First AIO I made. "Advice?"

I made this yesterday and for the most part it feels right and the leak guards that I sewn in work great. However the fabric does not soak up the wetting. I think its because I have not ran the soaker pad through the washing machine. It is my first one so I actually am really impressed with how well it turned out. I just would like some opinions on what I could do to improve the padding's ability to soak up a wetting.
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The problem is not in the amount of fabric but rather that the liquid just rolls around on the fabric and wont soak in all the way.
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Well I don't have an opinion on how to fix the soaking issue. :/ but I did want to stop by and say they look great! And awesome job!

working on my own pul diaper right now ^^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5sYjmxuNHW8Y2ZrWW1qd2xYbW8/view?usp=sharing


Might take a few washes to break in the soaker pad. Dont use fabric softener with it...

I would say that you are not using the right fabrics if it is just rolling around and not getting absorbed. There are only a few fabrics that actually work for that so I am guessing that is the issue. Also is the diaper made from PUL?

mine is pul line with a cotton outer shell.. im going to make some cotton fleece pullups to wear under it for night. thinking i can just change the soaker if i get to wet and night

MatalicPebble said:

I made this yesterday and for the most part it feels right and the leak guards that I sewn in work great. However the fabric does not soak up the wetting. I think its because I have not ran the soaker pad through the washing machine. It is my first one so I actually am really impressed with how well it turned out. I just would like some opinions on what I could do to improve the padding's ability to soak up a wetting.
.
The problem is not in the amount of fabric but rather that the liquid just rolls around on the fabric and wont soak in all the way.

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First off, it looks great!! There is a group for cloth diaper makers, by the way.

Out of curiosity, what fabrics did you use--for the lining as well as the soaker? Cotton will certainly not absorb well until it's been washed a few times. Most makers of cloth diapers recommend between three and five "prep" washes, both to remove urine-repelling oils as well as to get all of the shrinkage out of the way. And you probably know that fabric softeners reduce absorbency, too. I periodically apply plant-based fabric softener to my prefolds, but I'm happy trading some absorbency for softness, and it washes out pretty quickly.

Cottontail said:

First off, it looks great!! There is a group for cloth diaper makers, by the way.

Out of curiosity, what fabrics did you use--for the lining as well as the soaker? Cotton will certainly not absorb well until it's been washed a few times. Most makers of cloth diapers recommend between three and five "prep" washes, both to remove urine-repelling oils as well as to get all of the shrinkage out of the way. And you probably know that fabric softeners reduce absorbency, too. I periodically apply plant-based fabric softener to my prefolds, but I'm happy trading some absorbency for softness, and it washes out pretty quickly.

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I used cotton flannel for the soaker. I used a shower curtain for the leak proof layer because I did not know how well this would work. I see what I done wrong. For the most part I expected this to be trial an error. I really did not expect it to come out this good. With that said I see now that I absolutely have to wash the fabric several times before sewing things together. Also thanks for telling me about the group. I will put in the request to join.

MatalicPebble said:

I used cotton flannel for the soaker. I used a shower curtain for the leak proof layer because I did not know how well this would work. I see what I done wrong. For the most part I expected this to be trial an error. I really did not expect it to come out this good. With that said I see now that I absolutely have to wash the fabric several times before sewing things together. Also thanks for telling me about the group. I will put in the request to join.

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Nah, I think you're right to sew things up before washing. Flannel may keep its shape a bit better than some other fabrics, I don't know. But many diaper fabrics, like gauze- and twill-weave cottons, will shrivel up in all sorts of odd ways when washed, and will get quite a bit thicker. Both of those things really complicate sewing. Bear in mind, though, that my own diaper-making experience is limited to hand-sewing old baby prefolds together. Kif or one of the other AIO makers would have far better advice than I!

I don't know about the shower curtain thing. That's a diverse group of fabrics, so I would imagine that some would work fine as diaper covers and some would not. If you end up addicted to sewing your own diapers, there are a few well-regarded companies that specialize in diaper fabrics for DIY-ers, like Very Baby.