Cloth Diaper Inserts & Doublers...and the fabric they are made of....?????'s galore

Vilate - posted on 05/15/2009

So you got some good info. You are right about the microfiber going next to the baby's skin cause it will dry it out. But it is great to use as an insert for a pocket. When I used pockets I used microfiber cloths with a piece of heavy flannel sewn on and then sewn together in a fortune cookie style. (folded sides in and in so it make one in thirds) with the flannel on the outside then sew across the top. This way you have more layers of absorbency and they dry easily and fold easier! :)
I love hemp and bamboo though! They are great! I use them in my cloth diapers and mama pads and nursing pads! My diapers dry in one dryer cycle too! :)
The microfiber and flannel is the cheaper way to get good absorbency for sure, but you might want to invest in a few hemp/bamboo ones for nights. I make and sell some in my etsy shop. You can see them here http://www.vilatesniftynook.etsy.com to get an idea.
Also you should make sure that the person that is making them doesn't do an inside seam. I found out the hard way :( that PUL will wick the moisture from the inside to the outside layer of the diaper in the crotch and around the legs. They need to do a casing for the elastic and then just serge the outside of the diaper. Like my diapers I have on my shop. Really do this. It sucks to spend so much on diapers and then end up with them leaking all the time! hope this helps!
Oh, you also want the inside layer to be microfleece not just fleece since fleece is naturally water resistant. Water just beads up on fleece, but the microfleece will wick the moisture away into the absorbent layers inside the diaper.
Let us know how it goes.

Cathy - posted on 05/15/2009

Raw Silk are used as liners, the bit that goes next to your babies bum, because they have anti-bacterial properties. You can also get disposable paper liners that are flushable and can be used on top of the fleece lining of your pocket diaper.



Inserts are general bigger and have more fabric layers than a doubler which is just to boost absorbancy.



You can pretty much stuff a pocket diaper with any absorbant material.Most common choices are microfibre,cotton, hemp and bamboo. Microfibre is a quick wicker, never heard not to put it right against babies skin, not important anyway as if you use it inside a pocket it won't be touching skin directly. Microfibre isn't technically absorbant, it locks the water between its fibres.If you have a heavy wetter it's preferable to mix it with a high absorbancy natural fibre. Cotton is the quickest drying of the natural fabrics, if drying is a problem. Hemp is the thinnest of the natural fibre yet is much more absorbant than cotton. It needs up to ten washes before absorbancy becomes good. It makes for a nice slim diaper. Hemp is also a natural anti bacterial cloth. Bamboo (my own favorite) is about the same thickness of cotton but about ten times more absorbant, also unfortunatly take ten times as long to dry. I keep the bamboo for night.



It's fine to use square diapers or prefolds in your pockets, but they do make the diaper fit a lot more bulkier than specially designed inserts.

Kim - posted on 05/14/2009

I use pocket diapers, Happy Heinys and Bum Genius. The inserts for these diapers are microfiber. Doublers are just an extra insert to put in in addition to what is already in the pocket if you need extra absorbancy. My inserts and doublers seem to be the same thickness. Mine are also 2 different lengths, the shorter one being for newborns and the longer one for toddlers.

I don't have an answer for you about the tri-fold cloth diapers, I don't use those.