Review: Hybrid Pocket Fitted Diaper by Poodelum & Missy Kate

I’ve never had a diaper quite like this one before. We have fitteds, and we have pockets, but this is the first diaper that is both!

“Located in beautiful Bend, Ore., ‘Poodelum & Missy Kate’ began on the far end of my enormous kitchen table with my sister’s borrowed sewing machine.

Just this last spring, I decided to make a change. Our youngest, now 9 months, was going through disposable diapers with lightning speed. I had always been curious about cloth diapering and decided to take the plunge. I already did a TON of laundry anyway, so why not?

My curiosity grew when I found out how many different kinds/types/brands there were. I asked all my mama friends to share any knowledge they had and began searching blogs for any insight mamas I didn’t even know wanted to share with the world.

I became obsessed. But not really obsessed to the point where I buy every different kind/brand out there. I became obsessed with figuring out how to make them myself.

I’ve always been ‘crafty.’ It’s in my nature. I’ve always loved sewing and creating. But now, absorbing a wealth of information from other know-how, crafty, do-it-yourself-genius mamas, I am striving to become an expert.”

Click on Photos to Enlarge:

I received a one-size hybrid pocket fitted to review.

The outside of this diaper is made of cotton interlock, and the inside is lined with french terry cloth. French terry cloth is not considered a stay-dry fabric, but that is normal for a fitted diaper.

Because this is a hybrid fitted, there’s a layer of fleece sewn in the middle to help the outer layer stay drier longer. However, this diaper does need a cover to be completely waterproof.

The pocket of this diaper is quite wide, so an insert can be used if desired for extra absorbency. I used it with a BumGenius insert, and it fit quite nicely.

Our Experiences with the Diaper:

Since this diaper doesn’t come with a closure, a Snappi or diaper pin should be used to close it. Because of this and the fold down rise, it’s easy to adjust this diaper to fit all sizes of babies. This can be a great thing for newborns, small babies, or skinny babies.

Because of the fabric used, I wasn’t sure how well a Snappi would hold it together, so I used a diaper pin. My son is really squirmy, so I did struggle getting the diaper fastened with the pin. However, I know many parents have become well-practiced at using pins and can do it quite quickly. Also, Kate mentioned to me that she has become adept at fastening a cover over this style of diaper without a Snappi, pin, or any type of closure.

If you’re not sure that a no closure diaper is for you, Kate does make them WITH closures.

With one microfiber insert inside, this diaper started to feel damp on my son after two hours, so I definitely recommend using this with a cover. An extra insert or doubler can also be used.

On its own, it’s a simple diaper without a lot of bells and whistles. But what it does have is the ability to be customized to fit many sizes of babies: from the very thin to the very chunky. It’s made well with even stitching and nice, wide elastic. It’s also very reasonably priced: without closure $13, with closure $14.

5 1/2 months old, 19 pounds, 24 inches long

Besides the hybrid pocket fitted diaper, Poodelum & Missy Kate also sells pocket diapers, all-in-twos, hybrid fitteds, fitteds, fleece soakers, wool soakers, and inserts.

You can win a $25 gift certificate to Poodelum & Missy Kate to choose and purchase your own diaper! Come back to My Life: A Work in Progress on Oct. 25 for the Hoppin’ Halloween Giveaway Hop (Oct. 25-31).

Can’t wait? Visit Poodelum & Missy Kate on Facebook to buy your own!

Note: I received a sample product to review. I was not compensated for this review. The opinions are my own and may differ from yours.

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Review: Pocket Diaper with Embroidery by Roxie Harlow

Roxie Harlow diapers are the creations of a SAHM/Etsy Shop Owner/Photographer/Navy wife.

“I got the idea of cloth diapering when I was pregnant with my third child. The thought of two in diapers didn’t sound too good on the bank account. I started my stash with some cheap-o-China diapers, but soon progressed to drooling over the super cute WAHM diapers I was seeing on Etsy and Hyena Cart. Being the DIYer that I am, I decided to hit the sewing machine and start making my own. After a few failed attempts I finally got the fabric combination/pattern that I liked. Soon after making a few diapers for my kids I started getting inquiries from friends and friends of friends. So, I decided to add them to my Etsy shop, and here we are today.”

