Cloth diaper questions

[Kayleigh]

I’m having trouble with my new prefold cloth diaper from Rearz. I may be doing some things wrong so i hope everyone can set me straight. By way of background, I have two old contour cloth diapers that are too small for me but, with the extenders I added, I can wear them.
1. the new Rearz diapers are “prefold” but when I wear them they bunch up tremendously in the crotch . They also are very, very high waisted and don’t have too much extra in the waist making pinning them somewhat of a challenge. And with all the length, they droop quite a bit when I wet them. Are my experiences with prefold diapers typical or am I missing something?
2. by comparison my old contour diapers are way more comfortable in the crotch and when I wet they don’t droop as much. Do they still make contour cloth diapers?
3. pinning my diapers is quite the challenge. The extenders I added to my old contour diapers are thick and difficult to get a pin through. Consequently they wind up being loose. The prefolds give me little extra waist length so pinning tightly becomes a bit of a hassle, with the end result being a too loose diaper. I thought I heard of some device that can be used in lieu of pins - is there such a device and will it work in an adult cloth diaper? Does everyone use pins?

Sorry to sound like a dodo with all my questions but I really want to perfect using cloth. I’m able to be diapered more often now and I want to minimize my use of disposables wherever possible.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Kayleigh]

I thought I was adding this to the adult diapers forum but I mistakenly added it to the adult baby forum. Apologies. I hope I still get some responses..

 

[RoseofThorns]

I have the ecoable cloth nappies. They're more of and all in one and you can add soakers. From my limited experience with pre folds, there are a few ways to fold them to help and you can fold the top down/in to help with it being too tall. I do think i know what you're talking about with the not pin thing, I'm not sure they make them for adults but if they do i don't see why it wouldn't work especially if you have plastic pants over them.

 

[Cottontail]

It sounds like maybe you got a size too big. It is a little trickier to get a snug fit with an oversized prefold. For reference, I have a 36" waist and 27" rise (measured waistline-to-waistline), and I'm a large in most disposables, but the medium Rearz prefolds are a perfect fit. They're what I wear most days, and I don't generally experience the problems you described, but then I've also been using prefolds for decades and they definitely do require some practice! Don't be too discouraged. Have you tried folding one end in (probably the back) to shorten them? There's not much to be done about excessive width, but I suggest pinning at approximately 10 and 2 o'clock regardless. With that pin placement, you can more easily snug the diaper around your waist as well as into the folds of your crotch. Under your tummy or right over your hips, and it's much more difficult to keep the diaper snug down below.

Thanks to a snowstorm, I'm holed up with the family and not in a position to take pictures of myself in diapers, but if I have the requisite privacy tomorrow, I'll do that and share them with some more thoughts on folding a pinning. (I generally use a simple "angel wing" fold.)

But to your question about contours: I'd suggest the gauze ones from Baby Pants. Alternatively, if you've got a friend with a serger, you can convert your prefolds to contours in no time flat. If I wasn't 2500 miles away, I'd offer contour conversions for beer, ha ha.

 

[Ellyn]

First, it sounds like the diaper choice might be a size larger but I wear a medium where the chart says I can fit into a small. I choose a size larger for ease of pinning and the easy ability to snug it up.
To start, thee diaper should be folded in 1/3s. Leave the front folded, slip it between legs and hold it there with it stiill folded in 1/3s. Fan out the back and pin as far forward as possible from the back corners into the thinner section of the front, leaving the front folded as much as possible. My pins are placed about over my pelvic bones and well into my waist.
IF YOU ARE FEMALE and have a defined waist, pinning the diaper snuggly into your waist should keep it in place quite well as my hips are several inches larger than my waist.
Use waterproof pants of your choice. Add a lite to medium support brief if desired to keep a wet diaper in place (no sagging).
I hope this helps.

 

[foxkits]

Babykins makes all kinds of cloth diapers. They been around for years.
They were doing diaper pail friends
Baby heaven diapers and plastic pants in the 1990s check there website. The big thing is to buy one to try it's a what works for you thing. The big thing is you need enough absorbent material to meet your wetting need. Onesie's help hold the cloth diaper up.
The snap on plastic pants can leak.
Pull On are best. Poly laminate or pul pants are cooler.

 

[DiaperedJeff]

I use Leakmaster prefolds and they are very easy to fold in thirds, open up the back, sit on them, then bring the front up nd spread it out, then pin the back tightly to the front. I use four large diaper pins. Then cover with Leakmaster or Babykins plastic pants. Very secure and no leaks. I also use Babykins cloth diaper pants. Just like putting on underwear. Cover with plastic pants. Easy, secure and absorbent.

