Cloth Diaper Wipes Revisited and Cloth Wipe Solution

So I washed and dried my newly made cloth wipes and discovered that the stitch I used wasn't quite close enough to prevent fraying as I had hoped.

So I am currently in the process of putting a narrow hem on the edge by folding the fabric twice (almost a rolled edge) then running a straight stitch down its length.

Sewing the hem on the wipes

"wrong" side of the finished wipe

"right" side of the finished wipe

Now that none of the raw cut edge is showing, they should hold up to the frequent washing they will undergo.

When I posted yesterday I meant to include a spiel about the wipes solution, so here it is:

Homemade Baby Wipes Solution

1 cup water

1/2 tsp Baby Wash (I have tons of Johnson's Baby Wash from gifts, so I'm using that)

1-2 drops Tea Tree Oil (pure essential oil)

I am keeping my wipes dry until they are needed, then I can control how wet the wipe is and have dry ones available to dry his bottom before putting the new diaper on. In reality, all you need is a wet wipe - the soap is a little overkill unless you have a poopy diaper area to clean up. Most of the recipes I saw online listed a mixture of water, soap, and oil. The reasoning for the oil would be to replace the natural oils that are stripped away from the skin by the soap. My inner chemist screamed. Everyone knows that water and oil don't mix. When you add soap in, all your doing is creating micelles (a drop of oil surrounded by the soap) to disperse the oil through the water - creating a colloid. The oil is not going to be available to the babies bum to replace what was stripped away - it is essentially locked in the soap your using to clean with. If your worried about drying your babies bum by stripping the oils - don't use soap unless the diaper is messy. What I do to prevent dry skin on my baby is to apply lotion or oil after his baths (usually accompanied by a mini massage.)

So what is the Tea Tree Oil in there for?

Tea Tree Oil (from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia) has long been used in alternative medicine for its' antiseptic and antifungal properties. By putting it in the solution it will slow down mildew formation on the wipes if they sit wet for a long time and it *could*, theoretically, help with diaper rash on your babies bottom.

The Making of Cloth Diaper Wipes

After several days of frustration, borrowing a sewing machine, and a trip to get mine "fixed;" I have finally completed my first set of cloth diaper wipes. I'm not going to delude you into thinking I'm some fantastic sewer. I made the simplest wipe I possibly could.

Oh, and the sewing machine is just fine - I had the bobbin threaded incorrectly. The nice gentleman showed me how to thread it (though, to my credit I thought I was doing it the way he showed me) and even went through some stitches. He then cut some thick denim and showed me that it can stitch through 6 layers of it for a hem without a hiccup!

Now onto the project. For this I used:

• 2 small medium weight flannel receiving blankets (reuse part or recycle)
• Fabric Cutting board (ruler works fine as well)
• Sharp fabric shears
• Thread
• Sewing Machine

I measured and cut the blankets so I would have wipes that were in the range of 8-9" square, giving me nine per blanket.

Cutting the blankets

I would guess that you could use most natural fabrics for these wipes - and too be green I would suggest using fabrics you have around your house (old shirts, towels, etc.) If you use old jersey knit shirts I would recommend a double layer wipe so you don't end up with messes going through the fabric onto your hand. Seeing how my fabric is a good weight, I opted for a single layer. I didn't even do a double layer hem on the edges - I just did a legs stitch about a 1/4" from the edge of the fabric, then trimmed away the excess.

The "raw" product

Me, diligently cutting away the excess fabric from the edge of the hem

Close-up of the finished product

I'm actually pretty proud of the way these turned out, being the amateur sewer that I am. The wipes are absorbent, do a good job of cleaning messy bums, and they rinse well. My husband even said that he prefers the cloth ones I made to disposables! Boy, do I ever love my husband. He has been totally supportive of this transition to cloth diapering and has "been in the trenches" trying all the diapers along with me.

Anyway, I'll be doing my first load of wash with these wipes today, so I'll be able to post later about how the stitch held up to a wash and dry cycle.