seen and use the more boring flannelette for the inner! I've got stars and moons, animal prints, some freaky psychadelic pattern with swirls and plenty more other plain boring ones LOL. If I see something nice, I usually buy it. If I'm going to spotlight today and I'll really need some self control so I dont get too much !

Anything that is 100% polyester will keep bub feeling dry. When you test your fleece are you just wetting it with nothing under it? The idea is the liquid will go through it & into the absorbant layers but the wet feeling wont pass back through to bubs skin.
The fleece on your bought nappies might be a better quality fleece then what we can get at SL. Also there might be a build up of washing detergent on them which will repel the water also. You may like to try a strip wash but using a small drop if "Dawn" dishwashing liquid in a HOT wash & then rinse twice. Thats how I do it anyway.

Try putting two layers of your SL fleece over the top of a booster then wet it if you push down on it you should find your hand will stay reasonably dry but the thing with SL fleece is its prone to compression leaks so if you haven't got your nappy boosted well then you may still find you will get leaks when bub is sitting for long times like in the car/pram etc.
When I was using pockets from SL fleece I found they worked well if I boosted with either a hemp or flannel teamed with microfibre. The microfibre will draw the wee away quickly then the hemp or flannel will absorb what gets squished out of the microfibre as its not good at holding on to the wee if its squished. KWIM??

Ahhh thnks for that FionaJill. I get it now! I did wet it with my hemp insert underneath it and then PUL underneath that. With the SL fleece it soaked straight in and the fleece didnt feel very wet, but the insert was wet... so it sounds like the same as what you are explaining. The SL fleece definately has an issue with compression leaks, but my inserts and boosters should take care of that.

Can you do a strip wash in cold water? We only have cold in the laundry. I suppose I could wash it in the bathroom sink with the hot water there, and just swish it around.

I've ordered some PUL from bubbaearth. I got the red and white one.
Would you be able to use PUL as a hidden layer, and have a prettier fabric on the outside??

Yep for sure but i avoid cotton fabrics on the outside of the PUL cuz I worry that it would just make the moisture wick through the PUL but I could be wrong. If you use a polyester print you wont have that worry.

Na pretty sure you need to use hot water, could you fill a bucket of hot water to put in your machine?

Yay! I have some gorgeous brightly coloured polyester prints I might use for the outers. I have a pile of white PUL on the way so might use it over that. Cant think of anything else to use them for!
Is there something you can use in place of PUL?
Or is PUL the best stuff to use for the outer?
I know you can use fleece, but is it a special sort of fleece, like a very thick fleece, or just regular fleece?

Oh what a good idea (bucket of hot water in my machine) I didnt even think of that. Might get DH to do that for me. I'll probably fall over carrying it down the stairs to the laundry. I wish we had hot water in there already. Would make things easier, but its a stupid old-fashioned share-laundry.

I'm off to Spotlight once Claire wakes up from her nap. I'm going to get some more fleece before they take it away. It was on special the other day!

Should I wash all my fabrics before I start sewing, for shrinkage reasons?

You should wash your fabric first, I don;t think it matters with fleece but I don't LOL

If you have PUL I was use that but if you want to make a few with out it just use 2 layers of your SL fleece but the PUL would be better.
The other Fleece you can use is the Malden Mills Fleece but thats one you have to get online. I have some here that I am making covers from.
Wish I had the car to go to SL, I have a layby of 9 metres of cotton rich I want to get out!

I think I might just use up the PUL, because I know it works, wheres my SL fleece is probably a little dodgy.

LOL FJ, DH took car to work today so I'm catching the bus to SL! I need to get out of the house anyway, and SL is only about 10-15 mins on the bus. What Spotlight do you go to?

I usually go to the little one at Mt Druitt. Penrith is bigger but I hate going in there. The staff are so slow it usually takes about 1/2 an hour to be served.

I'd prewash the fleece separatley to be sure the colour doesn't run in the wash and to get rid of any residual chemicals from manufacturing.

Woohoo my fleece was almost dry as soon as I took it out of the machine. Didnt think it would dry so quickly! Cant wait for my PUL to arrive. I hope its not too long. I so have no life getting all excited over PUL.

Didnt end up going to spotlight today. Its like 36 degree outside and I wasnt too keen on getting on the bus in that heat!

Whats the Mt Druitt Spotlight like, FionaJill? I go to the one at Birkinhead Point. It has lots of stuff but it annoys me because they are also slow there, half of them dont seem to know much about the products, and its too crowded and I'm not a crowds person.

Mt druitt is much smaller then any I have been in but you also get served faster & the girls do actually seem to know a bit about their products, or can at least tell you were something is located if you can't find it. I often find they have more in stock because its not as busy a store as Penrith or Blacktown.

Don't blame you for not going out today

Are there any cheap-ish snap tools out there? The one I saw on Snaps Australia looks a bit exxy (i'm such a cheapo!) and it looks big? I've no idea where I'd put it. Anyone know if there are hand-held tools out there, which would work for applying snaps? Particularly the plasticky/resin type snaps, rather than the metal ones.

I don't think there is any tool that put on the plastic ones other then the press.
Its not as big a sit looks, I just put mine on the table with the sewing machine. It is probably just as tall as the sewing machine & maybe less then half as wide. But its heavy, very heavy.
Its well worth having one because you can snap more then nappies. You can put them on everything. You can also get a smaller die set to put the smaller snaps on clothes etc. I am going to get this the next time I order some more snaps. That way I can put them on the dresses I make Isla.

I think the economics of the snap machine will work out cheaper than using the snaps from SL in the long run. I did work it out a long time ago but can't remember right now.

FJ did you figure it out before you decided to get yours? I think it's break even at around 20 nappies made but I'll have to try and find my working out before I can be sure of that.

oh ok thanks FionaJill. The snp press looks really huge to me but its good to know its not as big as I had imagined it. Hard to tell how large it is when there is nothing else in the picture to compare the size to!

Sammi, yeah the metal snaps from SL seem like such a rip off compared to the ones from Snaps Australia.

I think I m going to use velcro/hook&loop stuff for the time being.

Can you tell im pg.....I just forget were IM at
I dont make nappies...its takes a brain to make them which I so dont have, I make fleecie covers and am trying to get my act into gear and make prefold. I have 4 100L boxes full of polar and micro fleece sitting here crying that it wants to be used.

WOw thats a lot of fleece Maz!

I just finished making my first pocket napppy. It didnt go so well on the elastic bit around the legs, but I now I know how NOT to to do that part, so hopefully I cant get it better next time!

Karina - practise makes perfect mate. You should have seen my first covers...OMG they were hidious.
I made 4 orders in a matter of a week and a half from Snaps Australia...I kept forgetting to order certain colours, then the wrong parts turned up..ahhh Jed bought me one of those huge tool box things with smaller compartments in it for them all. SOme much easier especially when you order 500 at a time

LOL Maz, my first nappy looks pretty bad, plus its too big as well! I think it might be one of those ones I'll only use in an "emergency". I have since made a second one and it turned out much better. Claire actually wore it today for a few hours and it did quite well with the wee and poo containment, although she was sleeping for half the time she wore it. Not sure how its going to go when she is moving about more. Only time will tell! I used white PUL and thought it looked way too boring, so I drew pictures on it to make it prettier!