 

[sofiahammerstein]

You're mentioning prefold, so what fold are you using when you pin it on? Search 'diaper folds' and find some of the other folds. There's a ton of options, and that may help with what you're asking.

As far as pins, as long as you have room across the front with the 'wings' coming across I recommend using 'Snappi's' personally. Way easier than pins and work better to me. There are some other options like that too. I tried pins at first years ago when I first tried cloth and quickly got tired of those. The toddler-size snappis stretch far enough that I have no trouble using them.

 

[Kayleigh]

Thanks everyone. I am going to look into the toddler size Snappis. And will look up diaper folds along with folding over the back.

 

[Cottontail]

Thanks everyone. I am going to look into the toddler size Snappis. And will look up diaper folds along with folding over the back.

You might also check out Boingos and ABZs (knock-off Boingos). They grab like Snappis, but are used one-per-side like pins. I find them a lot easier to use than Snappis, but then I don't have a lot of extra width in my diapers. My main gripe with Snappis is that if you only use a single Snappi (as they're intended to be used), they only really support the centerline of the diaper, so it's hard to get and maintain snugness in the folds of your crotch (if you care about that). Using one Snappi per side is also somewhat popular, but seems awfully fiddly to me.

I'm holed up with the family and not in a position to take pictures of myself in diapers, but if I have the requisite privacy tomorrow, I'll do that and share them with some more thoughts on folding a pinning.

I had the privacy, so here goes. Hopefully nobody's offended. (No, I don't usually put my diapers on over my onesie, ha ha. And yes, the pins have little yellow bunnies on them. )

I start with a very basic "angel wing," by simply folding the sides in, then folding the back corners out:


After bringing it up between my legs, I fan the front out a little so that the front and back corners will overlap by a couple of inches:


And then I pin just forward of my hips:


I position the diaper so that it ends up snugged into the small of my back and hangs on my butt. The line of tension angles downward as the back of the diaper comes around my hips, which helps pull the front of the diaper up.


In front you can see that the pin placement creates lines of tension both around the waist and into the sides of the crotch. If you pin under your belly, it's really difficult to get snugness through the crotch.


Also note that I'm using baby diaper pins. The secrets there are:

• Use high-quality ones. I like vintage pins. The only modern ones I'd recommend are Dritz brand. Most other modern pins have very flimsy shafts and will bend.
• Don't bury the whole pin shaft in the diaper. As you can see below, only about half the pin is in the diaper, and that's despite pinning through all layers and back out. Although the diaper is very snug, the pin can actually slide back and forth. If the whole pin is buried in the diaper, the tension can pull the pin out of the head and pop it open. OUCH! (That's true even with "adult" pins, by the way.)

Half the pin shaft is out of the diaper. It can slide freely back and forth despite the tension:


Usually I'll put a couple of toddler prefolds in the middle for extra flood insurance. I end up changing myself about every 3-4 hours, and during that time the diaper barely loosens at all.

Final note: I definitely get that body shapes vary, and my approach here won't work for everybody. In the end, some experimentation will always be required.

 

[Kayleigh]

Thanks Cottontail.

 

[floppyfoppsie]

You might also check out Boingos and ABZs (knock-off Boingos). They grab like Snappis, but are used one-per-side like pins. I find them a lot easier to use than Snappis, but then I don't have a lot of extra width in my diapers. My main gripe with Snappis is that if you only use a single Snappi (as they're intended to be used), they only really support the centerline of the diaper, so it's hard to get and maintain snugness in the folds of your crotch (if you care about that). Using one Snappi per side is also somewhat popular, but seems awfully fiddly to me.


I had the privacy, so here goes. Hopefully nobody's offended. (No, I don't usually put my diapers on over my onesie, ha ha. And yes, the pins have little yellow bunnies on them. )

I start with a very basic "angel wing," by simply folding the sides in, then folding the back corners out:
View attachment 128116

After bringing it up between my legs, I fan the front out a little so that the front and back corners will overlap by a couple of inches:
View attachment 128117

And then I pin just forward of my hips:
View attachment 128118

I position the diaper so that it ends up snugged into the small of my back and hangs on my butt. The line of tension angles downward as the back of the diaper comes around my hips, which helps pull the front of the diaper up.
View attachment 128120

In front you can see that the pin placement creates lines of tension both around the waist and into the sides of the crotch. If you pin under your belly, it's really difficult to get snugness through the crotch.
View attachment 128124

Also note that I'm using baby diaper pins. The secrets there are:

• Use high-quality ones. I like vintage pins. The only modern ones I'd recommend are Dritz brand. Most other modern pins have very flimsy shafts and will bend.
• Don't bury the whole pin shaft in the diaper. As you can see below, only about half the pin is in the diaper, and that's despite pinning through all layers and back out. Although the diaper is very snug, the pin can actually slide back and forth. If the whole pin is buried in the diaper, the tension can pull the pin out of the head and pop it open. OUCH! (That's true even with "adult" pins, by the way.)

