Making Your Own Recycled Wool Covers

In the cloth diapering world, there is so much terminology and jargon that confuses the Mama who is considering cloth diapering her little one. The terms "wool soakers/longies/shorties" are all prime examples of that terminology. If you can knit or crochet, then your "how to" to making a wool cloth diaper cover is pretty easy. For those of you who can't do either of those, this post is for you.

First and foremost, why use wool? Wool is antimicrobial and repels wetness if lanolized. Wool is breathable, unlike PUL covers. I use both.

Wool Pros:

-breathable

-antimicrobial

-absolutely adorable (depending on pattern of sweater)

-warm in winter

-cool in summer

-only have to wash every few weeks

-no odor

Wool Cons:

-bulky

-must have a shirt to match it if you're making longies for winter

-will make clothes damp if you're overdue on a diaper change

-handwash and line dry (fast)

-must lanolize

*Tip-a-roo: If you have any sweaters that you've shrunk or are just too short, these are perfect candidates for becoming longies, shorties, or soakers.

The "How To": Click on the picture tutorial below.
Picture Tutorial: This was the BEST tutorial I found online! I started typing out my own directions, but this tutorial was even better with very clear pictures. There are several ways to making them and like anything, once you learn the standard way, you'll start to experiment with other ways of making them.

Below: This was the second pair I made for Laney from a GAP sweater I had, and as you can see, I overestimated on the length, but that wasn't a big problem. I actually learned a lot from my mistakes and even sold a few on diaperswappers.com. It was SO much fun!