Eco Tip: Line Drying Everything!

Eco Tip:  Line Dry More Than Just Diapers

    Summer is here!  Warm breezes and sunny skies make it perfect for line drying cloth diapers.  Many of us know the benefits of line drying cloth diapers such as preserving PUL in AIO or Pocket diapers.  However, many of us over look the benefits of sun drying our everyday clothes.  And one of the great things about the warmer weather is the softer and nicer the clothes seem to feel.
    Line drying clothes is an easy way to help cut the electric bills during the summer months.  A few different sites quote the savings around $156(1) a year or about $25(2) a month for electric dryers.  The lower your electric bill the lower your family’s carbon foot print is.  Its a great way to get outside and get some sunshine especially with a continual rise of  Vitamin D deficiency.  The summer months are especially great because the warm weather keeps clothes from getting stiff and they will feel just as soft as if they were in the dryer.  Another good reason is that clothes last longer think of all that lint, which is a sign of the fabric being worn down. 

Here are some tips to get the best results when line drying:

1.  hang the colored clothes inside out to help maintain clothes
2.  shake the wrinkles out and smooth as many as you can with your hands.  Reduces any need for ironing
3.  hang heavy jeans folded over then half way through drying flip and shack out wrinkles to optimize drying and helping to prevent stiffness

A helpful hint when line drying sheets fold over and allow to blow in the breeze like a sail to promote even drying.  Another good hint is if you want to hang out your “intimate” items hang them in between two layers of regular clothes creating a few walls to hide them behind.(3)

In our house, to help us remember to hang and dry our darker clothes inside-out we just inside them out when we take them off.  Its also better for the clothes to be washed that way.  We also try to wash most of, if not all our clothes in cold water.  This will help maintain your clothes and fabrics longer.  65% of Americans use hot water or warm water to wash clothes(2) lowing that percentage could help the environment as well as your personal pocket book. Cold water cleans most clothes just as well but if you plan to use warm or hot water save it for visibly dirty items.  Its even better to use cold water when cleaning cloth diapers, make sure to do a good soak ahead of time, especially with PUL which gets worn down from the rough hot water and then being heated in a hot dryer.

These are just a few of the many reasons that hang drying clothes can be great for you and your family.    

(1)http://gogreeninyourhome.com/how-to-save-electricity/save-money-doing-laundry-drying-clothes/

(2)http://www.laundrylist.org/en/line-drying

(3)http://www.momadvice.com/money/line_drying_clothing.aspx

Diaper Pail Liners

ONE of the first things people ask about cloth diapers is:

What do you DO with the dirty diapers?

The answer to that is a Diaper Pail Liner. Some people use empty trash cans, plastic grocery bags or small wet bags, but the pail liner is the easiest and most convenient ways to store the dirty diapers. Not only do they come in a plethora of colors, but diaper pail liners also help to reduce smells. And since they are reusable, they eliminate the additional waste created with the use of grocery and trash bags.

Made with PUL fabric, which stands for “polyurethane laminated,” these bags hold in wet diapers and their odors. They are waterproof in the sense that they will hold dampness and wet diapers without leaking, not in the sense of “they can hold 7 gallons of water.” Easy to use, our diaper pail liners have with an elastic cording, they easily stretch over the edge of a diaper pail or trash can.

How do you USE a diaper pail liner?

Simply stretch the elastic cording over the edge of a trash can. Some people use conventional diaper pails for cloth diapers. Often times, diaper pail liners need to be custom ordered to fit these cans.

The other option for a diaper pail is a simple kitchen trash can. A lid is a major plus here. You can use a 13 gallon can or even smaller. We use a 7 gallon can, similar to this one: http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProduct.html?id=470&ProductCategory=210§ion=3

It is low profile, holds 20-24 diapers, fits right next to the toilet and doesn’t take over the powder room. Placing it here allows us to clean the diapers with a diaper sprayer and place them directly into the diaper pail. Our washing machine is adjacent to the powder room, so this makes for a quick and easy job. We do use a hanging wet bag upstairs to store the “dirties” in, but always bring them downstairs to the diaper pail before washing.

