Project #4 - Modern Cloth Nappy

Well, as if I didn't have enough projects on the go at the moment, I decided to tackle yet another one - the sewing of a modern cloth nappy. For some time I have been struggling to decide whether I should have a go at making them, or whether I should just save myself the hassle and buy them. At between $20 and $40 a nappy, I thought I had better give it a crack before throwing in the towel. I must say, I am glad I did as I found it to be much easier than anticipated. With a bit of tweaking, I am fairly confident our baby will have a nice and snug fitting nappy. Here is a picture of the one I made today just using scrap materials from around the house:

After investigating the options for free patterns, I decided to go with the Wee Weka pocket nappy. While it was relatively straight forward, I felt that the instructions could have been a bit clearer as I had to re-read them a couple of times before it all made sense.

For the purpose of this trial nappy, I used a cotton fabric for the outer later, ripstop for the waterproof layer and flannelette for the inside layer. I have no idea at all whether or not this nappy would be waterproof if it actually needed to be used, but it looks good.. and that's all that matters at the moment!

For the soaker I cut up a piece of material my sister 'acquired' for me. It is one of those pads you put down on mattresses for bed wetters. Apparently it pulls the moisture away from the skin, which is exactly what we want! I simply cut a strip off the mat and overlocked around the edges - nice and easy (see below)!

After making just the single nappy, I have decided I will do a few things differently next time:

1. I will use snaps rather than velcro - The rise on this nappy is quite high, so in order to make it suitable for newborns, I feel that snaps would be a better option (they also look prettier).

2. I will overlock the pieces together - Because it is a pocket nappy, you can see inside...and the edges in there look a little rough. My sewing ability leaves a bit to be desired also, so overlocking would give it extra strength.

3. I will sew another seam around the outside - I had a look at some of the nappies people have made on flickr and the ones with a seam sewn approximately 2-3mm around the outside of the nappy look more 'polished' than those that don't.

4. I will sew a soaker pad inside the nappy - I like the idea of being able to stuff as many soaker pads inside the nappy depending on how much your baby wets, but lets face it - it's always going to need at least one, so I'm going to sew it in there. While this will affect the drying time, I believe that won't cause too much of a problem.

5. I will find out how much leg elastic is required - Can you believe that the pattern doesn't state how much elastic is required for around the leg! I am going to find out and let you all know! ETA: 16cms of leg elastic is required!