If you’re a FAM, you likely have a kiddo that is a tad sensitive to irritants. Disposable diapers are wonderful in a lot of ways, but when they turn your baby’s butt bright red (even if you change the diaper so frequently they aren’t even DONE yet when you’re trying to take it off!), well, they’re no longer a great idea.
So, if you’re like me, you turn to cloth diapering.
We went old-school, baby! Flat fold diapers with a FLIP diaper cover. And they are fantastic!
But still, the red bottom remained.
So we went with cloth wipes.
My first homemade cloth wipes were just a few old cotton t-shirts that I cut up, and they worked great. Well, aside from the fact that they rolled into a little tube that was a pain in the heinie to unroll while holding a squirmy baby on a changing table! Eventually, they just irritated me too much and I looked for another option.
Time to whip out the sewing machine, ladies! But I promise – this takes NO SKILL and almost no time.
I did this before I was blogging, so I don’t have step-by-step pictures, but I did take pictures to show off to my family (who know that I’m brilliant with a crochet hook but abysmal with a sewing machine!).
This is so worth the time! I made these wipes about 2 years ago and they’re still going strong, and now pulling double duty for two little boys! Think about how much money you spend on disposable wipes in 2 years…yeah. That’s what I thought. HUGE money saver, too!
So here’s what you do:
Go buy about 4 yards of plain, soft white flannel at the cloth store. Wash and dry, and then iron it. Sounds silly, but it will make it a LOT easier to cut out!
Fold the flannel in half, and then decide how big you want your wipes to be. We use a diaper warmer (no, not because we’re pampering parents, but because we were losing too much sleep from a suddenly shocked wide-awake baby from cold wipes and our sleep was worth it!) and 8 inch squares worked perfectly for it. Just measure whatever container you’re going to use and double that number. (If you’ll be folding them in half, that is.)
If you have a cutting mat and a rotary cutter, this will be easier. But you can do it with just scissors if you have to. Get a measuring tape or yardstick and a cloth marking pencil and dot out the size of your squares. Then cut out a bunch of double squares!
Double layers of flannel ready to go. I staggered them when I stacked as they were cut out so they’d be easier to grab.
I went with double squares because I wanted them to be nice and soft and sturdy. I suppose you could go single layer, but really, double is worth it.
Then get out your sewing machine and thread it with white thread. You could use color, if you want, but I was going for all white so I could bleach them to death if necessary and they’d still look good!
Set your machine for a zig-zag stitch and zag those edges fairly tightly.
Zig-Zagging the edges of the double squares.
I started in the center of one side, and when I reached that spot again I just overlapped a bit, sewed backwards a bit, and then snipped the threads. Easy!
Then just stack them up and you’re in business!
Heinie wipes all ready to do their duty!
I’m told that this would be so much easier with a serger, so if you have one, feel free! Frankly, I’m not really a seamstress and anything beyond my oh-so-basic sewing machine sort of intimidates me. So I’ll stick with zig-zagging the edges, thanks!
These really are wonderful. I can wipe up the worst messes with a single wipe, as opposed to anywhere from 3-8 disposable wipes at a time. If they start to look dingy, I wait for a sunny day, squirt some lemon juice on them and let them go get a suntan. A few short hours later, they’re good as new!
So that’s how I made my kiddos diaper wipes. Oh, and I just use plain old water in the warmer. You can get fancy and put in essential oils and Castille soap and such, but plain water has always worked just fine for us.
I also just launder them with the diapers. Makes it a simple process!
Have you made cloth wipes for your babies? How’d you do it?
Strangely, I have made baby wipes. I used terry cloth for one side and flannel for the other and zigzaged them together. (And I say “strangely” because I actually did not use them at all… they were a gift for a far more Eco-conscious friend.)
How did she like them? I like the idea of terry and flannel…sounds cozy!
She still has them out and is using them, and her daughter is 14 months old now, so I guess they have worked well. The best part is that the terry cloth could be a cut up towel (although I bought white terry cloth) and the flannel I used was a couple of old flannel baby blankets. Very eco-friendly to not only have reusable wipes, but to make them from re-purposed materials!
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