When I first started cloth diapering over two years ago, I bought several types of diapers to try. Ultimately I decided that I preferred all-in-twos and diaper covers over pocket diapers. In fact, I am flat out not a fan of pocket diapers. I hate stuffing the inserts in and pulling the dirty inserts back out. I personally do not find pockets very convenient. Instead I have been using my pocket diapers as diaper covers, laying an insert inside the diaper just like an all-in-two or cover.
Because I have converted my pocket diapers into diaper covers, I have a plethora of microfiber inserts leftover. I also found myself with a pile of fairly thin Alva Baby and Sunbaby bamboo inserts. The inexpensive bamboo inserts from China work okay in pocket diapers but do require layering if I do want to change my daughter every hour. Thus, with two piles of basically unusable inserts in hand, I came up with a clever idea to repurpose both.
Microfiber inserts require a barrier between the insert and the skin to prevent the skin from drying out. Therefore, in order to use my pocket diaper microfiber inserts as diaper cover inserts, I needed to add a barrier layer. The thinner bamboo inserts work perfectly as a barrier between the skin and microfiber. And, to prevent the two inserts from shifting around inside my diaper covers, I decided to sew the bamboo insert on top of the microfiber insert, essentially creating an insert similar to my beloved Best Bottom inserts.
To convert my pocket diaper inserts into diaper cover inserts, I simply laid a bamboo insert on top of a microfiber insert. Using my sewing machine, I then sewed around the edge of the two inserts to create a single insert with a bamboo top and a microfiber bottom. I am not an expert seamstress, so the results of my sewing project are far from gorgeous. However, my new multiple-layer are functional, which is all that really matters to me.
By converting my pocket diaper inserts into diaper cover inserts, I was able to repurpose my pile of microfiber inserts and my pile of inexpensive but thin bamboo inserts. I now have a pile of bamboo-microfiber inserts that work perfectly inside the pocket diapers that I now use as diaper covers. Plus, with a second baby on the way and a toddler still in diapers, I cannot have too many extra inserts laying around. I definitely now have enough inserts to continue my wash routine of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Have you ever repurposed unused cloth diaper inserts? How?
Image Credits
Bamboo Insert and Microfiber Insert © 2014 Heather Johnson
Bamboo Insert on Microfiber Insert © 2014 Heather Johnson
Sewing the Two Inserts Together 1 © 2014 Heather Johnson
Sewing the Two Inserts Together 2 © 2014 Heather Johnson
Converted Microfiber and Bamboo Inserts © 2014 Heather Johnson
Front and Back of Converted Microfiber-Bamboo Inserts © 2014 Heather Johnson