Half the pin shaft is out of the diaper. It can slide freely back and forth despite the tension:
View attachment 128127

Usually I'll put a couple of toddler prefolds in the middle for extra flood insurance. I end up changing myself about every 3-4 hours, and during that time the diaper barely loosens at all.

Final note: I definitely get that body shapes vary, and my approach here won't work for everybody. In the end, some experimentation will always be required.

This is super useful to visualize how to fold this style of cloth diaper, thank you SO much.

 

[DiaperedTeddyBear]

How do you pin them tight without poking yourself? I assume cloth diapers are supposed to fit a lot looser than disposables, but is it normal for them to fit so loose that you could wiggle out of them? Are the pins only to hold them around you and the plastic pants are what hold them up?

 

[Cottontail]

How do you pin them tight without poking yourself? I assume cloth diapers are supposed to fit a lot looser than disposables, but is it normal for them to fit so loose that you could wiggle out of them? Are the pins only to hold them around you and the plastic pants are what hold them up?

If you’re going to wear a onesie or some other external support, you can be a little lazier with the pins. Traditional pull-on plastic pants don’t provide much support though. I often wear a onesie, but I still like my diapers to be snug and supportive by themselves. I definitely can’t pull them off, even after hours of wear. They have to be unpinned. (In fairness, some of that is down to body shape. If I was more straight-sided, things might be different.)

As for pinning, I do it a little differently: I pin straight toward my body with my thumb inside the diaper. As soon as I feel the pin point next to my thumb, I use my thumb to push it sideways, basically twisting the diaper and pin so that the pin is pointed into the fabric again. Then I push the pin through and out. Maybe I’ll post a couple closeups of that method. I made a post about it years ago in the now-deleted cloth diaper group. It’s a good way to get a really snug pin job, and because it gets the pin into and out of the diaper over a very short distance, it’s great for using the shorter baby diaper pins.

 

[Visitor2Earth]

You might also check out Boingos and ABZs (knock-off Boingos). They grab like Snappis, but are used one-per-side like pins. I find them a lot easier to use than Snappis, but then I don't have a lot of extra width in my diapers. My main gripe with Snappis is that if you only use a single Snappi (as they're intended to be used), they only really support the centerline of the diaper, so it's hard to get and maintain snugness in the folds of your crotch (if you care about that). Using one Snappi per side is also somewhat popular, but seems awfully fiddly to me.


I had the privacy, so here goes. Hopefully nobody's offended. (No, I don't usually put my diapers on over my onesie, ha ha. And yes, the pins have little yellow bunnies on them. )

I start with a very basic "angel wing," by simply folding the sides in, then folding the back corners out:
View attachment 128116

After bringing it up between my legs, I fan the front out a little so that the front and back corners will overlap by a couple of inches:
View attachment 128117

And then I pin just forward of my hips:
View attachment 128118

I position the diaper so that it ends up snugged into the small of my back and hangs on my butt. The line of tension angles downward as the back of the diaper comes around my hips, which helps pull the front of the diaper up.
View attachment 128120

In front you can see that the pin placement creates lines of tension both around the waist and into the sides of the crotch. If you pin under your belly, it's really difficult to get snugness through the crotch.
View attachment 128124

Also note that I'm using baby diaper pins. The secrets there are:

• Use high-quality ones. I like vintage pins. The only modern ones I'd recommend are Dritz brand. Most other modern pins have very flimsy shafts and will bend.
• Don't bury the whole pin shaft in the diaper. As you can see below, only about half the pin is in the diaper, and that's despite pinning through all layers and back out. Although the diaper is very snug, the pin can actually slide back and forth. If the whole pin is buried in the diaper, the tension can pull the pin out of the head and pop it open. OUCH! (That's true even with "adult" pins, by the way.)

Half the pin shaft is out of the diaper. It can slide freely back and forth despite the tension:
View attachment 128127

Usually I'll put a couple of toddler prefolds in the middle for extra flood insurance. I end up changing myself about every 3-4 hours, and during that time the diaper barely loosens at all.

Final note: I definitely get that body shapes vary, and my approach here won't work for everybody. In the end, some experimentation will always be required.

What brand/size of cloth diaper is this? It looks very comfortable.

 

[Mikochi]

This is so interesting! I recently purchased a Rearz prefold, but I just can't get it on properly. I bought an M, but it seems waaay to large.

IF YOU ARE FEMALE and have a defined waist, pinning the diaper snuggly into your waist should keep it in place quite well as my hips are several inches larger than my waist.