You can buy the pail liner or the diaper pail first, each way is fine. It can be easier to buy the pail liner first, and then take it with you to shop for a diaper pail or trash can. This eliminates hours of searching and waiting for a custom bag. Just remember to buy a trash can with a lid. It keeps the smells down.

How do you WASH a pail liner?

To wash the diapers, just remove the lid, lift the diaper pail liner out of the can, and turn it inside out over the washing machine and let the diapers fall in. Toss the pail liner in with your diapers. Wash and dry with your diapers. It’s that easy.

How MANY diaper pail liners do you need?

Another pail liner tip I learned is to buy 2 diaper pail liners. Let’s face it, a wash routine can take hours. By the time you rinse the diapers, wash them 2 times, wait for them to dry, and read Parenting magazine, feed the family, nurse the baby, vacuum and mop the floor, you can have 3 or 4 dirty diapers piling up (on your freshly cleaned floors), just waiting for a clean pail liner to come out of the dryer.

I’m sorry – did you say you TRAVEL with cloth diapers?

The other awesome use for 2 pail liners is travel. Yes, I said it. TRAVEL. We think nothing of traveling to Grandma’s house or getting on an airplane with cloth diapers. The hardest part for me is storing the abundance of clean AND dirty diapers in my car, at Grandma’s house or in my luggage. (Public Disclaimer: I only put clean diapers in the luggage – although I always laugh when I see an inspected tag on the suitcase with the diapers! Ha! Wonder what that poor TSA agent was thinking while looking at a bag of diapers!)

Having 2 pail liners can make traveling with baby and cloth diapers easier. And a side note: they make completely awesome and HUGE beach bags for pool and beach trips! Wet towels and suits all go in until we find somewhere to wash!

Diaper Pail Liners are indispensible in the cloth diapering world and can easily be found for under $20.00. For the benefits, it’s worth the investment.

Prefolds Trainers are versatile

One of the things I like about cloth diapering is the many, many options available. There are so many cloth diaper methods out there, that if you try one system, and don't like it, you can easily try another. This allows moms to find a system that works best for their families. Some moms like Pockets...others like Allhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif in Ones or fitteds with covers...I even hear tell that there are some die hard prefold lovers out there! The bottom line is, all cloth diapers, trainers included, are versatile. What other garment gives you this many options?

A few months back, I had neglected the diaper laundry, and needed a diaper for baby K. All that was left in the diaper drawer were his sister's trainers. (You can't see pink diapers under pants, you know!). I put one of Sister S's trainers on Baby K, and it worked wonderfully. So, not only do Little Moose Prefold Trainers work as training pants, but, they can double as a diaper in a pinch. Lay a booster in, and you've just increased your wetness protection.


But wait, it gets better - don't I sound like an infomercial. Several customers have told me they have had successs using Little Moose Prefold Trainers as a swim diaper. Now, for the money minded momma, that can only mean one thing - savings! Spending money on a training pant that doubles as a swim diaper, now that's frugality at it's finest!



If you're past the potty training stages, and have no need for the absorbency of a prefold trainer, be sure to shop for swim diapers or view this Treasury featuring swim diapers made by Etsy Cloth Diapers Team members.

A wick-free cover . . . in cute prints?

Any experienced cloth diaper mama can probably tell you that any cover or AIO diaper with a cute print on the outside has the danger of wicking, or leaking moisture to the outside. Why is that? Because most cute prints come in cotton, an absorbent fabric. When you laminate cotton or layer cotton fabric over PUL, the outside cotton will somehow find a way to grab onto any bit of moisture from the inside and pull it out like a sponge to moisten the outside of the diaper. This won't cause a problem if you change your baby immediately when he is wet, but we all have those inevitable moments at the grocery store when we just can't change the baby so quickly. So what is a fashion-conscience baby to do? You can stick with solid colors which are almost always laminated polyester (synthetic fibers=no wicking), OR you can find diapers and covers that sport polyester prints on the outside.



