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A Plush Addict Guide To: Quilt Wadding (Batting)

A Plush Addict Guide To: Quilt Wadding (Batting)

by | Jun 3, 2015 | Fabric Guides, Fabric Information Guide, Product Guides, Tutorials

This Guide Has Moved & Been Improved.

See the Updated Guide Here

Whether you’re new to quilting or a dab hand in that area, choosing which wadding you’ll need for your quilt can be a tricky business.

Not only are there loads to choose from, but there are so many words and phrases associated with wadding that just go straight over your head, am I correct?

Well we’re here to help answer all the questions you’ve never had answered, teach you the basic lingo and hopefully put your mind at ease for the next time you need to purchase wadding or attach wadding to your quilt project.

Wadding, or ‘batting’ as it is known in the US, is the layer of material in between your quilt top and backing fabric, and the type of wadding you choose will determine the way your sewed quilt will look and feel.

The first thing you need to consider is how thick you want your finished quilt to look. This is where the ‘high loft’ and ‘low loft’ come into play.

Loft

A high loft means the wadding is thick with more apparent quilting lines and will ‘puff out’ more, whereas a low loft is thin and better for a flatter finish and for showing off your piecing rather than the actual quilt lines.

Most quilters prefer to use a low loft as it’s easier to machine or hand quilt and a high loft can be difficult in this area due to too much bulk.

The good news is that low loft waddings are just as warm and cosy!

Composition

The composition is the next factor you need to bear in mind when choosing your wadding.

There are various benefits for all types of wadding, whether it be their great quality, durability or economical value.

Take a look at a few examples of wadding compositions along with their pros and cons and how you can better understand them.

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, breathable, natural fibre and a popular choice for many quilters. Cotton wadding tends to shrink if not pre-shrunk, creating a classic, wrinkly ‘lived in’ look, and whilst it’s usually a low loft, this can vary, so there are more options when choosing a wadding suitable for your project.

Some cotton waddings are needle-punched, giving them extra stability, making them a good choice for wall hangings or items that will be heavily machine stitched. For those who prefer hand quilting, you’d be better off looking for a cotton wadding without needlepunching or scrim. It is one of the more expensive waddings available, but with the price does come quality.

Polyester

Polyester is a popular choice which of wadding which has been used by quilters for years as it comes in a variety of lofts, is very durable and is less costly than all other commercial waddings.

It is light, doesn’t shrink and maintains its shape, but it isn’t as breathable and doesn’t drape (how it feels after being quilted) as well as cotton or bamboo waddings.

As it is one of the cheaper waddings available, it can have a tendency to beard after a while, which is more evident if your fabrics are dark coloured.

Bamboo

Bamboo is an increasingly popular choice because it’s a more sustainable plant than cotton.

This wadding benefits from being environmentally friendly and its naturally low lofts gives it a good drape. Plus, it’s soft, cosy and great quality!

It’s suitable for both machine and hand quilting.

You can find out more about bamboo by taking a peek here at our Absorbent Fabrics Guide.

Blends (poly-cotton/bamboo-cotton)

These combine the ‘best of both worlds’, and are designed to make quilts loftier and lighter while still providing the benefits of natural fibres.

Blends are easy to work with, a good choice for quilters who are unsure which wadding would be best for their quilt and also benefit from being cheaper than pure bamboo or cotton.

Colour

It might not seem like a big thing to bear in mind when choosing your wadding, but the colour you pick can affect your finished quilt.

Waddings generally come in three colours: white, natural and black.

Whilst white is the most commercially available and arguably the most popular, black wadding is a much better choice for quilting projects using darker fabrics as it won’t show through.

So before you buy, make sure you think about which fabrics you’ll be using for your quilt and which colour wadding would be most beneficial to you.

Should I pre-wash wadding?

We are constantly being asked whether you should wash your wadding and whilst many wadding brands will state that pre-washing is recommended – we don’t think it’s necessary.

Pre-washing your wadding DOES help to reduce shrinkage as well as take out any oils & resins, but as most wadding has already been washed during the manufacturing process we don’t see this as an issue.

But what about shrinkage?

There might be a small amount of shrinkage, but usually it’s not very much at at all – maybe 3%? And personally, we LOVE the slightly wrinkled effect on a washed quilt – it feels kinda vintage!

