When I was pregnant I researched a lot of cloth diapers. I came to the conclusion that FuzziBunz Pocket Diapers were the best, and so that’s what I put on my cloth diaper registry at Diaper Junction.
I love pocket diapers. I have seven pocket dipes, and all were gifts or prizes. But hubby and I decided to go economical on this cloth diapering journey, so the majority of our diaper stash consists of Diaper Rite Prefolds. (I do not dislike my prefolds – they do a great job. I just like pockets the best).
When we started using prefolds full-time…
When we started using prefolds full-time, I quickly realized my baby had wetness sitting right next to her skin. I stopped in at Diaper Junction, and the wonderful ladies there suggested stay dry liners. I had never heard of them before…silly me, not enough research.
Stay-dry liners are fleece liners that lay inside of your baby’s prefold (or any diaper). The fleece wicks the moisture away from the baby’s skin and into the absorbent diaper beneath. I purchased a package of these liners, and loved the fact that the liner acted just like the soft fleece lining of my beloved pocket diapers. Now my little girl wasn’t getting wet anymore!
Make your own Stay Dry Liners
A cloth diapering friend suggested that I make my own liners. Why didn’t I think of that?
So I did.
And so can you.
First, purchase a light-weight fleece. Then, cut it into strips about 11-12 inches long and 4-5 inches wide. Since fleece doesn’t fray on the edges when washed, you don’t have to finish the edges.
Now granted, my store-bought stay dry liners look much nicer, they are serged on the edges and exactly the same size, but my homemade stay-dry liners function the same.
I purchased 1/4 yard of fleece when it was on sale. I was able to cut about 20 liners – enough to cover my stash and wash every 2-3 days. I spent $2. This is a great, economical way to keep baby dry – DIY!
Are You Using Cloth Baby Wipes?
My second DIY tip involves making cloth baby wipes. I recently started using cloth wipes and again I wonder why didn’t think of this sooner?
Before my baby’s arrival a friend asked if I was going to use cloth wipes. My reply was, “I’m not that crazy!” I thought it was gross. Then I read some reviews.
I computed that I was spending $2-3 per week on disposable wipes. I began to wonder if there was really a difference between washing and reusing cloth diapers, and washing and reusing cloth baby wipes.
I concluded there is no difference; cloth wipes do not have a greater “gross factor” than cloth diapers (and I love using cloth diapers!).
The thing that pushed me over the edge was when I started wrapping disposable wipes in my cloth diaper and throwing them into my wet bag. I didn’t realize what was happening until I began to pull wipes out of the dryer. Talk about gross! So, my solution was to try cloth baby wipes. I purchased 15 wipes off E-bay. They were sold in a package of 5 for $5, and they are homemade double-thickness flannel wipes.
Make your own Cloth Baby Wipe Solution
I used a cloth baby wipes diaper solution recipe from a friend – 4 cups of hot water mixed with 3 tablespoons of baby wash/shampoo, and 2 tablespoons of baby oil. I read somewhere that adding lavender and tea tree essential oils to your wipe solution helps cut down on the odor while the wipes are in the diaper pail. While I have not encountered an odor problem, I do use the night-time baby bath which is scented with lavender. (I was given a lot as baby gifts and I don’t usually do bath time at night). The scent is wonderful and I love using my cloth wipes even more because they smell so good!
I mix the solution and put it in an old water bottle with a squeeze top. I store my wipes in an old wipe container. I squeeze some liquid onto each wipe in the stack. They are wet, but not submerged in liquid.
Make your own Cloth Baby Wipes Too!
Now for the DIY part: 15 wipes is not enough for a 2-3 day wash cycle! I was at the fabric store and discovered the cotton flannel on sale 50% off – $2.99 a yard! I picked out two fabric designs and purchased 3/4 yard of each. I went home and made my own wipes.
I was able to make 12 wipes for around $5. (I later realized that had I laid my fabric out properly I could have cut 15 wipes from this length of fabric). Here’s how you can make your own wipes:
- Prewash and dry your fabric.