As the owner of Bundles of Joy, I search far and wide to find cute polyester prints to put on the outside of my diaper covers. These are not always easy to find, but they are out there. One of the best sources of cute & funky polyester print is the vintage market (thrift stores, garage sales) where one can find great old polyester knit prints in uncut yardage when someone cleans out their old fabric stash. This orange rose print is an example of some great fabric I found at the thrift store.



And sometimes I find some great article of clothing to upcycle into a diaper cover!



Of course I find new polyester fabric as well, it just takes some searching to find a print I like that is stretchy and synthetic, like the tie-dye print above or this 100% polyester panne velvet:



Remember, it is always best to change your baby as soon as he/she is wet. But it's also nice to know that your cover won't leak!

Last bird post for the month...

A new month a new theme

Old McDonald had a farm...well, maybe he had some of these animals on his farm. However, I don't think they were as cute!

Adjustable AIOs

Jenni from LilBees here, excited to tell you about my latest creation!

My primary frustration with newborn size diapers is that the baby grows out of them so fast. But small diapers can be bulky on a newborn, and may end up leaking since a newborn's legs are usually quite skinny. I don't like snaps in the crotch (who wants one more thing there, right?). Fitted diapers are often made adjustable with a fold-down front for their extra row of snaps, but an AIO (all-in-one) diaper cannot have that type of fold-down or it would leak.
So what's a mama to do?!
This diaper is the solution I came up with for my own son: A small AIO diaper with an extra row of snaps so that it can be done up tighter (and with a shorter rise) during those first days or weeks. The inside layer is soft (either velour or flannel) so it will not irritate that tender belly button even though it will cover it.

This photo shows my son wearing this design at about 8lbs (dark blue) and 13 lbs (light blue).

I've just stocked my first of these at LilBees, and plan to stock more in the coming couple of weeks.

CLEARANCE at 3d ~ deebleDdo

I am going to take a break from diaper making for awhile, and with that in mind, would like to get rid of all my remaining instock items. EVERYTHING at my Etsy is CLEARANCED.

I have embroidered Minkee and specialty covers for $13, embroidered PUL pockets for $12, embroidered PUL and fleece covers for $10 and $12, pillowcase dress sets with pocket diapers for $20 and embellished UBIPFs for $1.50.

Some of the items are Christmas themed and I can get them out in time for you to have them for the holiday.

Etsy Buy Handmade deebleDdo

I just listed six new pocket diapers for Halloween at Etsy and have other Autumn themed diapers available as well. There are also a few SALE items through the end of this month.

I also stocked three diaper covers today at Avant-Garde. These two stockings will be the last of the diapers until November when I will have some covers for Christmas.

Have a peek below to see some of my recent goodies!

Out and About with Cloth Diapers

When you use cloth diapers on your baby, is it 24/7? Or is it strictly an at-home operation? I admit that when I was a new mom, I had an unexplainable fear about being out of the house with a wet (or worse) cloth diaper. I put a disposable diaper on my son whenever we left the house. Before long, I realized that toting a dirty cloth diaper back to my house in the diaper bag might be easier than finding an acceptable place to deposit that used trashy diaper. All I needed was a good wet bag for storing the wet (or worse) diaper until I got back to the diaper pail at home. At first I just used plastic grocery bags or gallon-sized ziploc bags. They did the job just fine, but they weren't very reusable (or fashionable). Then I made my own wool wet bag with a felted wool sweater and a zipper. Wool wet bags work just like wool diaper covers, and should be washed by hand. I now also have a PUL wet bag, this is very waterproof and highly durable in the diaper wash. And fashionable, like this floral "Icky Bag" from Petunias. You'll find lots of other wet bags on etsy, check them out.

My other fear of cloth diapering away from home was that I couldn't bring my wipe warmer full of warm, wet cloth wipes. I realized this wasn't that big of an issue, I just packed dry wipes and a small squirt bottle of water. My own Klean Kanteen water bottle also works fine for wetting wipes. Usually we are changing diapers in a bathroom anyway, so I'll wet my wipes in the sink.

