Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Adventures in AIO's (all-in-ones)

My latest experiments with cloth diapers have been with sewing all-in-ones (AIO's).  The advantage to this style of diaper is that you don't have a separate insert- the cover and insert are actually "all in one".


The disadvantage is that AIO's typically take a long time to dry.  This AIO is based on the TotsBots "BOB" (best of both) Easy Fit model here.  I love their diapers, but the latest version 4.0 only comes with velcro waist adjusters...


Why snaps?  Now that I've been cloth diapering for a few months, I have come to dislike sorting out anything with velcro (hook & loop) in the laundry.  So I went with snaps (poppers).  I've already had two separate incidents where super-strong velcros from baby's bibs snagged onto clothes and diapers. It's very sad to see scuffed and pilled clothing just because of an errant piece of velcro in the wash.  Grr.

After using these for a month I can say they work!  They also dry fairly quickly - not as quick as the TotsBots, but much faster than some of the other AIO's I have.

How these were made...
before sewing the outer/inner together... don't use pins

Pattern:

  • This video from Little Bundas for general techniques.
  • This pattern, 3x3 AIO round tab from Arfy of Prefold2fitted Blog
  • These written instructions from Tutu Mafia/Cloth Revolution's Sewn-In Diaper here.  These instructions plus the video above were crucial for me to get a good end result.  I also had the TotsBots diaper to look at for help.

Improvements for next time...
I need to fold over the edge where the suede cloth and the PUL edge overlap.  I left the PUL edge raw and it's stretching a bit thin.  I also think I'm just gonna do suede cloth and the insert inside (instead of PUL on the inside).  And, lastly, I've got to better reinforce the sizing snaps at the front center with more PUL.


Materials:

  • outer is Eco-PUL from Diaper Sewing Supplies this pack here.
  • Alova suede cloth for the back flap also from Diaper Sewing Supplies
  • the built-in insert is 1 layer velour (closest to the baby butt), 1 layer bamboo terry, 1 layer hemp with PUL at the front

chalk markings for centering snaps