Granola Bits of the Day: Wool and Fitteds
Posted by Camille , Thursday, May 13, 2010 10:47 AM
A lot of my friends have been converting to cloth diapering and have a ton of questions, with good reason, it can be confusing with all the different options these days. Today I'm going to talk about wool and fitted diapers!
First of all, you have to know that fitteds all require covers as they are not waterproof. With a high quality fitted you might be able to go a couple of hours without a cover, I do it frequently but I don't have a very heavy wetter. Fitteds can be made with snaps, aplix, or nothing (requires a pin or snappi). Here are some examples of fitteds:
(Clockwise from left: Bagshot Row Bamboo Ultimate Fit, Goodmama Simple.Good, Tots Bots Bamboozle, Guerilla Fluff prefitted)
To put the fitted on you need a baby, some pins or a snappi, and your choice of cover, which I'll discuss later. Lay the baby on the diaper, and fold the inner soakers to the baby's wettest area, which is different for girls and boys. 
Close the diaper, and fold down the rise to fit your baby.
Pull the wings closed as tight as you can (comfortably for your baby) and either snappi or pin the diaper. When using pins be sure to put your hand inside the diaper to protect the baby from getting stuck. To help you pin slide through the fabric easier and avoid pinholes in fabric, run the pin through your hair a couple of times to lubricate it. 
You CAN use a PUL cover over a fitted, no problem with that. Something like a Thirsties Duo Wrap or a Blueberry One Size cover would be great because of the adjustable sizing. My favorite choice over a fitted is wool, wool covers are also known as soakers, longies, and shorties. Wool has several amazing qualities. It's naturally anti-bacterial, a natural and breathable material, it can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling wet, keeps the skin cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and you just need to air it out between uses, washing every 2-3 weeks (unless soiled). Plus they are super cute!!! This wool cover was purchased from OweWhoaWhen.
(Clockwise from left: OweWhoaWhen, Blueberry, Thirsties)
So after you have put the fitted on your baby, you slip on some wool pants (short, long, whatever you got!) and you are good to go! This can be used during the day and overnight. So far I've gone 9hrs with Rosie in wool and a fitted with no leaks, the fitted was barely damp on the outer layer! 
PUL cover over a fitted:
Now that you know how to use your wool and fitted, there are some care instructions you need to know for wool. Go to this site to learn how to wash and lanolize your wool the inexpensive way!
Love it! I might eventually try fitteds...right now I'm just happy Mike can use a prefold!