Now when I leave the house, I just make sure I have enough diapers & covers, some wipes, a wet bag, some water, and we are good to go! Oh, is your diaper bag not big enough to hold all those things? Get a bigger one. A grocery tote works fine too, that's what I usually use.

A small wetbag is fine for short outings, but what do you do when you are away from home overnight or longer? Get a bigger wetbag! This wetbag from Wee Ones by Jajoc holds about 20 wet diapers. I made my own diaper-pail-sized wet bag from a yard of PUL fabric and a draw string. It is large enough to hold ALL my wet diapers, and therefore large enough for any trip. As long as I know I'll be near a laundromat (or better yet, grandma's washing machine) at least once every three days during the trip, we are good to go. Just make sure to bring your own detergent as you never know what you will find in grandma's laundry room. One more thing, if your trip is longer than 3-4 days, try to NOT leave any wet diapers in your diaper pail at home (they'll be super yucky by the time you get back). When I pack for a trip, the last thing I do is wash and pack all the diapers. I usually have one or two dirty ones by the time we leave the house, I pack those with me also in the wet bag. It's not a big deal to pack dirty diapers with me, as I know I will soon be adding to that wet bag. Besides, I never want to leave behind ANY of my diapers since I want to use my entire working stash on the trip.

What about when you are camping, far away from any washing machine, or even running water? I have taken cloth camping and lived to tell about it! It was actually quite easy, but all my relatives at the family reunion looked at me with awe and respect (or maybe they just thought I was crazy). The camping trip was only four days, so I made sure to pack enough diapers to last the whole trip. I packed every single diaper I could find. I even packed things that could be used as a diaper in a pinch, like cotton baby blankets. I just didn't want to run out, as I wasn't planning on washing diapers in the nearby lake! Also, as there were no toilets for rinsing out diapers, I brought some flushable diaper liners that I could drop right into the pit toilets. These were wonderful, I highly recommend them for any vacation with cloth diapers.

As I said, I have never washed diapers by hand while roughing it, but I have heard of people who have! If you do, just be sure to bring biodegradable laundry detergent, a clothesline & clothespins. Don't wash or rinse diapers in a lake, but a running stream should be okay. Also, you might want to leave your thick all-in-ones at home, they might never dry! Opt for some quick-dry fitteds or even flat diapers instead. You also might find that your camping destination is near a town with a laundromat. A quick mid-camping drive to town might be in order. Some campgrounds even have their own laundromat, check around and find one for your next camping trip.

So, next time you leave the home, don't forget your cloth diapers! Whether it be a quick play date or a two-week cruise, it can be done. And it's really not that hard!

Godzilla diaper cover...who would have thought?

I had a customer order a Godzilla diaper cover and at first I must admit I thought "are you serious?" This is what I came up with and after I sold it I posted it in my shop just to see what kind of views it would get. Much to my surprise I sold another 3 of them within a couple days. Many thanks to creative customers with a vision for integrating monsters into cloth diapering.

Slacker Central

That's my sewing room lately...but I have decided that I really MUST get back to sewing and the first place to start is to do something about the piles of unfinished cloth diapers and covers that are taking up space and making the sewing room look all cluttered! I listed seven new covers today...Minkee, fleece, and PUL and am hoping to work my way through another pile this coming month which will mostly be OBV fitted diapers. Take a peek below to see what's new at 3d ~ deebleDdo!

Pocket Diapers & Recycled Wool

I want to welcome two new members to our team: Little Footprint and Gently Made.

Monica is the work-at-home mom behind Little Footprint, she makes pocket diapers out of PUL and suedecloth. This one features a cute geometric print on the PUL. She says she sews a lot of diapers but admits that most of them end up in her own stash! Hopefully soon we'll see more diapers make their way to her shop.







Gently Made is another great addition to our team. Her shop is filled with oodles and oodles of recycled wool covers. You will find longies and soakers made from cast-off sweaters. She also has some adorable plaid pants made from recycled wool skirts, that's something you don't see every day.