However, if you don’t like this look and want to pre-wash then it’s best to do it in the bath! Just pop your wadding in a bathtub full of hot water and leave it for a bit. Be warned – your wadding will be pretty darn sopping when you get it out, so it’ll be very heavy. Watch your back !

As you lift it, you’re probably going to stretch the wadding which may make it thinner in some places – this isn’t ideal.

You might try a delicates cycle or handwash in your washing machine but you run also the risk of it distorting your wadding.

If you do pre-wash then dry your wadding as flat as possible to avoid further stretching.

How much will I need?

It all depends on the size of your quilt.

Simply measure up the size of your quilt and buy as much as you need for your sewing project!

Most waddings are available by the cut half metre and they can also come pre-packaged in standard sizes for crib, twin, double and king, so you’ll be ready for the project that you wish to make from the get go.

And that should be most things covered!

If you’re still unsure about some of the words or phrases used throughout the guide, take a look below at the handy glossary.

Wadding Glossary

Batting: general term used for wadding in various countries including the USA

Drape: How a quilt feels after being quilted. Good quality wadding will allow your quilt to drape around you comfortably without being too stiff.

Loft: the weight and thickness of wadding. A high loft means it’s thick, a low loft means it’s thin.

Bearding: When fibres separate and push through the top layer of the quilt. Often happens with cheaper wadding

Needle-punched: mechanically felted together by punching them with hundreds of needles, causing the fibres to intertwine and bond together, making it denser

Scrim: a thin grid of polyester/synthetic stabiliser which is needle punched into the wadding to stabilise the cotton fibres and prevent them from bearding. Also adds strength and stops the wadding from distorting and stretching.

No scrim: With no scrim, the stitches must be quilted closer together to keep the fibres separating. Waddings with no scrim are a good choice for hand quiltin

We stock a variety of different wadding for all your quilting needs! Hop on over to the website and browse the world of wadding!

I hope that you’ve found this guide useful and that when you next need to buy wadding it will cause you less of a headache!

Happy quilting!

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Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 5: A Guide To Plush and Outer Fabrics

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 5: A Guide To Plush and Outer Fabrics

by | Apr 23, 2015 | Cloth Nappy Making, Fabric Guides, Fabric Information Guide, Minky Fabric, Sustainable Sewing

Boring Legal Bit: If you follow any tutorial or guidance found in this post, or on this blog, you agree to be bound by our disclaimer which can be viewed here

Hello! And welcome to part 5 of my nappy making fabrics guide (you can read the rest of the series here). Today we’re going to talk about one of the best bits of cloth nappy making – the pretties!! The outer layer is where most of the fun happens so read on….

Today we have 20% off all plush/ minky as well as quilt weight cottons so fill your boots! If you’d like to get involved in more than one offer this week but are worrying about the accrued postage costs – don’t! Just leave us a note at check out and ask us to hold your order until the end of the week then we’ll dispatch it all together and refund you any postage charges due. We also have 20% off nappy making kits all week long.

The use of the word “pretties” is rife within the cloth nappy community and boy, are there some amazing creations out there. Many WAHM (Work At Home Mum) creations really excel at turning nappies in to works of art.

So what are the fabrics you can use on the outside of a nappy?

PUL

A lot of mass manufactured nappies will use PUL as the outer layer. This works well for a number of reasons. Firstly, that you’re using the waterproof layer as the outer layer so you are reducing the number of layers needed by one. This means it costs less to make and you get a slimmer nappy. The down side comes when considering the pretty factor – it’s more difficult to embellish and customise PUL without affecting it’s waterproof properties. With the right handling it is possible to embroider on to PUL but those needle puncture holes will eventually weaken the PUL and longer term is likely to affect the performance and longevity of your nappy.

PUL as an outer fabric

Plush/ minky fabric

To my mind, this is where the magic happens. Plush is great to use as the outer of a nappy, keeping it simple it comes in an array of pretty prints so you can get a good looking nappy with minimum effort. It’s very forgiving for less than perfect stitching as stitches get hidden in the pile and let’s face it, plush fabric is one of the nicest, most stroke-able fabrics you’ll ever come across and what nicer feeling is there to have on your baby’s bottom?