Same here. I'm often confused because according to my waist (29") I should be able to fit in relatively small(er) sizes. But my hips are a lot wider, so it took me a while to realize that. Sometimes I think that a lot of ABDL disposable diapers are made to fit males best (which is probably logical because from what I have seen at least, they're more male than female ABDLs?)

 

[Kayleigh]

Cottontail: I think I got it. The angel fold was the trick. I still need to do a bit of a fold over as the diaper is very high in the back. I’ll save that for the next time.
I’m now set for the next few hours with my diaper, plastic pants, onesie and leggings.

Thanks again.

 

[DiaperedTeddyBear]

Thanks Cottontail. I think part of it is body shape. I'm starting to get a little wide around the midsection, so I can't pin it tightly around my hips. Maybe that's a good motivation to lose some weight, so I can fit into my diapers better. I do really like onesies though, so that helps keep the cloth diaper snug.

I don't have a lot of experience with cloth, except for when I was a baby which I don't really, but I recently got one of the rearz prefolds. I like it, but it's a way different feel than wearing disposables, and it takes some getting used to.

One of the things I really like about diapers is feeling wet, which always makes me feel really little, but dang, cloth diapers feel really really wet. Without the SAP of disposables that completely absorbs liquids, wetting it even a little bit is enough to make me feel soaked. It might be too much of a good thing.

I'm not going to wear cloth very often because I wouldn't be able to keep up with all the laundry or be able to wash them discretely, having older teen kids living at home. But it is a fun change from what I normally wear.

 

[Cottontail]

What brand/size of cloth diaper is this? It looks very comfortable.

Rearz medium. For me they're the best fit, but really there are plenty of very functional options for prefolds, so I'd encourage experimentation.

bought an M, but it seems waaay to large.

In all ways, or just length? Width? A lot can be done with folding to make oversized prefolds fit, but it's obviously ideal, both for comfort and for easy of use, if things are matched to your body size/shape as much as possible before folding. Prefolds from different manufacturers fit differently. My experience has been that the ones from Rearz, Baby Pants, and Changing Times (RIP) end up more square once they're prepped whereas those from AdultClothDiaper/LeakMaster end up somewhat more narrow. But also, AdultClothDiaper can custom-make prefolds in your size, so if you just can't find a stock prefold that fits you well, and you're determined, that's something to consider. (There's also Angel Fluff, but I hesitate to recommend them. I've never had a good experience with them, and they're also the most expensive.)

I'm not going to wear cloth very often because I wouldn't be able to keep up with all the laundry or be able to wash them discretely, having older teen kids living at home. But it is a fun change from what I normally wear.

Ha ha, yeah, I know what you mean about that. My oldest opened the dryer once when it was full of my prefolds, but I think I got away with it. One advantage these traditional diaper styles have is that today's kids probably don't think "diaper" when they see them. Of course, if I'd had some of my printed PUL covers or all-in-one cloth diapers in the dryer, I'd have been screwed!

Cottontail: I think I got it. The angel fold was the trick. I still need to do a bit of a fold over as the diaper is very high in the back. I’ll save that for the next time.
I’m now set for the next few hours with my diaper, plastic pants, onesie and leggings.

Oh good! Conventional wisdom for babies is to deal with the extra length in back for girls and in front for boys, but I find the back more comfortable. You might try both and see what you like best.

As for pinning, I do it a little differently: I pin straight toward my body with my thumb inside the diaper. As soon as I feel the pin point next to my thumb, I use my thumb to push it sideways, basically twisting the diaper and pin so that the pin is pointed into the fabric again. Then I push the pin through and out. Maybe I’ll post a couple closeups of that method.

Some promised pictures. These are from a few years ago. This particular diaper is actually made from a few toddler prefolds that I stitched together. Sewing practice! But anyway, that's why the folding looks a bit weird.

While holding the corners together with the opposite hand, I push the pin straight toward my body:


...until it comes out right next to my thumb:


Then I twist the hand that's holding the diaper, pushing the pin point sideways and into the fabric again:


And finally, I push it all the way through:


As you can see, the pin is all the way through all layers of the diaper and back out again, and over the span of only about half an inch. I suspect this method would be a bit harder for a carer/mommy/daddy to do, but it's pretty easy when you're pinning the diaper on yourself. I worked it out myself years ago, and for me it's the method that gives the snuggest fit. It also makes the larger three-inch pins unnecessary. I'd just have a lot more unused pin length.

 

[Edgewater]

Remember that pre-folds can be purchased with difference capacities i.e. weights!, most commonly defined as daytime or night-time.

Contour cloth diapers tend to be thin in comparison and as a result can be viewed as light use wear as they are also fairly thin.

In either case and as we all know, cloth diapers require plastic pants.

FYI: Great Pictorial Cottontail