Handmade Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers save resources and keep disposable diapers out of landfills. I have used cloth diapers with both of my children (although we use a disposable at night so that we can all sleep better).I have done lots of experimenting with many different types of cloth diapers and I have found that a diaper cover with a prefold inserted is what has worked best for our family. It is the cheapest route to go, and we have had the least amount of blowouts.
We used cloth diapers from the start with my son Finn, but only had a few size small diapers and so I found myself doing diaper laundry every day... not so great for the environment or my water bill. For baby #2 I was determined that we would have enough cloth diapers so that I would only have to wash them every few days. And, since near the end of my pregnancy I was doing a lot of nesting-crafting in hopes that it would bring on her arrival, we now have plenty of diapers!
I had never thought to make my own diaper inserts until reading soulemama's Handmade Home. Then I realized it was in fact fairly simple. Her book gives detailed instructions, but you basically sew a couple of pieces of fabric together with an extra layer sewn into the middle. Only takes about 10 minutes per diaper. So, I headed into my garage to look through our old-clothes-stash, where I keep old clothes to be re-purposed into new things. I had some old baby blankets and old t-shirts that would otherwise have been destined for the landfill and I turned them into 10 new diaper inserts... and the only thing that it cost me was my time. Not to mention that my baby is probably one of the only ones who has an "Obama" diaper!
As I said, I made these a few months ago, but wanted to give them a whirl before writing about them. They have worked fabulously. They can't hold quite as much as a Chinese pre-fold, but so far so good. Once I find some more time, I will probably make another 10 or so (the more I have, the less often I have to do laundry!!). Check out Soulemama's book for step by step instructions on how to make your own!