Click on Photos to Enlarge:

Since my hubby’s in the Navy, I received an adorable one-size pocket diaper with U.S. Navy-appropriate embroidery on the bum to review. 🙂 View available embroidery designs here.

Note: I was informed that this particular embroidery design would look best on a cotton or linen fabric, rather than minky, but I still think the anchor looks adorable! 

The outer layer of this diaper is made with 100% polyester minky fabric. Minky is very soft and silky! Since it’s a one-size, this diaper fits approximately 10-35 lbs. The rise and waist size can be adjusted by using the rows of snaps.

Smallest Setting
Largest Setting

The inner layer is made with micro-chamois, a micro-fleece fabric that is also soft and silky. Micro-chamois is a “stay-dry” fabric, so it will help keep moisture off baby skin. As you can see, the micro-chamois is a sort of beige or light brown color instead of the typical white. I really like this, because it will make any staining less visible.

Micro-Chamois Inner Layer

The narrowest point in the crotch is about 6″ wide. As a comparison, BumGenius pocket diapers are about 6.5″ wide at their narrowest point.

This diaper has a hidden layer of PUL. That’s what makes the diaper waterproof. The hidden PUL is red…I would say this a VERY patriotic diaper! 🙂

Our Experiences with the Diaper:

This is a good, solid, well-constructed pocket diaper. It did not come with an insert, but I was able to use it with both microfiber inserts and cotton prefolds stuffed in the pocket. The pocket is plenty wide, and I don’t have small hands.

Because of the minky and micro-chamois, this diaper is soft and silky on both sides. I know I keep using the same words to describe it, but I honestly can’t think of anything more fitting.

I was also very pleased with the snug fit around my son’s legs. My favorite thing about this diaper is the custom embroidery, of course!

In these photos, my son is 5 1/2 months old, 19 lbs., and 24″ long. The diaper is snapped at the smallest waist setting, without crossing the tabs. I also have the diaper snapped at the smallest rise setting. The waist is still fairly loose snapped like this, so there’s plenty of room for growth in the width and rise of this diaper.

The embroidered pocket diapers by Roxie Harlow retail for $21. This makes them on the higher end of the price range for pocket diapers. Considering the lush fabrics used and the unique, custom embroidery, I don’t think this is a bad price at all for these diapers.

Besides the embroidered pocket diapers, Roxie Harlow also sells hats, beanies, hair clips, fleece shorties/longies, diaper inserts, onesies, dolls, and regular pocket diapers (no embroidery), loveys, and more.

You could win your very own Roxie Harlow embroidered pocket diaper! During the Hoppin’ Halloween Giveaway Hop, Oct. 25-31, one reader will win this stinkin’ cute “Wakey Wakey Eggs ‘N Bakey” diaper:

You could win this diaper!
Can’t wait? Visit Roxie Harlow on Etsy to purchase a ready-made diaper or order a custom diaper. Follow and “like” Roxie Harlow on Facebook to keep up with the latest news.

Note: I received a sample product to review. I was not compensated for this review. The opinions are my own and may differ from yours.

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DIY Adventures in Diapers: Pocket Diaper

Hubby put his foot down. No more buying fluff. 🙁 But he did say that I can make our own diapers for Baby J! My first venture in the DIY diaper-making biz was to convert a prefold to a fitted. That was…laughable. I’m conflicted about whether or not I should share my experience with vivid photos or not. On one side, it’s a little humiliating for me. On the flip side, it could be a guffaw moment for you.

I am going to show my experiences with the second diaper I made: a pocket diaper. It definitely didn’t turn out perfect, and I have some things I need to improve upon next time around. But it’s a usable diaper, and that’s what counts, right? Right?!

