Guest Blogger: Jenn’s Cloth Diapering and Doubler Tutorial
Today I am thrilled to welcome Jenn from Compulsively Creative to Go Green Month! Lucky for me, Jenn is not a newcomer to Sew Much Ado. You may remember her awesome guest tutorial on Gorgeous Gathers. Without that tutorial I don’t think my obsession with ruffles would have began. I’m not sure whether to thank or blame Jenn for that one :). I’m sure I’ll be 85 and still thinking of her everytime I sew gathers! Thanks for joining us today Jenn!
Hi, I’m Jenn from Compulsively Creative. I’m so honored that Abby asked me to be part of Going Green month here at Sew Much Ado! She is amazing! When she asked me to participate I wasn’t really sure what I would do, then I realized that the biggest thing that I do to be a good steward over the planet is cloth diapers. So I thought I’d share a little about that and an easy tutorial for doublers.*
Cloth Diapering: not just going green, but SAVING green.
When I heard several of my friends say they did cloth diapers, I thought what you’re probably thinking right now ‘Yeah right. I already hate changing diapers.’ Then after almost a year of paying over $100 a month in diapers for my two little guys, I decided I’d give it a try to save money. I mean seriously, who can’t think of any other way to spend $100?!
So I made the switch primarily for money, and it’s a bonus that it saves a lot of garbage in landfills too.
Cloth diaper technology has really changed since our moms were doing it. Now they have Velcro, elastic, comfort, and ease built into them. I decided on gdiapers simply because they looked like the easiest ones to clean and use. But there are several leading brands out there like, Bum Genius, Fuzzi Bunz, bumkins, and so many more.
Using cloth diapers may or may not be for you, but it give it a second thought, it’s really not that bad and it could be saving you a lot of GREEN, not to mention the earth.
If you already do cloth diapers or decide to switch, here’s a FAST and EASY tutorial on how to make a doubler*
* A doubler is a second cloth you put in with your regular cloth diaper insert to increase absorbency. This is great for nights, long outings, or other long periods of time so your child won’t soak through the diaper.
Description: This tutorial will guide you through making one 6″ X 12″ fleece doubler.
Materials Needed: 2 pieces of fleece 6″ X 12″.
1) Cut 2 pieces of fleece 6″ X 12″.
Fleece works great because it wicks moisture away from the baby’s skin to keep them comfortable and rash free.
2) Place the 2 pieces wrong sides together. You’ll see the outside of the fabric on both sides.
3) Serge the 2 pieces together around all 4 sides. If you don’t have a serger you can zig zag, blanket stitch, or even just straight stitch. Fleece won’t fray.
4) Sew 2 lines lengthwise down the doubler 2″ in on both sides.
Tip: If you want to sew a straight line but don’t have a 2″ mark, just put a rubber band around your machine at the 2″ mark. You can also use masking tape. These make great guides!
Tip: If you have fabric bubbling up in front of your presser foot, try lowering the amount of pressure on your presser foot. Mine is normally set at a 4, but for this project I lowered it to a 3.5.
5) You’re DONE! That was so easy! And it only cost me $2 to make 10 doublers and I have 1/4 yard left!
That was so easy, you should make more!
Thanks Jenn! I’ve never actually considered switching to cloth diapers before, but knowing that you did it and are happy makes me want to try! I love the tip to put a rubber band around your machine for a larger seam allowance. I will definately be doing that from now on. Make sure to check out Jenn’s blog for great tutorials and ideas.
Very convincing… I could definately put $100 toward something more fun each month.
Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave.com in the Handcraft category today [08 Mar 01:00pm GMT]. Thanks, Maria
Awesome tutorial!! I did some cloth diapering when my daughter was little, and it was nowhere as difficult as people made it out to be. I was clueless and didn’t have any of the handy velcro or snap covers, and I ended up going disposable when I couldn’t find the little vinyl pants in her size anymore. (That was when I decided we’d potty train as early as possible!!)
Anyway, I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-doubler-for-a-cloth-diaper/2010/03/08/
–Anne
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Wow, that looks…surprisingly easy. Most tutorials for doublers get a lot more complicated than this. I need to convince my husband to let me into the sewing section at Walmart now.
I’m glad to see another kindred spirit in cloth diapering. We also made the switch primarily to save money. And we also use gdiapers with cloth inserts (we started before they made gcloth).
Thanks for an informative tutorial,
Ana
fleece actually wicks water from the skin, but is not super absorbent. It is , however great as a top layer near the skin. I have found that flannel, terry cloth or microfiber covered in fleece (the microfibers are so absorbent that they absorb skin moisture too, so don’t put them right on skin) work best. Happy cloth diapering. Not only do they save green they are WAY cuter
Hopefully someone can answer this for me…is this just regular fleece, like anit-pill from Joann Fabrics?? I keep seeing confusing info regarding regular fleece and microfleece. I have a bunch of scrap fleece that I would love to use but I’m not sure it’s the right kind, it’s anit-pill leftover from halloween costumes.
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Looks very easy to do, thanks for sharing your ideas here.