- Cut a piece of typing paper into a 7.5″ square. This size will fit just right into an old disposable wipe box. After trimming and finishing, my wipes are closer to 7″ square.
- Use the typing paper for your pattern and cut the fabric into squares.
- Put two squares together (I used contrasting fabrics), wrong sides together.
- Stitch the squares together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I used a decorative stitch. Tip: I found it helpful to have gingham on one side. I stitched along the plaid lines and came out with a perfect square.
- Finish the edges by running a zigzag stitch over the edge of each wipe. This will keep them from fraying in the dryer.
- I do not have a serger, so I had to stitch the squares together and then finish the edges. If you have a serger, just serge around the edges and you’re done!
- Stack your wipes and store in your old wipe container!
Please note…I am not an expert seamstress by any means – I only know the basics. If I can do this, anyone can do this! I spent about an hour on this project (after washing the fabric)
I hope you enjoy these DIY projects. I enjoyed getting a little more involved and hands-on in the cloth diapering products I use on my baby!
GUEST BLOGGER
Andrea Hamilton‘s full time job is being Ben’s wife and Elaine’s mommy in Virginia Beach, VA. She started cloth diapering in November 2009 – initially to save money, and now because she loves it. In her “spare time” she enjoys studying God’s Word, playing the piano, scrapbooking, blogging, and bargain-hunting. Andrea has a Bible & Missions degree, and her family is preparing to move to NYC where her husband will be an assistant pastor.
You can read more from Andrea at her blog, Random Issues.
Bryana is the owner of 
Becca is a part-time Spanish Teacher and part-time Stay-At-Home-Mom. She's a cloth diaper expert who enjoys spending time with her family, crafting and selling her wares in her very own
Julie is a mom to three kids including a set of identical twins. Through cloth diapering her twins she developed a passion for the industry and is an avid cloth diaper advocate. You can also find her on her blog
i’ve been making my own cloth wipes solution for a while. and i’ve decreased the amount of babywash that i put in quite a bit. i use mostly boiling water – then about a teaspoon of babywash and a tablespoon of a light oil like grapeseed or olive. then i use about 5-10 drops of lavender and a few drops of tea tree oil. regular baby oil is just mineral oil and it is very bad for anyone’s skin – clogs pores and is a petroleum by-product. i wouldn’t use it on my skin or my daughter’s.
also – i use baby washcloths and regular soft washcloths for wipes. they work well and seem to hold up fine. they are also easy to find on sale.
Wow! Thanks for these tips! I am going to try to make my own fleece liners like you suggest. With my new baby (due in may) we are using prefolds exclusively. I never thought about liners when we cloth diapered my son.
My hubby was purging his clothes (yeah, he does that) and I found some plaid pjs in there. These wipes were so easy to make because if I cut the legs right, I’ve already got double-layer flannel that’s mostly sewn together. Since their just wipes, I don’t mind that they were once pjs, plus, now my DS has super-manly wipes that I think are darling! If a girl comes along, I will definitely think twice before just tossing my old flannel pjs.
Thanks for the post!
I tried cloth wipes for a little while, but I had a hard time keeping up with the solution–I was constantly making more. After reading this post, I can’t believe I didn’t think of a squirty bottle myself! That’s *genius*!! I double love that this post was written by a local mama–I rarely run across other CDing moms near me. Thanks, Andrea and Diaper Junction!
Thanks for the info on fleece liners! I actually made some cloth wipes last week and they turned out pretty well. : )
If you use quilter’s flannel for your wipes, they don’t pill up in he wash and are soooo nice and soft!
gonna try it
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Thanks for the info on the liners! I will definitely be doing this. As for wipes, I use t-shirt fabric. Either from old shirts or a piece of fabric. It doesn’t fray, so you don’t have to sew it.
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I absolutely love this post! I was looking for diaper liners and I couldn’t figure out if fleece would do it for us. Another site suggested I use any fabric for the cloth diapers (flats) but we are starting to see just about anything will run right through it, so I want to make diaper liners as well.
I love how you covered all other topics in the same post, too, like a diaper solution. So exciting to know there are other people out there going green just as we are :D