You can read my full Guide to Plush Fabric here which has some hints and tips about sewing and a guide to it’s composition and handling.

You actually don’t need any fancy machines to create spectacular nappies, just check out this amazing creation from Bumble Bees (this is actually my nappy, I’m SO lucky!)

Image courtesy of Bumble Bees MCN

You can use applique really effectively to create some really amazing effects.

Image courtesy of Bumble Bees MCN

Image courtesy of Bumble Bees MCN

But if you are lucky enough to have an embroidery machine then there really is no limit. I mean, just look at this from Dinky Dot Bots . If these don’t have you adding an embroidery machine to your Christmas list, I don’t know what will.

Image courtesy of Dinky Dot Bots

Image courtesy of Dinky Dot Bots

So as well as being pretty and tactile, using plush as the outer of a nappy does have some functional benefits. Because it’s a polyester fabric it won’t easily absorb moisture, this means that it’s unlikely to wick any moisture on to your baby’s clothes.

Cotton

Another option for your outer layer is to use a quilt weight cotton. Because of the vast array of choice, cotton is a popular choice to easily add some decorative magic to a nappy. Because cotton is a natural fibre and will absorb moisture relatively quickly it isn’t common to see the outer layer made completely out of 100% cotton because the risk of wicking is high. Often cotton will be teamed up with plush placing it as a high back panel like this:

Image courtesy of Bumble Bees MCN

Or at back and the front leaving plush fabric around the leg area like this:

Image courtesy of Bumble Bees MCN

All of that said, I recently had a chat with Toya from Made by Toya who reminded me that ages ago we’d spoken on the phone about using cotton as an outer and I didn’t recommend it because of the potential wicking issue, but I’d not tried it . She was keen to use fabrics from her stash so she did. And it worked! She used the Chelory method. which I’d not seen before so using cotton is definitely an option. This would be a great way to use up some of your stash and keep the nappy trimmer too.

Image courtesy of Made By Toya

Well I hope that has given you some idea of the different fabrics you can use on the outside of a nappy, and the design elements that are possible. I’ll be back tomorrow for the last in this series and shall be talking about the options you can use on the inside of a nappy, often called “Stay Dry Fabrics”

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 4: Notions and Fastenings

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 4: Notions and Fastenings

by | Apr 22, 2015 | Cloth Nappy Making, Fabric Guides, Fabric Information Guide

Hello! Today I’m taking a break from the fabrics today to talk about some of the notions and fastenings you can use when making cloth nappies. And welcome to part 4 of my nappy making fabrics guide, you can read the other parts in this series here.  Today you can enjoy up to 20% off KAM snaps, lastin and Aplix/ Touch tape hook & loop. Wondering what an earth these are? Fret not! All is to be revealed….  If you’d like to get involved in more than one offer this week but are worrying about the accrued postage costs – don’t! Just leave us a note at check out and ask us to hold your order until the end of the week then we’ll dispatch it all together and refund you any postage charges. We also have 20% off nappy making kits all week long.

Fastening your cloth nappy

You have a choice of two main fastenings – KAM snaps or hook and loop.

Hook & loop fastening

Hook and loop is the generic term for “Velcro” (you know, like “Hoover” is the brand that has become the household term for “vacuum”)  – one side of the fastening is covered in tiny hooks the other is fuzzy and made up of tiny loops and together they stick to form a firm fastening. You can’t just use any old hook and loop in a nappy though, you need some special stuff that can withstand the high volume of laundry that a cloth nappy goes through. Normal “Velcro” will just lose it’s stick after a few washes and won’t be any use to man nor beast. In a cloth nappy you need to use brands such as Aplix or TouchTape.

Hook & loop fastenings have their advantages in a cloth nappy, especially at the beginning. You don’t need any special kit to apply it, just a regular sewing machine and at change time they are super speedy (and often favoured by men!) but the disadvantage of using hook and loop is that as your little ones grows they will learn to be able to undo this type of fastening much quicker than using KAM snaps.

The nappies above have a hook and loop fastening, can you see the white hook and loop at the front?

