Day 12 – Baby dolls need cloth diapers too!

Starting last December (2009) I’ve been slowly growing confidence behind my sewing machine and sewing up some cute projects around the home.  Lil’ B has recently fallen in love with baby dolls and now has three of them.  All of which have bare bums – no diapers included.  I decided last night to look around online and see what I could find for doll cloth diapers.  Thanks to @taprilcrosier and @mrsob1 for leading me to Etsy where I actually bought a few items that I’ll share with you once they arrive.

However, I’m very impatient and my super mom complex kicked in tonight so I decided to make my own baby doll cloth diapers.  I actually started out making a baby doll sling so Lil’ B could wear her baby doll just like I once wore her.  That project took an entire 5 minutes to make (seriously it was that easy) so I found a pattern for doll cloth diapers on Skip to my Lou – a fabulous craft blog that I read almost daily.

Here is how my project ended up (complete with pictures):

Step 1: Skip to my Lou has a printable pattern that I used as a guide.  I cut out the pattern using a Gerber pre-fold that I had sitting around the house (because I never actually use them for diapering).

Step 2: I cut out the same size pattern using a fancy fabric remnant I had from a project I made over the summer.

Step 3: I sewed the two pieces together (right sides facing each other) leaving a small seam allowance.  I left about 2-3 inches open in the back so I could turn it right-side out.

Step 4: After I flipped the fabric around and sewed the seam shut I then added Velcro to the front (similar to how a bumGenius looks in the front).  There are many different ways you could close your diaper but this was the easiest option for me (a complete novice).

Step 5: Then I added the other side of the Velcro to the tabs.  When I make my next one I will sew this Velcro strip on BEFORE I sew the two pieces together so that you don’t see the stitching on the front of the diaper.

Step 6: Ta-Da! It’s all done!  It took me about 20 minutes max to complete the entire diaper.  Not too bad for my first attempt!

Step 7: Sneak into sleeping tots bedroom and steal borrow her baby doll to see if it fits!  Then post pictures on Twitter, Facebook, and Blog to show off your new found talent.

Step 8: Use the rest of the scrap fabric to make a matching dress!

Step 9: Try to hide the diaper and dress from the tot until her 2nd birthday next week!  This may be the hardest part of the entire project.

Have you attempted to sew your own baby doll diapers? It was so easy that I’m sure I could figure out how to make a full-sized cloth diaper from some t-shirts I’ve been saving to upcycle.  I’ve been too afraid to try making a real diaper – until now!

Looking for cloth diapering resources and tips? Visit my cloth diapering archives, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and on Pinterest.
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