Bright Star diapers

I love the huge variety of cloth diapers available to parents nowadays: prefolds, flatfolds, All-In-Ones, All-In-Twos, pockets, and wool covers. You can wrap your baby in bamboo and hemp, cotton and wool, even in silk! Cloth diapers are stylish as well as functional. I know a lot of parents who love their cute cloth diapers so much that they rarely put pants or skirts on their babies.

I had the opportunity to test-drive a Bright Star Ultimate Trim Fit All in One Diaper, thanks to Abby Flores of Itsy Bitsy Bums. Mine came in Horizon, a pale sky blue.

 

So what is a Bright Star diaper?
The maker of Fishnoodles diapers has created a new diaper line called Bright Star. The diapers are advertised as All-In-Ones, but actually I'd call them a hybrid diaper. It combines the elements of an AIO and a coaker/cover system. The inside soaker pad snaps into the diaper at the back. You normally leave it snapped in during washing and drying, but you can remove it for additional cleaning.

The outer part of the diaper is made of PUL and lined with a thin layer of fabric. I tried re-using the cover with a new soaker, but the inner layer of fabric does get damp enough after one use that you have to change both parts each time (which makes it more of an AIO).

The soaker pad is cleverly engineered with 7 total layers. However, it dries quickly because the layers are serged together in groups of two and only joined where they snap into the outer diaper. I like this combination of high water retention and efficient washing & drying.

Photo taken right after washing & drying...soaker is spread out to show layers

The diaper uses a side-snap closure (the front snaps over the wings). There are four sets of double snaps on each side, giving each diaper a good range of sizes.

What are Bright Star diapers made of?
The outer layer is PUL, like most modern cloth diapers. The soaker is made of bamboo and organic cotton fleece.

I love the range of colors and patterns! I'm drooling over the limited edition prints...Skully, Black Butterfly, Aloha, and Dalmatians are some of my favorites.

How do the diapers fit?
Bright Star diapers come in 3 sizes: 0, 1, and 2. Dio (2 years old, about 25 lbs) fits very comfortably into the second set of buttons on a size 2 (24-32 lbs). He probably could still fit into the last set of snaps in a size 1 (12-28 lbs). In fact, you could probably diaper your baby almost entirely in size 1s, as long as you had something else for the first few weeks.

Bright Star diapers have a very trim, smooth fit. The front goes under the belly, while the back rises to keep the diaper snugly on the waist. The back waistline of the diaper is serged, rather than bound or turned, making it even trimmer.

I've washed and worn my Bright Star diaper 20+ times. It has held up well, no staining or pilling or fraying. The only complaint I have is that the outer diaper scrunches up after it's first washed (totally normal for a diaper bound with elastic). When you lay the soaker on top of the diaper, the soaker overlaps the crotch sides. You have to put your hand on the soaker and tug the four corners with the other hand until all the soaker edges are tucked in. Not a huge deal, but definitely a design element I'd suggest changing.

For a super-detailed review of the Bright Star diaper, and a comparison to the retired Fishnoodles diaper, visit Bitsy Buzz.

$21.50 for solids, $22.50 for prints. Volume discounts available.