Diapering

Ever since Little Miss was born, I've been vaguely intrigued by the idea of cloth diapers. I looked into it, but the only research I did took me to the expensive all-in-one type diapers and I was scared of the startup cost (which still would have been less than all I've spent on disposables for my kids, but I digress...). After Little Man was born, I started researching more thoroughly, and found several sites devoted to frugal cloth diapering and how to make your own...so that's what I did. My first ones were rough and I'm still figuring out exactly what works for us, but they are SO fun to sew! I am now to the point, though, that I am able to use them consistently, and discovered the need for some accessories!

As I started to use them more often out in public, I decided I needed a wetbag to carry with me. I mentioned this in a previous post, though never posted pictures. I made another to try to better my technique with zippers, and still failed miserably. I think the 2nd actually turned out worse than the first. But, they are still functional.  They just don't look as pretty as they could.

The bag on the right was my first, and the polka dots were my second. I didn't get a close up of my zipper issues, but I have since found a tutorial that puts the zipper in differently, so I'm hopeful for my next one!
Once using my cloth diapers more regularly, I also figured out that my diaper pail (a small trash can) was not working, as it was 1) too small, and 2) taking up too much space in my itty-bitty bathroom. I had a large piece of the PUL fabric left over from making my smaller wetbags, so I decided to try my hand at a large hanging one.

I used more of the same polka dot fabric (just a basic cotton) and the bag is lined with PUL for waterproofing. The handle snaps closed so I can hang it over a towel rod, or I can just drape the loop over the door handle, pictured below.

It takes up so much less room and is so much more useful than my old pail! The bag holds about 2-3 days worth of diapers, which is about as long as I would want to go between washing anyway. And it's so easy to just throw the bag in with the diapers to keep it clean!  The only problem is, I only have one...so I just bought more PUL to make another for when this one is in the wash :) I also want to make a large zippered one to use when the family goes swimming. My small ones are perfect to stick wet swimsuits in, but are not big enough to hold the wet towels as well, so I want a bigger one :)

The other awesome thing I've learned in the process of cloth diapering is how amazing wool is. When I started using cloth with Little Man, he did get fewer rashes, and the ones he did get were easier to solve. But by far, he gets the least irritation when he wears an all-cotton diaper with a wool cover, because that combination is so breathable. Wool, especially when lanolized, is very water resistant, and can absorb quite a bit of moisture before it soaks through. Plus they're cute! Here's my most recent pair of crocheted shorties on my shy little model:

I love how cute they are, and so fun to make. I only wish I could crochet faster so he had more to wear!