Wool – The Other Diaper Cover

Here’s Annie modeling her upcycled wool cover that I bought from Etsy. I use this cover at night on a regular basis……so, why should you use wool? For the reason that Annie wears this cover at night – you’ll get fewer leaks. Think about it – sheep stand out in all kinds of weather. So do cows – hence leather. Doesn’t it make sense that their wool would be pretty stinking waterproof? Wool is a natural water repellent because of the lanolin that sheep produce. When you have a diaper underneath that gets wet, the wool on the outer cover rejects the liquid, keeping it inside – no leaks. The wool absorbs the moisture, wicking it away from baby’s bottom. You’d be amazed at how much liquid that wool can absorb.  It’s really great for overnight when kids pee a lot. I’ve even heard Mommies that use disposables like to put a wool cover over them for night wear, to insure no leaks. The initial cost of a wool cover (normally around $35) might make you want to pass out. That’s another reason I passed over them at first…….but they’re worth the money. You’ll only need about 4 of them, and they hold their resale value very well. Plus, if you have multiple children, you won’t have to buy them again just reuse them – another plus of cloth diapering.

Here is Annie wearing a crocheted wool cover that my awesome friend made for me. Isn’t it cute?! A lot of people think that wool should only be worn in the winter. Not so….in fact, you can use wool diaper covers all year long. Wool is extremely breathable, so it will keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer – much cooler than a PUL cover. Annie sweats a lot in her PUL covers, but I find she stays a good temperature when wearing wool. Because it’s breathable, you’ll be less likely to get diaper rashes.

When you buy a cover it will likely come lanolinzed already. If not, you need to do it yourself. It’s easy! Dissolve a dime sized amount of lanolin (found at Target in the baby section with breastfeeding items) in warm water. Add the cover, inside out, and let it soak about 15 minutes. Get rid of excess water (do NOT ring out) by putting it in the washer on the spin cycle and then let the cover dry. You’re done! Now you won’t have to lanolinize it again unless you see that it’s not working properly – I maintain my lanolin by using a wool wash that includes lanolin that Angela gave me.

Wool is naturally antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antimicrobial. Because of this, you don’t have to wash it a ton……about once a month, unless it gets poop on it. I don’t know about you, but Annie is super wiggly and sometimes I get poop everywhere – I’m not the only one…….right? After each wear, if you see it’s damp just hang it up to dry for a while. That’s why you need about 4 covers, cycling them out as they get damp and then letting them air dry. To wash, just do it in your sink with warm water and the wool wash mentioned above. Get the water out by using the spin cycle and let them dry.

Here is Annie modeling a pair of her longies (wool pants that act as a diaper cover) that my mom and I made…..it’s a little more cost effective. We found a few sweaters at Goodwill for $3.50! If you do this, you need to make sure the sweaters are 100% wool. We’ve made longies and shorties (short pants). You can get some really cute colors and patterns this way! I used one of Barry’s old sweaters and he’s still bickering about that – something about how it was a really expensive sweater and Annie’s wearing money around on her butt. Blah, blah, blah. Here’s a link for how to make your own very easily and inexpensively. There are tons of upcycled covers on Etsy as well….I LOVE Etsy! After you buy a sweater to make your own cover, you have to felt it……that’s what makes it soft!  And it will insure that it won’t shrink. Most covers you buy will already come felted. I enjoyed felting….it’s pretty funny to see a HUGE sweater turn out to look like a baby sweater. Oops! Ha, ha! If you crochet or knit, you can make your own as well. The patterns for those are linked.

Here’s Annie sporting a fleece cover. It works about the same as wool, but it’s a cheaper alternative…..and it’s synthetic, not natural. Some babies react to fleece and can’t use it. Annie has done fine with them. You can make your own using a pattern above or buy them off Etsy. If you’ve ever tried to wash a fleece blanket, you know that it doesn’t get really wet….it repels water, so that’s why it works. You can make it from fleece you buy at the store, or you can use an old fleece throw.

Two great sources for wool things are Mom’s Milk Boutique and Green Mountain Diapers .

I think that about covers it. Brandy and Angela, if I missed something please add it below in the comments.