DIY—Cloth Diaper Liners

What are cloth diaper liners? A cloth diaper liner is simply a thin material placed into the diaper to either protect the diaper from build-up that may result from diaper rash creams or to catch flushable solids for easier disposal.

Despite the many wonderful attributes of cloth diapers, some babies will still get diaper rash. My own child has very sensitive skin and there are times when we have to resort to non-cloth diaper safe creams or salves. If this is the case for you, or if you just want to avoid having to rinse your entire diaper after a stinky, diaper liners are a good solution.

There are many options to buy, both flushable and reusable. The benefits of a flushable are obvious, you flush it and its gone, no more mess. But you do have to keep buying them, and you will probably have to try many brands before you find one you like. Cloth liners also come in a variety of materials to choose from.

Do you want to see if diaper liners will make your life easier? Just make some yourself. All you need is some polyester fleece and a pair of scissors—no sewing!

Start with some thinner fleece so as not to add too much bulk to your diaper. What I am using today is just some fabric store fleece I bought out of the remnants bin. You could also cut up a pair of old fleece pajama pants if you had some lying around.

You will begin by measuring the rise and width of your diapers.

Then the easiest thing to do is to cut a rectangle that size (mine was 13 X 5”). Cutting rectangles is also the most efficient use of your fabric.

 

 

If you want even better coverage than what a rectangle gives, mark on your rectangle with pins where the diaper gets wider on each end and draw a pattern with contoured ends.

Fold the pattern in half to cut it out if you want a nice symmetrical shape.

Then simply cut your shape out of your fleece and lay it in the diaper to use as a liner.

 

REMEMBER: Always wash liners that have been used with diaper balm separately from your diapers. Even having them in the same wash load will cause repelling build-up on your diapers. I found this out by accident! So you will probably want a small wetbag or bin for your dirty liners.