Canadian cloth diaper tutorial

I've had lots of requests from people wanting to buy my Canadian cloth diapers (featured on the photo at the top of the blog). Unfortunately I am not making them to sell. Believe me, you probably couldn't afford them anyway.* Good news is they are not too hard to make yourself, if you are reasonably handy with a sewing machine.

Here is a tutorial on how to make the maple leaf diaper or cover.

Materials:
1 mil white and red PUL
white and red polyester thread (Gutermann's, not the cheap stuff)
white and red 1" matte FOE (fold-over-elastic)
glue stick
ballpoint 14-gauge sewing machine needle
snaps or hook-and-loop tape
Chloe Toes diaper pattern (or you can use her free side-snapping diaper cover pattern!) or your own favorite diaper pattern

I made hemp fleece AIOs using the Chloe Toes pattern, which I modified for a hook-and-loop closure. (I haven't written this tutorial yet, but I will. Hold tight!) I didn't want to pay the big bucks for a snap press, and I like the adjustability of the H&L. I used 1 1/2" Aplix for the loop and 1 1/2" TouchTape for the hook.

If you can't find red FOE, you can dye it. I used the Jacquard acid dye from Dharma Trading in Fire Red. I think Bright Scarlet or Cherry Red might be a better match, actually. Follow their instructions for vat dyeing and you'll have beautiful red FOE!

Optional step for AIO or pocket diaper: Cut out body pieces and assemble the body and soaker out of the absorbent material, as indicated on the Chloe Toes instructions. If you're doing a H&L closure, this is where you'll sew on the fold-over hook tabs.



Next, cut out a body piece of PUL and one maple leaf in the contrasting color. Mark the edges on the fabric side of the PUL with a disappearing fabric marker. I used this pattern. Click to see the full-size image. You can reduce or enlarge it until it looks like the right size on the bum of the diaper.

Attach the applique to the PUL body piece with a glue stick. Press firmly and let dry for at least a few minutes. Zig-zag stitch around the entire applique piece with a small, narrow zig-zag stitch. This is a slow process, since you want the outside "zag" to just barely overlap the applique piece. If it's too far in or too far out, it won't hold the applique on very well.

Optional step for H&L closure: zig-zag the hook pieces to the front of the diaper (yes, this is also part of another upcoming totorial!)

Cut another piece of white PUL the entire size of the main diaper piece. This is to overlap the applique & H&L stitches with another layer, otherwise the needle holes will let water seep through the PUL.

Optional step for AIO or pocket diaper: glue the fabric and the PUL together.

Next, attach the FOE as indicated on the Chloe Toes instructions. For H&L closure: sew on hook tabs (tutorial in the works). For snap closure: attach snaps.

You're done!



The finished hemp fleece AIO diaper, with hook & loop closure. I did a sewn-in soaker flap for the newborn and small sizes, which helped cut down on drying time. For more mobile babies, I found that the soaker flap tended to scrunch up. When I made size M diapers, I swiched over to a soaker sandwiched between the full-size layers of hemp. 

* This sentence does not mean, as one anonymous commentor suggested, that I am super-rich and snotty and full of myself because I can afford very expensive diapers. In fact I made my own diapers myself (primarily to save money). They were fairly time-intensive, which is why I don't sell them, even though I've had requests from people wanting to buy them. I would have to charge too much in order to make a decent wage.