KAM snap nappy fastening

 

KAM snaps, oh KAM snaps… oh how I love thee! Anyone that’s got busy with these wonderful fastenings will confirm how ace they are and SUPER useful for many things. KAM snaps are for life, not just for nappies.

  1. The downer for a beginner in the nappy-making world is that you need either some pliers or a press to apply these “poppers” so it adds to the initial cost BUT they really are super useful little fellas and I’ve used them all over the place. You can use them instead of buttons, press studs and even zips. They come in a mind boggling array of colours and also different sizes and shapes. For a nappy you need a size 20 snap, 

rather than a size 16. A size 20 KAM snap can’t be undone easily by small hands and they are also incredibly strong and are weight-bearing. A large wet bag full to the brim with dirty laundry will easily have its weight supported by one size 20 KAM snap.

As well as providing the fastening for a nappy KAM snaps are also very handy at providing a fitting adjustment in the rise of the nappy as seen in the photo below. The snaps on the rise can be popped together for the shortest rise setting when your baby is small and let out as they grow to make the nappy larger.

Lastin vs Elastic

There are generally two areas of a nappy you need some kind of elastic – around the legs and at the back. There are two main types used – Lastin and Polybraid elastic – and I can’t say that one is better than the other, it comes down to a personal preference.

Lastin

Lastin is a clear, flat elastic which has an amazing stretch and can elongate to 300-400% and it’s stretch recovery is amazing. Lastin is resistant to chemicals and doesn’t absorb any moisture so is equipped to stand up to the laundry demands of cloth nappies. Not only is it great for nappy making but it’s great for garment making too and is used to reinforce neck lines, arm holes and is great for seam re-inforcement. You should use Lastin brand in nappies and not just a generic clear elastic which might not be strong enough to hold shape or withstand the laundry regime.Lastin has a soft return on the stretch and is less likely to mark your baby’s skin and it creates really great looking leg gathers, not always possible to achieve with polybraid elastic.

Lastin was my personal choice when I was making nappies but some people find it difficult to use and experience breakages. The trick is to give it a bit of a pre-stretch before you sew it and then NOT to over stretch the Lastin when you are sewing it. If you over stretch it under the needle its likely to break. It can take practice as Lastin is super stretchy and will stretch more than elastic will so there’s not an easy “stop” indication. Practice makes perfect as they say!

Polybraid Elastic

Cheaper and more readily available, there’s nothing wrong with using good old polybraid elastic. It has a good return but it can be a little harsh on larger legs and can leave marks on your baby’s skin. It will still hold up well to frequent washing.

The only way to find out which you prefer is to try it and see which you get on with.

I hope you’ve found this useful. Join me tomorrow to talk about the outer layer of a nappy.

Boring Legal Bit: If you follow any tutorial or guidance found in this post, or on this blog, you agree to be bound by our disclaimer which can be viewed here

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 3: An Absorbent Fabrics Guide

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 3: An Absorbent Fabrics Guide

by | Apr 21, 2015 | Bamboo towelling, Cloth Nappy Making, Fabric Guides, Fabric Information Guide, Sustainable Sewing

Hello! And welcome to part 3 of my nappy making fabrics guide, today it’s all about absorbent fabrics. It’s these types of fabrics which predominantly determine the performance of your nappy and there are a number of different combinations to try. Today you can enjoy up to 20% off absorbent fabrics. If you’d like to get involved in more than one offer but are worrying about the accrued postage costs – don’t! Just leave us a note at check out and ask us to hold your order until the end of the week then we’ll dispatch it all together and refund you any postage charges. We also have 20% off nappy making kits all week long. 

Bamboo Fabric

In China bamboo is referred to as the plant of a thousand uses and it has been used for centuries as a building material and in garden design and more recently it’s being used as a textile thanks to Beijing University developing bamboo as a fibre. The bamboo plant is particularly sustainable as it grows so quickly, some species grow as much as 140cms per day! As well as the obvious quantity and speed benefits this brings it also dramatically reduces the amount of water needed to grow the plant. As bamboo is a grass it can have a “hair cut” (just like mowing your lawn) and it’ll carry on growing without being replanted, and unlike cotton it doesn’t need pesticides and can be cultivated naturally.

