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Hey Wheels, I ended up just getting some cotton fabric that is super soft and very absorbant from the fabric store, measuring out an approx. length and width, and cut my own, then sewed up along the edges to avoid fraying. They are 36" x 30", although I could have gone a bit shorter on both measurements when I made them, but I do like the ability to add a fold at the top and bottom when I have added in the layers. I bought some baby sized cotton diapers at Walmart here in Canada, and they are 24" x 22" and fit nicely on the inside, and are very soft as well. Once I have everything folded to the way I have found works (still working on that), they are terrific and leave me in a mindset that I have no worries at night about leaking anywhere, and if I do, it is very minor, mostly at the hip and bottom of the coverpant on the side of the leg, being a side sleeper does not help night incidents at all! A bigger cover pant seems to help this issue, I ended up getting a large instead of medium, as the first batch I bought was just too snug and didn't have enough left over at the edges to allow any play. You end up doing more laundry, but the trade-off is well worth it! I doubt the next batch will be much different, I did think about trying a pre-fold design with the leg cuts, but folding an almost square into that I need works really well, and keeps the layers where you put them. Have a great week, Puffy

Great, thanks, Puffy. Sorry to ask more, but how many layers are you using for this? I presume you need a number of this 36 x30 sheets as well as the small ones. Do you happen to know what the material was called too - was it flannel or something like that?

Thanks for any help.

No problem Wheels, it is fairly new to me too using cloth, and I had to do a fair bit of digging around, and I abused Google's search engine plenty to try and find out info, there is a ton of it on infant cloth pin on diapers and such, but not so much out there for adults. The material I bought is a plain cotton fabric, nothing fancy, and I found one that was very soft, which helps. Also very absorbant after a couple washes. There was a decent variety, and prints as well, if you want to get fancy, I couldn't be bothered, plain white works for now! I am still doing trial and error, and have found for an average night, a large for the bottom sheet, 2 or 3 of the smaller folded and layered inside and a large over top to make a sandwich type deal seems to work. I also found a smaller one folded 4 times across the abdomen at the top of the diaper helps with any leaks there. I put an AIO over top with a coverpant, and it handles my issue, is comfortable, and if I don't need it, I am not wasting any money throwing out a disposable, which some nights does occur, not often enough lately though! At this point I wish I had kids, it would have been much easier to figure all this out for sure! I found a store in town that carries a good variety of cloth diapers for infants, and have many kinds of liners/stuffers made of just about every material on the planet it seemed. I also discovered the doo-dad that keeps pins out of the picture, called a Snappi, like a T with cleats on each end, comes in 2 sizes baby and toddler, the larger of the 2 works very well. I found out early in this game that I am not that good using pins, I can, but the Snappi thing works just as well for me. You can find them online of you search around. Hope that gives you a head start and you can find a source for the cotton flats. A baby store may also be a good stop to look at too, Puffy

I layer my flats for daytime and night wear. For most daytime diapers I use 3 to 4 flats folded in half down the center of the unfolded diaper. I use 2 flats back-to-back, then the folded over soakers and then a third flat over the soakers. Using 3 full flats seems to cut down on wear spots where I pin the diaper. Basically I use 5 to 6 flats to make a daytime diaper. For night I usually use a heavier double thickness flannel diaper with 4 or more folded flat soakers sandwiched inside. One needs to experiment on how much you will need. My night time diapers are more than sufficent to make it all night. My daytime diapers are virtually undetectable even though I might be using up to 6 diapers. Far less bulky than one might think. I tend to make certain I am sufficently protected. Probably more than I actually need to get by but then it is more of a peace of mind thing.

I don't see how you guys use cloth diapers during the day and ones with pins for that matter. I can not do the pins. I tried them at night and had to have my wife do the pins. They were bulky too. And the urine smell was awful by morning. It was overwhelmingly strong. I don't think I could bring myself to wear cloth during the day.

I bought flannel diapers and all in ones and it lasted all of about a month. I just couldnt do it. The all in ones weren't too bad. They were velcro but they did leak. Despite being called leakmaster. I don't know how they leaked. I began to wear plastic pants over the all in ones and that stopped it. But they still smelled and were too bulky. I just don't see how you guys do it. My hats off too ya'. I think for the sake of ease and practicality, Ill stick with my Abena's.

Hey Don, I agree with you for daytime use, I couldn't do it either, too bulky and there is definetly more odour issued to worry about. At night, I have found with a good coverpant, I do not even notice any odor at all, until I get into the shower in the A.M., and then it is noticeable, but not that bothersome to me as it is going into the laundry after a rinse anyhow. Daytime, I could probably do it for a few or four hours, but would be ever worrying about smells, don't need that to add to the already high stress levels this issue can bring. I would rather have a dry bed in the morning, then need to be checking for wet spots in the middle of the night, worth the trade off. I sleep much better now as well. Pins, yes they are a pain, but I can manage them, I just found the Snappi works and is so much easier to use... Puffy

I'm not a cloth diaper expert, but I've heard that you need to put some white vinegar in the wash along with the detergent. Apparently, that kills the bacteria that are causing the ammonia smell.

I'm with you Don, I can't take the bulk of cloth diapers. Years ago, I didn't get bothered by the bulk but for some reason, the extra bulk of cloth really bothers me now, day or night. Strange thing, I have little feeling down there, but the bulk really bothers me. So I wear Dry 24/7, which are bulky for disposable, but compared to cloth, no big deal.

I aageree, cloth is certainly not for everyone that tries them, takes some getting used to for sure. I read that the vinegar in the rinse also helps soften the fabric, I have been using it since I switched over, that is when I remember to add it! Puffy

Someone on this forum instructed me to "strip" my cloth diapers to get rid of the detergent build-up as well as the stronger than usual urine odor one the diapers became wet. "Stripping" the diaper consists of washing the diapers in hot water without detergent until no suds appear. This worked great for me without having to add any bleach or vinegar. The problem I guess was that I was using too-much detergent to wash the diapers and over time this built up in the fabric. For some reason when they became wet the urine odor was really strong. Much stronger than normal. This odor disappeared after I stripped them. Go figure. Now I strip them in a hot water wash every 10 or so washings.

I do not have a problem with bulk of cloth diapers but them I don't layer my daytime diapers real thick. I used to wear disposables to work and during the daytime (and still do on occasion) but I was having problems with the tapes staying put when doing physical labor such as lifting heavy objects. My biggest beef with disposables is that they do not wick like cotton does. I'd develop leaks in the crotch and seat areas quite often from sitting down when the rest of the diaper would be dry.

I am with you DDS, same story here, but I have found if you use a dispsoable during the day, I found that adding a cloth insert as a liner really helps the wicking of fluids very well, the entire mat of the dispoasable gets put to use, not just the front and center area, helps cut down on leaks quite a bit. If I am out for more then a few hours, I use a cotton baby flat diaper folded to fit down the middle, and flared out a bit at the top, seems to improve disposable wicking greatly, worth a try. Works well at night too, without adding too much bulk, Puffy