Cloth Diaper Series, part 3

Feeling a bit braver today, so below, behold my attempt at making my own AIO cloth diaper. You can't miss it because it is the neon orange thing below that is screaming at you. You may want to avoid staring directly at the diaper if you value your retinas.

This second picture isn't really needed, but his smile prevented me from leaving it out...

The diaper, while sewn by me, was from a kit purchased fromDiaperkit.com. The kit arrived with the material already precut, including the elastic, touch tape (velcro), and size tag. In addition, it had already been pre-washed, so it was all ready for me to sew together when it got here! Nice.

I ordered 2 kits for my first attempt. The first was a fitted diaper made from unbleached flannel. You can either serge the seams or turn and topstitch, which was my method because I lack a serger. I feel obligated to point out that I chose these diapers as my first sewing project on my first sewing machine. A bit overly ambitious, which is why I am not sharing the results of the fitted diaper. The elastic leg holes leave something to be desired. Lincoln felt the same way. The second diaper is the AIO pictured above. The inside is a soft, unbleached flannel, and the outside a garishly orange PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric. It looked much less bright in the pictures on the website when I was choosing a color. This diaper nearly made me lose my mind. My sewing machine is a "beginners model" and protested loudly at sewing through 6 layers of flannel and thick velcro tabs. I also learned that a ball point needle is a plus when sewing with PUL. I did learn my lesson on how to sew in elastic after the 5th go at it. Truthfully, even though it isn't much to look at, I am pretty proud that this diaper actually fits Lincoln, doesn't leak, and stays closed at the tabs. That it does that much goes against all odds, so should it fall apart after a mere 3-4 washings, I won't mind too much.

I would like to attempt more diapers in the future--I think I serger would go a long way in preserving my sanity, or at least a higher end sewing machine, but for now I am happy with what I have. My sewing skills still do not warrant owning a higher end machine, and it does work fine for thin fabrics and basic stitches. I would like to recommend Diaperkits.com if you are attempting your first diaper--the fact that the materials and accessories are precut and ready to go made it a lot easier than attempting to make my own pattern and finding fabric and such on my own. Plus, it is a very economical way to add more diapers to your stash. For an AIO, my kit cost me $6.95. You can get cover kits for $3.95. Sure, there was the time involved to sew them up, but really, after making a few, I think they could go pretty quickly. This coming from the girl who had to re-sew her seams 4 times. There are patterns available online, though, if you are more advanced in your sewing skills and would like to attempt it on your own.