Making FREE cloth diaper covers

I DID IT! Me, who has never used a sewing machine in my life, actually put together and sewed my own diaper covers. Now, these were not actually free, but that is my eventual goal, and these are significantly less expensive than purchasing them, even through used sources.

Don found me a poly blend material that is waterproof; he actually bought me a shower curtain. This is not the plastic liner or a cloth outer, but a blend that feels soft to the touch, is flexible to work with, easy to sew and is waterproof. It was not FREE or even cheap by shower curtain standards ($15), but I've made four diaper wraps from it, and have only used about 1/4 of it.

I started with a Fuzzy Buns size Medium and measured that out as my pattern, onto an opened paper bag. I cut it out and have been using that to cut out the waterproof liner.

I also used a shower curtain liner; this is a thicker, plastic material, less flexible and harder to sew, but I felt it would be extremely waterproof.

I cut the center out of an extra large sweatshirt and turned it so the inside softer part would be what touches baby's bottom.

I sewed the three layers together, waterproof fabric, plastic lining, soft cotton. I added elastic, (my daughter took a sewing class where she learned to make a skirt and then she taught me how to add elastic) and velcro. Tada, it was done. I made the first two this way, the second one turning out much better than the first. I was learning.

The next one, I made the same way, except for the inside layer I used a piece of teddy bear fleece. These are great baby blankets and I love them, but after five kids, I have about 50 in the closet. There is no way I will need this many, even for a January baby, so I figured I could spare one.

This diaper, I took my husband's suggestion and got adventurous, I sewed the three layers together, except I left a gap at the back center between the plastic lining and the fleece, which makes it a pocket diaper. HAH! I'm getting even better.

The fourth diaper, I made with the waterproof outer and the fleece (as another pocket diaper), but I left out the plastic liner to see if it would still work. That would save the cost of that layer and would save the time of sewing in the extra layer. We used it once and it didn't leak, so far so good. They are all going through the wash right now, and will get to go for another round soon.

As far as the additional costs: I scavenged the elastic from a pair of plastic pants that had worn out and were basically shredded except for the elastic; I had some velcro left over from when we used it for attaching our banner to the front of our display table (for conventions). I bought some snap tape when the local Ben Franklin went out of business; sold one box on Ebay for close to what I paid for two boxes, and so basically got to keep one for free. I am going to try adding snaps to the next one, and see how that works.

It wasn't all perfect. I broke the thread so many times on the first diaper, that it took an entire spool of thread to finish the project. I've also broken two needles so far, the first one I don't know how, and the second one I was trying to sew on the snap tape and hit a snap with the needle. My first diaper looks like a mess of thread, but it works. My second looks only slightly better, but again, it works. I'm not creating diapers that I could put on the market and offer to others for sale, (at least not yet). And, I so far have only figured out how to make one size.

However, when all is said and done, I am learning a new skill, I am making something that my family can actually use, and I am NOT spending $15 a week on paper diapers.
If I stop now, I will have four functional diaper covers for a total cost of under $20. If I continue making wraps from the materials I have, the price per cover will continue to decrease with each completed one. Maybe I'll even get good enough at it to make some that look nice enough that others would want to use, and then I would have learned a skill that could actually bring in an income.

Corinne Johnson is the author of Vacation Education Books, a Christian unit study series based on favorite vacation destinations.