There are a myriad of patterns floating around the Web, many of them free, but I decided to purchase the Babyville Boutique Cloth Diapers Made Easy Book. I’m getting back into sewing after many years away, so I wanted something with plenty of instructions, photos, and tips. Besides the pattern book, I also purchased Babyville snaps, pliers, and their 3-pack of PUL fabric in orange, monkeys, and hoot.

My husband suggested I start with the first and easiest pattern, but I didn’t want to make a diaper cover. I wanted to make a pocket diaper. So that’s where I started.

To begin with, I cut out the pattern and pinned it on the folded piece of orange PUL fabric. I made sure to keep the pins toward the edge of the PUL fabric, in the seam allowance. You need to be careful where you place pins in PUL, since you want as few holes in the fabric as possible to make sure it stays waterproof.

Notice my handy-dandy cardboard cutting surface thingy. It folds up which is great for me, since we don’t have a lot of space in our home. It also worked well for keeping the PUL from moving around while I was cutting it. I stuck a pin straight through the edge of the PUL and the pattern, into the cardboard. That provided stability.

For the inside layer of fabric (the layer against Baby J’s skin), I purchased suede cloth in a “Dalmatian” print from our local fabric store. Suede cloth is soft and it wicks moisture away from skin.

Suede Cloth Inner Layer

After cutting my diaper pieces out, I put the extra scraps of suede cloth and PUL away until another day, to make “Mamma Cloth.”

The pattern book gave fairly easy directions to follow and suggested using pattern template plastic to create a permanent template for snaps.

I found template plastic at the fabric store, marked the holes from the cut-out pattern onto the plastic, and then poked holes in the plastic.

The snap template is for a medium-size diaper. Once I become more proficient at sewing diapers, I plan to make one-size diapers. I figured that a sized diaper would be a good starting point for me, since I’m not very good at sewing yet.

I learned that when you sew a diaper, it’s important to reinforce the section of PUL where you place the snaps.

The book gave two options: use individual pieces of PUL under each snap, or make an entire yoke to go over that part of the diaper. That’s what I did for this pocket diaper.

It didn’t go exactly as planned.

Oopsie

I finished the yoke and started applying snaps. I’d read horror stories about putting snaps on diapers, but it was going beautifully…until in a daze I put the WRONG snap on. Basically, the snap part that should have gone on the back wings of the diaper, I put on the front. Or…I put the boy part where the girl part should’ve gone. Make sense?

There are plenty of people who have made this or a similar mistake, I discovered, when I started to research online. The best suggestion was to use pliers to snap the head until I could reach the stem with cuticle scissors, and then cut the stem. Well, I got rid of my cuticle scissors years ago after they destroyed my fingers, and I didn’t have pliers readily available. I just chipped at the snap with regular, adult-size scissors. Let me just say that I do NOT recommend you do this. In fact, please don’t. It’s a wonder I didn’t slice a chunk of flesh off my fingers and destroy the diaper.

All Better

Miraculously, I didn’t damage myself or the fabric. I did stick another little piece of PUL under the new snap as triple reinforcement.

Once I finally finished sewing the diaper, I realized a few things that I thought I should share to any other aspiring-diaper-makers.

MY HARD-LEARNED TIPS:

Triple Reinforcement!

1. Do not make the seam allowance too large. Or (if you do not know what a seam allowance is) try to sew near the edge of the fabric. If you sew further in, the diaper will be smaller. Your medium-size diaper will fit like a smaller diaper.

2. Pay attention to where the boy and girl snap parts go.

3. PUL is a very slippery fabric to sew. Stick some tissue paper over top (or under) and sew right through the paper. You can pull it off afterwards.

4. My diaper unintentionally looks like a Halloween diaper.

5. Be very careful when you cut out the wings in the fabric, or they will not be the same size, and your diaper will look weird.

6. It is really difficult to hold leg elastic completely stretched and thread sticky PUL fabric and other layers under your sewing machine foot at the same time, all while making sure you don’t sew over top the elastic. I have new-found respect for all veteran diaper makers and WAHMs.

Want to see the finished product? Of course you do!

The wings aren’t the same size- I have no idea how that happened.
On the small side, since I didn’t size the seam allowances properly

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

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