Bamboo is sometimes called “cashmere from plants” because it is so very soft to wear next to the skin and has a wonderful sheen. The fibres in bamboo’s structure have a criss-cross texture, which is covered in tiny holes and make it a great moisture absorber that is also good for ventilation and breathability. Bamboo outperforms cotton’s absorption rates by three times and if bamboo is worn as clothing it wicks moisture away and evaporates perspiration instantly keeping you cool and dry.

There is a natural substance within bamboo called bamboo kun which protects the plant from pests and pathogens and means bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. Japanese laboratory tests have shown that even after 50 washes bamboo fibres continue to have the same level of anti-bacterial properties, how amazing is that?! Bamboo fabric comes in a number of fabric types including  bamboo fleece, stretch terry, velour and towelling.

How is bamboo used in a a nappy?

Bamboo is most often used layered up as an insert (pictured on the right of Victoria’s photo below) as the absorbent layer of the nappy. There are lots of different ways to create an absorbent layer, here’s a good starter guide. I’m going to focus on the fabrics rather than the construction to help you choose which is best for you.

Photo Courtesy of Bumble Bees Modern cloth Nappies

Bamboo Towelling

Bamboo towelling one of our best selling bamboo products and the premium version is to die for. It has a super sheen and the hand is amazingly soft. There isn’t any stretch to contend with here but it has a terry loop on both sides so it’s quite lofty. It makes very absorbent as a nappy booster, but it also makes brilliant cloth wipes (along with other things like bibs, “un-paper” towels, bathrobes and beach towels!)

Bamboo Velour

We have bamboo in a velour finish which is a knit fabric. It’s smooth on the wrong side and the right side has a short, soft pile. It’s very soft and silky, has a fantastic drape and is lovely and tactile which lends itself well to gorgeous clothing, loungewear and it makes snuggly, breathable blankets. In nappy making it’s a popular choice as an inner layer of a nappy as it’s very soft to the touch and for pre-folds as it’s thinner than bamboo towelling. It has quite a stretch to it so careful handing is required, lots of pins, a ball point needle and a walking foot will help keep this fabric firmly under control. Bamboo velour takes dye very well is a very popular fabric for providing a beautiful blank canvas for a colour palette of your own design.

Bamboo French Terry

Bamboo French Terry has a smooth knit on one side and on the reverse there’s a dimpled weave effect as seen in the photo. I’ve heard French Terry referred to as “magic” before now. I think the textured surface really assist the absorbency of this fabric. Made in the USA this is a premium fabric.

Bamboo Fleece

Bamboo fleece is just like a cuddly sweatshirt material – one side has a smooth knit and the other is a fluffy fleece. Our bamboo fleece is ridiculously soft and really is a premium product far superior to others I’ve seen. It’s manufactured in the USA and not China which I think makes a big difference. A popular choice to make boosters as it’s soft and very absorbent.

A note about fabric weights

Most natural fibre absorbent fabrics will have a fabric weight (gsm – grams per square metre) listed. Quite simply, the higher the gsm the heavier the fabric will be and more it will absorb. The pay off for more absorbency is a bulkier nappy as the fabrics are thicker.

Manmade Absorbent Fabrics

Zorb Fabric

There are a number of manmade absorbent fabrics available, the most popular being Zorb. Zorb is manufactured in the USA specifically for use in cloth nappies. It’s a pretty high performance fabric and can absorb up to 10 times it’s own weight in liquid in under half a second and not only does it absorb quickly, it holds on to that moisture. Wazoodle, who manufacture and distribute this very specialist fabric, say that two layers of Zorb has the absorbency power of

  • 8 layers of flannel
  • 6 layers of French terry
  • 5 layers of fleece

The number of layers is key as a slim cloth nappy really is the holy grail of cloth nappy making. Zorb has a fluffy texture that’s a bit like curtain interlining.

A key point about Zorb is that it MUST be sandwiched between other layers of fabric, without this step the fabric is liable to shred when washed. To assist with this we also stock Zorb II – a sandwiched product 🙂

Zorb II

The clever folk at Wazoodle are always coming up with solutions to tricky problems. Zorb II has all the same absorbent properties of the original Zorb but it comes pre-sandwiched between two layers of bamboo/cotton face fabric.

