BrambleStitches

I made a lot of progress on baby Dango’s new diapers, and I would have done even better had I not run out of fold-over elastic (FOE). I also am going to run out of snap caps before I finish, so I put in orders for both the other day. I hope to have these all wrapped up next week.

Look at these little size label snap caps I have! I love these. I just use one per diaper. I have NB, S, M, and L. Since I started using FOE on diapers, I haven’t looked back. I love the tidy finish, and it makes for a very soft edge against the baby. It is applied using the longest, widest zig-zag setting on the machine, or if you have it, the three step zig-zag.

I tried to come up with a cost breakdown for these diapers, and I think I’ve gotten it fairly accurate. These are newborn size diapers, so larger sizes will be more expensive, but you’ll get the idea.

Per dozen newborn diapers

3 yards PUL @ $6.90/yard = $20.70
3 yards Power Dry @ $3.20/yard = $9.60
12 yards FOE @ $0.65/yard = $7.80
240 snap sockets, 48 snap studs, and 288 snap caps @ $10/1000 pieces

Cost of having supplies shipped to me = approx. $10.67 (I usually make large orders, so this is a proportional estimate)

Total = $54.50, or about $4.54 for each newborn diaper.

Using this same sort of formula, I estimate that the large diapers will cost me about $6.40 each.

And now for my supply sources:

I get my PUL wherever I can get it cheap, which varies. Right now the best price I see is at Wazoodle on their 10-yard bolts of Fabrite brand PUL (10 yards for $69 + $15 shipping).

I get Power Dry from Mill Direct Textiles (fomerly Malden Mills Store). I almost always check out their selection of full bolts and seconds, where you can score some excellent deals. They don’t always have great colors available, but check frequently and you’ll find what you’re looking for. Keep in mind that they are producing fabric primarily for the wholesale clothing market, so they are likely to have the same colors you’re seeing in the high-end sportswear catalogs. Last time I checked they had a few 12-yard bolts of Power Dry. They have flat rate shipping of $8.95 for up to 75 yards.

I tried a new supplier for FOE this time, because everyone else seemed to be out of what I wanted. I went with FOE your diaper this time, a small Canadian company. They have the best prices and greatest selection of FOE I’ve ever seen, so I’m hoping I’ll be happy with their customer service, too.

For snaps, I always order from The Snap Store. I’ve always been happy with them. Specifically, I’m using size 20 polyacetal resin snaps. You’ll need a snap press and set of setting dies for these snaps. I have this press, also from The Snap Store.

Cloth Diapers Dango, diapers, FOE, PUL

Now that Baby Dango (dango are a type of Japanese dumpling made from rice flour) is growing and moving around a lot more, I’m starting to get a little sewing done in preparation for his/her arrival. Cloth diapers are first on the list, since I already had all the fabric (I was going to use it to make Gavin an extra set, but never did). I’m using my own pattern, which you can download here (downloads as PDF). These are pocket diapers made with a layer of water-proof PUL (polyurethane laminate) for the outside and a layer of power dry for the inside, then bound together around the edge with wide fold-over elastic (FOE). There’s a small gap left open at the back waist through which you can stuff an absorbent pad. The advantage to this style is two-fold: 1) they don’t leak, and 2) they are lightning fast to dry.

I actually cut out the shell and liner the very week I discovered this pregnancy, and the pieces have been languishing in a paper bag in the closet since then. I’m a big fan of assembly-line sewing, so I complete the first step on every piece before moving on to the next step. In this case, the steps are: cut out shell and lining, add FOE (fold-over elastic) to back waist of lining, mark then set snaps on front of shell, bind both layers together with FOE, set snaps on wings.

I finally pulled the diapers out of the closet this evening and started working on them again. I have only gotten to the point of setting snaps on the fronts of the diapers, but once I get that done (the most tedious part of the process, in my opinion), the rest of the sewing should breeze by.

I did jump ahead and bind a couple of diapers to check for final size, and I think they’ll work out just fine. Hopefully I can have the rest of these done within the next couple of weeks so I can move on to some other sewing (like super cute baby clothes).

Cloth Diapers Dango, diapers, FOE, PUL