Best material for cloth wipes?

[mommacissy]

So I am SO close to starting cloth diapers! For my 2 year old and baby-to-be. I have a friend who I actually turned on to the world of cloth diapers as well. She has already started (she has the money right now, I have to wait about another week) and asked me today if I would be using cloth wipes as well.

I told her I wanted to, but I want to either make my own or have someone I know make them for me. She said her mom is very handy with a sewing machine and if we bought the fabric, she would make them for us! How cool!

So my next question is, what is the best fabric for cloth wipes? I was just thinking cotton flannel, is that ok? And what is the best way to sew them so the ends don't fray? Do you have to have two layers? Do you have to have the edges serged? (Not sure if my friend's mom can do that...) I have little to no sewing experience, if I'm lucky I can sew a straight line...lol.

Thanks for your help!

[AZmommy]

Its kinda a personal preffrence I LOVE all flannel wipes there actually my favorite others like a little more sherpa or terry are popular as is velour or fleece or a combo of any.

Deanna

[Liketohike]

I just used cut up flannel receiving blankets serged around the edge. You could hem the edges, but it would take a lot more time. These worked well on EBF poop, and I could just throw them in the wash with the rest, easy!

I don't use cloth wipes anymore now that DD is not EBF, I didn't want to have to spray each wipe off. And I don't know how well the flannel would work on solid poop.

[chrfath]

We use flannel, I prefer velour or something with a nap. Double sided is fantastic. I use the plan flannel with DS2 solid poo with no problems, just toss them in the pail.

[solarbabies]

We just use baby wash cloths. It gets the job done, and they are soft and cheap. I get them for 10 cents at a thrift store

[CaraD]

I bought (super) cheap baby washcloths, too. They are very thin and work fine, so I don't think they need to be double sided. I actually like having alot of thin wipes, because I just use multiple wipes and don't have to deal with accidentally spreading poop around.

If you choose to make them from a fabric like flannel, you need to do something to deal with the edges if you want them to last at all. If she doesn't have a serger, she probably still has an overlock stitch and/or zig zag stitch on her machine that does basically the same thing. (I suck at using it to finish clothing, but even I could do well enough for wipes.) If that's not an option, I definitely wouldn't ask her to hem them. That would be a huge project. Because I hate using the overlock and would flat out refuse to hem, I'd probably due a finish that would allow a little unraveling on the edges but prevent it from getting out of hand - I would cut them with pinking shears and then just run a straight stitch about 1/8" from the edge.

[kristydrodgers]

I bought super soft stuff. It said fleece but it feels minky. Anyways I just cut it and washed them all to get the fuzzy stuff off where I had cut and they don't frey at all. I didn't sew anything.

I don't know how they would work if you really had to scrub but they work great on my ebf baby and she loves the softness.

[rosefall]

I prefer basic, single-ply flannel for both the newbie and the 2 year old. I just cut flannel squares and zig-zag stitched around the edges.

[investmama]

i personally like a knit terry. it's not too thick and its soft and it "grabs" the poop. flannel just seems to slide over/off the poop...LOL.

[mommyauri]

I like flannel. they're soft and work well. I do the "dry" method so I make up the solution and spray on the bottom or the wipe ( I actually spray on the wipe then wipe the bottom because the spray on the bottom tends to be shocking).

Sewcraftybaby.com has a pack of 15 flannels wipes for $7.50 shipping included. I bought 2 of these (30 total) and it's been more than adequate for 1 baby. (Figure you'll do laundry every 2-3 days to keep diapers clean and smells in check). They're a very simple design. They're 8 x 8" if I recall with stitching around the edges. After many washes the stitching is starting to come undone but they still wipe a butt I'm sure that you could buy a yard of flannel and make some with or without stitching the edges that would serve that very purpose just fine and for less money.

Sewcraftybaby has "Punkin booty bits" that you mix in hot water to make solution. This is what i use and I really like it so far. $4.50 for a bag of about 20 bits that each make 2 cups. There are others, and if you cruise around on here you might find a mama or two who has their own recipe they're willing to share.

Hope that's helpful. Congrats on the baby to be!