Bad news!

Well after wearing the longies for a whole day, my son got a little rash on his tummy. I assume it is from the wool rubbing on his bare skin, I don't think it is because he is allergic. My husband hates wool, so this is a good argument for him. I don't know what I am going to do now... He is slowly growing out of medium-sized prowrap covers, and I really don't feel like buying some more covers. I would rather sew them. I just don't know what materials I am going to use... PUL? Fleece? Nylon?

Ideally I wouldn't want this material to be touching his skin. So I would have to make a hidden layer of the water resistant fabric. But if you want to avoid wicking from the inner fabric to the outer-most fabric this is really a difficult task to accomplish from the sewing aspect.

I will figure something out. :)

Another fleece wrap...

So I modified my pattern once again, but unfortunately am still not completely satisfied with the fit. I think maybe it is either a bit too large for him, or too wide? I do like how the elastic on the legs hold everything nice and snug... no gaping at all. If I leave the pattern as is, he will probably be able to wear this size until he is out of diapers, which is also one of my intentions with the wool - get as much use out of it as possible.

He is wearing a fitted under this wrap.

Anyways this was only intended as an experiment - before I cut into the fancy wool I have!

100% merino wool interlock fabric

Felting:
I thought since I didn't find much information about this on the web, that I would do my own experimentation and post it here on the blog.

I received my 100% merino wool interlock in the mail a few days ago, but have been tossing and turning at night thinking about how to best felt it, without ruining the $20 /yard fabric. I have read that you are just supposed to wash it on hot a few times and it will take care of itself, but it just seemed to be the opposite of what I have learned all of these years about wool, that I couldn't get myself to through the whole 2 yards into the washer and just hope!

Just a few things beforehand: I have a German front-loading washer. It has temperature settings, and heats the water with a heating element. So the cold water goes in and is slowly heated up to the desired temperature. I wasn't sure what to call a warm or hot cycle, so I just picked 40° C (104° F) as a warm cycle and 60° C (140° F) as a hot cycle. My washer also only has a cold water rinse, so the wool is always going to be shocked after warming up.

So, I decided I would try small swatches first, to see what the results would be. I cut three pieces of the fabric, each 3 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" long. First, I threw a piece in with my shower curtain on a warm cycle (104° F). I used normal detergent and a cold water rinse. It didn't look like it had changed very much, so I just left it and didn't put it in the dryer. I think one of the reasons why it didn't get much smaller, is because the swatch got hung up on the glass of the front loader and didn't get as much agitation as it would if it had stayed in the drum of the machine. The result wasn't much thicker that the original. This is what it looked like compared to the original unwashed swatch on the left:




This is the results of the same swatch (on the left in the above picture) being washed again on a warm cycle (40° C). I can't see much difference, really... but again the thing to hung up and didn't agitate much at all.



Next , I threw one unwashed swatch in with my normal diaper wash at a temperature of 60° C (140° F). The result is much smaller and thicker than the swatch that I had at the warm temperature wash.




Then I threw it in the hot dryer for about 40 minutes or so. I don't think it changed much in size or thickness - maybe a bit fluffier and softer. This is what came out:




Now just to see how much further the "hot-cycle" swatch would shrink/felt, I put it into a second hot water wash cycle. Results (not much difference - maybe a tad bit smaller):




And finally same "hot-cycle" swatch, after 40 minutes in the hot dryer:



So in conclusion, though I have not attempted to felt all of the fabric yet, I think that one hot water wash would be fine for the 100% wool interlock fabric to make diaper covers. You could even venture a second hot wash, without over felting.

After felting 100% merino wool interlock, I would not attempt to wash the finished product (diaper cover) in the regular wash... I would still recommend hand wash with a homemade wool wash and lanolin.

Thoughts about better cloth solutions...

Just jotting down my thoughts from tons of research about cloth:

Well I have been searching the web to find out more about diaper covers and possible fabrics for cloth diapering and have come across this page all about the cons of popular artificial materials (such as polyester and polyurethane laminate: PUL) used for sewing diapers and covers because of their water repelling qualities. It is all about how the polys aren't very good for us, and could potentially cause cancer in the long run.

Now, I have come to the conclusion that I would like to try wool fabric. Of course my local Walmart does not carry wool in any form, I would have to drive to the next town to get to a Joann's Fabric store (2 1/2 hours away). I have searched the web, but don't feel very comfortable about buying fabric that I have not touched. I did buy 1 yard of 100% merino wool interlock that is supposed to be great for covers, but it was pretty expensive ($20 /yard) so it is just to try, and if I like it ALOT I may consider buying more. I would like to only have to use one layer for a pocket style diaper, but then there is still that washing issue. Every time the baby poos or wets, the inner flannel layer would have to be washed... not good for the wool.

I think the best solution would be to make a wool cover that can be reused (hung up to dry if only pee) and doesn't have to be washed as often. The idea of converting my prefolds to fitted diapers would then also help to keep the poo in the diaper and not on my cover, so again the cover could be reused more often.

I would love to only have to use a single layer for the wool cover - thus saving on yardage and money, but I don't know how this is possible if I don't want to use fold over elastic. Maybe I will get a chance soon to get some wool fabric used for suits or coats at the fabric store and use a less expensive layer to sew a cover where the elastic is hidden?

I have also considered the idea of using an inner layer of ripstop nylon. Maybe sandwiched between flannel and an outer cover of velour? I think though that the moisture would just wick from the flannel to the velour and it would not be very effective. I would still need a water repelling fabric for the outer wall of the cover to keep the moisture in. Also I have read that the water repelling qualities of ripstop would not hold up against the constant washing that is required for diapering. So maybe it isn't really hepful at all.

Farm Fleece Wrap, PART II

Added a gusset to each of the legs, this makes for a much better fit over a prefold, in my opinion. :-) This cover works great and keeps him dry even over night, I am very impressed by the power of fleece! I bought this print from Joann Fabrics. I have read that Maiden Mills or Windpro are the preferred brands of fleece for cloth diapering purposes, but at $14.00 /yard I am not quite sure it is worth the extra money. I don't remember how much I paid for my fleece, but I am sure it was under $10.00.

This is the Rita's Rump pattern altered to add a gusset. I just traced the mid section of the leg hold on the original pattern and drew a line across the U-shape to make a template for the gusset. Then I added some extra for a seam allowance. The top seam (straight side) of the gusset elastic sewn into the seam allowance and turned to make a pocket for the elastic. Then you just sandwich the gusset between the diaper inner and outer layers when you are sewing up the seam.

Farm Fleece Wrap

Thanks Kei for posting the wonderful tutorial for sewing up Rita's Rump wrap pattern. This is my first try and I like the results, just would like to make a few alterations for the perfect SOFT wrap!!! (Adding a gusset to make it able to hold a little more bulk).

In Kei's tutorial she suggests sewing the elastic to the inner layer of the diaper before sewing the seams up. I don't know if she has a specific reason for doing so, but I have found it easier to first sew up the seam (outer and inner layers, right sides together) and then go back to attach the elastic to the seam allowance. Maybe there is a wicking issue that I am unaware of?


(He wasn't in the greatest mood for pictures)...