Friday, August 10, 2012

DIY Cloth Diaper Inserts - Part II (Microfiber!)

UPDATE: See Cloth Diaper Follow-Up for a recent review!
In the above link you'll find my very first post about cloth diaper inserts. In general it revolved around gDiapers however they can be used for any diapers as long you make them to fit. This tutorial is specifically for microfiber inserts. It's very simple so don't worry :)

What you will need:

~Dimensions of the inserts for your diaper
In my case, I have mostly Alva brand. Check with your favorite brands for insert dimensions before you get started.  

Alva (regular) - 12.99" x 5.32"
Alva (newborn) - 12.60" x 4.33"

~Microfiber towels 
The ones I used for the newborn inserts are 14x14 (pictured in white or blue)
For the regular size inserts I used towels measuring 14x17 (pictured in yellow)

~Sewing machine or serger

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There truly is no cutting involved in my case here unless you're looking for exact dimensions and rounded corners. All you need to do is tri-fold your microfiber towels evenly, pin (which I really didn't do) and zig-zag stitch all the way around. 

You can see my yellow towels were already creased for me. I folded in thirds along the longest part that way the inserts are 14 inches long and about 5.5 inches wide.
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The newborn inserts end up being 14 inches long and about 4.5 inches wide.
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Here is an Alva newborn microfiber insert next to my "newborn" microfiber insert. Slightly longer but that's ok. They are the same thickness and it should work just as well.
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FYI: 
If you have colorful microfiber towels like I do, be mindful that they may shine their colors through your white or lighter colored diapers. I still need to make many many more regular size inserts but it will be a while til our son fits those so I'm not yet worried about hunting down white towels. 

To prep: Wash once in hot water with detergent (I'm using All Free & Clear as my CD safe detergent for now). Dry on low heat. NO FABRIC SOFTENERS! 

So there you have it! You now have easy microfiber inserts for your pocket diapers

Microfiber is not recommended for use against baby's skin. It's not a very pleasant feeling material and many people say it causes rashes and other issues with their babies. If you have diapers where the inserts are not put in a pocket but instead lay against baby's skin, refer to my Part I post about adding fleece or flannel as outer layers.

~Lisa~




8 comments:

  1. Is your fabric cotton or poly? The microfiber towels I have found are all poly... do they absorb the moisture??

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  2. They are a cotton/poly blend I believe. I use them as doublers in my diapers because it turns out I have a very heavy wetter. They work great at night on top of my charcoal bamboo inserts!

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  3. Where do you find your microfiber towels? I can't afford to spend a lot but would love to make inserts for my babe at night time.

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    1. You can buy them at Walmart in the automotive section, or even at Dollar General. The yellow ones pictured here are the ones from Walmart (they were in a pack with yellow and green I believe) and the blue and white ones my mom gave me... she purchased them from Dollar General. Hope that helps!

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  4. I searched Wal-Mart couldn't find them at all. Anywhere else maybe in bulk? Im planning to cover with fleece for use with covers

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    1. I know they sell them at Target but when I price checked Wal_mart did have the best prices in terms of purchasing locally. A friend of mine used terry cloth in hers sandwiched betweent eh fleece which may be more readily available in the housewares/kitchen linens section. You can also purchase from Amazon. Just keep in mine the dimensions of the cloths based on whatever size inserts you want to make (I used 14x14 and 14x17). You can cut and piece them together if you get smaller but it's easiest to get the bigger size to begin with if possible imo :) Here's an Amazon search http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_sabc?url=search-alias%3Daps&pageMinusResults=1&suo=1382195332282#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=microfiber%20cloth&sprefix=microfiber%2Caps%2C241&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amicrofiber%20cloth

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  5. This may be a dumb question, but do you think I could make bamboo inserts with the bamboo cleaning cloths the same way?

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  6. I just got 36 microfiber towels for $ 14 on Amazon.com and 2 yards of fleece to put against baby's skin for 50 cents a yard!

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