Microfibre

We’ve stopped stocking this for the moment but I wanted to mention it as it’s very readily available from your local supermarket in the form of dishcloths should you want to give it a whirl. Microfibre absorbs *mega* quickly. This is great because as soon as your baby wees you want the liquid to be drawn away from the body as soon as possible, microfibre does a fantastic job of this BUT it falls down as it can’t hold on to liquid for very long, when it’s compressed then the liquid just leaks out, just like a sponge of water does when you squeeze it. You can harness the super quick powers of microfibre and get around the compression issue by backing it with a layer of absorbent fabric that is better at holding on to liquid – like bamboo.

Hemp

Hemp is the genetic name for the cannabis family, but fret not, the plants used in textile creation are not those used to smoke! Producing fabric from hemp has an old tradition originating in China where it was used for rope, clothes, shoes and also paper for as many as 10,000 years. Between the 16th and 19th century 80% of the world’s fabric was made from hemp but the fibre fell out of favour because of it’s association with marijuana, despite being a different plants species. Recently hemp is seeing resurgence in popularity, as it’s a sustainable crop. It’s also incredibly strong and durable, it resists mould and it has amazing absorbent properties which are even better than bamboo.

Hemp has great holding properties for liquid BUT it takes it a while for it to take up the liquid so it’s often layers with faster absorbing fabrics like microfibre, Zorb or bamboo.

I think we get more questions about absorbent fabrics than any other nappy making fabric so I hope that’s helpful. More to follow tomorrow when I’ll be talking about fastenings and notions.

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 2: PUL Fabric

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 2: PUL Fabric

by | Apr 20, 2015 | Cloth Nappy Making, Fabric Guides, Fabric Information Guide, Sustainable Sewing

Hello! And welcome to day one of Real Nappy Week 2015. In this series I hope to share information about nappy making fabrics as well as letting you know about the offers we have running this week, so let’s talk about the offer first. Today you can enjoy up to 20% off PUL which is the waterproof layer used in a cloth nappy (as well as a whole host of other applications). We will be having different fabrics on offer each day. If you’d like to get involved in more than one offer but are worrying about the accrued postage costs – don’t! Just leave us a note at check out and ask us to hold your order until the end of the week then we’ll dispatch it all together and refund you any postage charges due. We also have 20% off nappy making kits all week long. 

You can read the intro to this series here and the full series will be unravelling here

PUL in cloth nappies

I’ve already written about the composition and properties of PUL in this waterproof fabrics post and had an article published in Sewing World  but today I’m going to talk specifically about PUL or polyurethane laminate  in relation to cloth nappies. So why this fabric in particular? Well, it’s because not only is it completely waterproof (not water-resistant) it’s also breathable. I’m sure you’ve worn waterproof clothing that hasn’t been breathable at some point in your life and are familiar with that rather hot and clammy feeling. To ensure your baby’s bum doesn’t feel like that it’s important to use something breathable whist being waterproof. You need stop the wet from transferring on to your baby’s clothes and there are two ways you can layer PUL in a nappy.

1) as an outer fabric like the Bum Genius nappy pictured below. The fabric used here is, you guessed it… PUL.

2) As a hidden layer in between the outer layer (usually Plush/ minky) and an absorbent or stay dry layer. See the photo below to give you an idea where the PUL usually sits.

Well that wasn’t hard, was it? Please do have a read of my earlier post for more information and enjoy the PUL discount today, I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about absorbent fabrics.

Psssst! There’s still time to sign up with Billy in the Great British Nappy Hunt. You could win a £50 Plush Addict voucher, among other fab prizes

Boring Legal Bit: If you follow any tutorial or guidance found in this post, or on this blog, you agree to be bound by our disclaimer which can be viewed here

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 1: An Intro

Cloth Nappy Fabrics 101 Part 1: An Intro

by | Apr 19, 2015 | Cloth Nappy Making, Fabric Guides, Fabric Information Guide, Sustainable Sewing

Boring Legal Bit: If you follow any tutorial or guidance found in this post, or on this blog, you agree to be bound by our disclaimer which can be viewed here

Welcome to Real Nappy Week 2015! Well…. the fun starts tomorrow but I thought I’d whet your whistle and have you all geared up to learn all about cloth this week and enjoy the discounts we have coming up.  If you’re not familiar with real nappies then this annual event is a great time to swot up about all things cloth, bag yourself some bargains and realise cloth nappies really aren’t in any way reminiscent of the the square of terry towelling held together with a big pin of yester-year. Modern fabrics and notions have meant that cloth nappies are a world away from the commonly held vision of the nappies used by our mums and grans. 