New Team Member: Organic by Nature

Today I wanted to post about the newest Etsy Cloth Diaper team member, Organic by Nature. She has such an impressive selection of diapering products, everything from wet bags to wool covers. Her diapers are made from scrumptious fabric like bamboo velour and organic cotton fleece. A little of everything can be found here!

Here are some examples:

Organic cotton velour diaper with green dafodil outer fabric (I love that green!)


Wool Cashmere Soaker


Floral PUL diaper cover


All-in-One Pocket Diaper


Organic Bamboo Fleece fitted diapers


Lots of other goodies here, go check out her shop!

LilBees now has Velour!

"Autumn Joy" Diaper Duo
because how could autumn be anything BUT joyful with velour on your little ones bum?!

Velour has recently become a popular diaper fabric, so I decided to try it out. WOW! It is so soft, I just want to sit and snuggle with it all day. It does not wick or 'stay dry' like microfleece does, but because of the pile (the fuzz) it does leave skin feeling dry, which is nearly the same! Furthermore, it remains soft through many washings--not many fabrics do that!
I have recently gotten in several colors of velour, and am starting to stock velour-inner AIOs and fitted diapers at LilBees.
Come check them out!

Girls Day Out

I had a great little mini-vacation and am now back to work! I have had some fun these past few weeks sewing things just for little girls. I stocked some cute fitted cloth diapers, a pul/fleece diaper cover, and a swingback dress and diaper set on both my Etsy and my HyenaCart.

Etsy Buy Handmade deebleDdo

Most of these diapers can also have a dress or appliqued tee, or an embroidered cover made to match the diaper fabric...just ask because I am having a good time digitizing designs for embroidery. :)

3d is open again for custom orders for embroidery and cloth diapering items, and as always, I am happy to have you send your own diapers or garments to me to be embroidered. You can visit the 3d~DeebleDdo blog to view the design gallery and get a peek at what I've done recently.

Thanks for your patronage of our Etsy Cloth Diapering Team!

Turtle Butt is Here!

The long awaited pattern is finally here!

http://theknittingsiren.etsy.com
or click here for instant download for $7

Size Waist Rise Thigh
X-Small 14” 16” 9”
Small 16” 17” 10”
Medium 18” 18” 11”
Large 19” 18” 11.5”
X-Large 20” 19” 12”


Materials Required:
16" circular needles (or 40" for magic looping), dpn's or second set of circs for legholes.
50 gms MC, 50 gms CC, Doodlebirds wool recommended
2 stitch markers
Tapestry/darning needle

Gauge: 20 sts per 4" square
Skill Level: In Knitty terms, piquante. I would rate this as intermediate/advanced. Do not select this as your first project!!!

I can't wait to see all the different color combos you come up with!

A New Etsy Cloth Diaper Member

I want to give a rave for a new diaper team member, the shop is www.acherubskiss.etsy.com and is a wonderful site for Chloe Toes diapers, and all things baby. Kim has always enjoyed sewing and is a wonderful designer of clothing in her own right. She has taken a Chloe Toes and added the cutest ruffles you have ever seen. Kim's Mom has been her business partner for over 10 years (her name is Jolly) and she designed an adorable dress to showcase these ruffle diapers. Please give her site a look and enjoy the beautiful talent they share, I have enjoyed knowing these ladies as friends and now I am so happy they are joining the efforts to help cloth diaper babies everywhere,
Kathy@Katnappies

New to Etsy CD Team and Shop News

Hello everyone! My name is Amber and I just opened my Etsy shop: Fluffy Fanny a little over a week ago. I've had 2 sales and have about 6 orders in the works for my custom team diapers. So exciting!!

I was recently accepted as a Very Baby licensee so will be adding the VB diapers as soon as I get the VB tags in the mail!

Here is my newest creation I added to my shop last night. It's green 1 mil PUL w/ baby blue FOE, I love it!

Pockets!

I've been busy sewing a bunch of pocket fitted diapers. I'll be listing them slowly over the next week or so. Here's one that I listed today, made from my new favorite interlock - the Later Gator print.

And, i've decided to make stuffable AIOs in addition to my envelope diapers. Here's one I just listed.