I know that the wool diaper covers look a bit odd, and I got a request for a picture of how they actually fit on the baby, so here it is:
They’re not going to win any fashion awards any time soon, but they work perfectly. You could make these covers without adding the cuffs from the sweater to the leg holes, but I find that having a little extra wool extending down his legs helps contain leaks. We do have diaper blowouts every now and then, but they’re always contained within the diaper cover – the blowouts very rarely make it as far as his outfit.
Claire says
Every wool sweater I’ve ever owned has been itchy, but I’m quite certain that you’re not puting itchy diaper covers on the little guy. How does that work?
FrugalBabe says
@Claire: They’re not itchy at all. I don’t know if it has to do with the felting process or the type of wool that the sweaters were originally made of, but the diaper covers are really soft. The sweaters were given to me after they had been felted already, so I never saw them in their first life. But I’m a huge fan of wool in general, and have plenty of wool stuff that isn’t itchy. Maybe it’s because I always buy stuff second hand and it’s been washed a few times before I get it :)
Kelly says
Very cute! You did a nice job!
Kelly says
And I would have to agree with Claire. I have always found anything 100% wool I have bought to be itchy as well. Even the second hand stuff (I have recently discovered the joy of thrift stores…thanks to you! I will pretty much only buy my daughters clothes there now. Mostly mine too!) But maybe I just am more sensitive to it. I tend to have sensitive skin.
FrugalBabe says
@Claire: @Kelly: One thing I read before I started making the wool covers is that some babies are allergic to wool. In that case, a rash will develop, and the baby will probably protest because the pants will be uncomfortable (that’s one of the concerns with wool in organic mattresses – we bought an organic mattress, but we bought one without wool, just in case, since it was a pretty big purchase). When my friend gave us the bag of felted sweaters, she also gave me one already-made diaper cover that she had left over. We tried that one on our son several times to make sure that he didn’t have any sensitivities to wool before I started making more. He’s never had redness or rash, and he’s pretty much happy 100% of the time. So we’re confident that there isn’t an issue there. But for someone considering wool diaper covers, I’d suggest trying one for a while before buying a whole bunch of sweaters and spending a weekend sewing.
frugalscholar says
Oh, this brings back happy memories of my cloth-diapering days! I wish I had thought of making your diaper covers.
See my new blog: frugalscholar.blogspot.com. The most recent post features a photo of my dh mowing the lawn with my ds in a baby-backpack.
FrugalBabe says
I just lanolized my diaper covers. I used this website as a guide:
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/lanolize.htm
Four covers are soaking in the sink right now, with PureLan and warm water. One of my friends gave me to PureLan before my son was born, but I ended up using a different nursing cream. I’m glad to have found a use for it! It seems like this will make our covers more leak-proof and less stinky. Perfect :)
scantee says
Looks great! I recently felted a sweater by accident and this would be a Until now, I’ve been knitting my son’s diaper covers. It’s pretty cheap, you can do one with a $5 skein with yarn left over for another project, and you can design it with a cord for the top (which my son needs, at least). I’ve knit some longies for him to sleep in and they are wonderful, warm for our chilly house and so absorbent.
FrugalBabe says
@scantee: My mom made a pair of longies for my son, and put a cord in the top, which I do like. She made them from sweater sleeves, and just turned a wide hem at the waist and threaded the cord through the hem. Knitting diaper covers sounds like a great idea, but I don’t know how to knit, so felted sweaters is as good as it gets around here :)
RecycleCindy says
I love your ideas about recycling old wool into diaper covers. I used cloth even when cloth wasn’t cool and would have loved to have covers like these back then. I will remember this idea for the grand babies when they come along.
Kristen's Raw says
Adorable!
Missy says
L.O.V.E it! How clever have just started my frugal missy site and so finding other frugal sites yours is fab!
hope you find time to visit my blog and if you don’t mind could I add your site to my links list?
Merry Christmas
Missy
Frugal Trenche3s says
What an adorable photo! I hope you had a lovely first Christmas with the little guy!