Image courtesy of Bumble Bees Modern Cloth Nappies

I mean, really…. for the love of cute! Did you ever see such a lovely baby’s bottom? No? Well I urge you to check out Bumble Bees Modern Cloth Nappies page for even more amazing creations. Victoria makes exactly the kind of nappies that got me hooked as a cloth head and thinking “I want to make that” and it’s these kinds of nappies that have me cursing the potty.  Cute fluff aside, I do recall those early times of complete and utter confusion – there are just so many terms and types of fabrics you can use to make your own nappy.  So what better time to celebrate and educate around cloth than Real Nappy Week? This week I’ll be posting a series of posts based around cloth nappy making fabrics to help clear the confusion and build confidence that both making, and using cloth isn’t that scary at all.

So why use cloth nappies?

Well for me there were many reasons that resonated but there were some stand out drivers.

  • Chemicals – This was the number one reason I used cloth. I was horrified to learn that disposable nappies contain the chemical Sodium Polyacrylate which is a super absorber. This chemical was banned from tampons in 1985 as it was considered to contribute to Toxic Shock Syndrome. Unlike most other baby products there is currently no legislation to determine what can and cannot be in a disposable nappy.
  • Pretties! – Yes it’s very shallow but I can’t deny I was totally and utterly wooed by how pretty cloth nappies are.
  • Money – Go Real estimates you can save up to £1000 by using cloth, even more if you use them for more than one child. Cloth nappies also have a resale value when you don’t need them anymore, the pre-loved cloth market on places like Facebook is very active.
  • The environment – using cloth helps reduce landfill deposits and carbon dioxide omissions.

So how do you make a cloth nappy?

Just like there are oodles of ways to make a dress, there are oodles of ways to make a nappy. I’m not going to go in to the different types and styles of nappy, you can find a good starter guide here and this is the pattern we include in our cloth nappy kits which will help out with some of the terminology and give you more of an idea of the styles options available. Neither is this series going to outline the laundry regime you should use, except to say I whole heartedly recommend using a wet bag which you simply unzip and place in it’s entirety in to the washing machine. Wet bags keep any whiffs zipped in, that you never have to put your hands in anything yucky and your machine does all the hard work. It’s easy, I promise. You can read a laundry guide here.

We sell a kit here (which you can get at a 20% discount all week, starting tomorrow) which contains everything you need to make your first nappy and includes a pattern which is a great way to dip your toe in to the water. Once you have that under your belt it’s a good idea to get some fabrics from the roll and you never know…. before long you might be whipping up incredible creations like this Winnie The Pooh wonder made by Jacqui at Dinky Dot Bots

Image Courtesy of Dinky Dot Bots

In essence there are five areas to consider and make a choice from with regards to nappy fabrics. If I strip things back to the very basic level and just think about fabrics and notions you need to have various “layers” that make a nappy work.

  1. The inner or lining layer – this is often  a thin manmade fabric referred to as a “Stay Dry” layer whose main purpose is to wick away moisture from your baby’s skin so it feels dry
  2. The absorbent layer – let’s get real, your baby is gonna wee and it needs somewhere to go. Absorbent fabrics collect moisture from the inner wicking layer and hold on to it so it doesn’t leak out.
  3. The waterproof layer – this is the layer that stops the wet from leaking through to your baby’s clothes. This is almost always PUL fabric. 
  4. The outer layer – the outer layer is sometimes the waterproof layer but it’s often this layer that adds the über pretty factor and is generally made from plush/ minky.
  5. The notions – this is the fastenings and elastics

So throughout this week we’ll take a look at each of the different layers and hopefully decipher some of the confusion!

We are also participating in the Great British Nappy Hunt. There are lots of prizes from lots of cloth related retailers to be won, including a £50 Plush Addict gift voucher, so why not sign up, play along, learn something and have some fun?!