When most people think of cloth diapering, they think of the diapers that our parents wore – with all the folding, pins and plastic pants. While cloth diapering has come a long way with the invention of pockets and AIOs, there are many people (including myself) who still prefer the folding/cover method. However, even those have received a facelift in the past few years! This also happens to be one of the cheaper cloth diapering methods, so I’m going to cover prefolds and covers in this post!
Prefolds are a flat diaper with two rows of stitching that make it them easier to fold. They can be 100% cotton, bamboo, hemp or a variety of other extremely absorbent materials. It may seem complicated to fold a diaper but, once you do it a few times, it’s extremely easy! There are over a dozen ways to fold a prefold, depending on your baby’s size or your preference. You can easily find prefold how-to videos on YouTube – that’s how I learned!
Other than the daunting task of folding, which is much easier than it looks, many people avoid prefolds because of diaper pins. However, you no longer need pins! We now have Snappis! I snagged this from the SnappiBaby website where you can also purchase or find a retailer for Snappi’s. See how easy they are? It’s very similar to the fasteners for an ace bandage, only they have harmless plastic hooks.
One of the great things about using prefolds and covers is that you don’t have to change the entire diaper each and every time. With most cloth diapers, you have to change the entire diaper. This can make for a hefty big load of laundry. With prefolds and covers, you can reuse the cover! Just rinse the cover, hang it to dry and then reuse it on your next change! You can reuse the same two covers until you feel they need to be washed. This saves on laundry, which saves on water.
More great things about prefolds and covers:
- They’re easy to find on swaps and resale boards
- They have a fairly high resale value
- They’re easy to take care of
- They can double as swim diapers!
Shai Smith is a mommy and freelance writer as well as a business owner and lifestyle blogger at The Vagabond Studio. She is dedicated to inspiring entrepreneurs and green-living families to live outside the box, and spends her time chasing around four kiddos, hiking and painting.
About Chrystal Johnson
Chrystal, publisher of Happy Mothering, is a mother of two sweet girls who believes in living a simple, natural lifestyle. A former marketing manager, Chrystal spends her time researching green and eco-friendly alternatives to improve her family's life. She enjoys sharing those discoveries with anyone who's willing to listen.
9 Days Left 
14 Days Left 
5 Days Left 
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: tabi_d
June 27, 2012 at 3:15 pm
My second kid used to get a terrible rash from disposable diapers (he’s sensitive) and so I tried these because the pediatrician recommended a cloth diaper and Target had prefolds. Well, no one told me I also needed a cover and I also used pins… long story short, it was a nightmare! I honestly gave up after one afternoon. I now wish I had done a little research on it and had snappis. Hindsight is an amazing thing.
I have really come to love prefolds:-)
Julie M. recently posted..Who want’s to win over $600 worth of Cloth Diapers? #UltimateFluff
Shai is there any reason not to change an older baby to cloth diapers?? I have an 11 mth old and it would be great on the budget…also trying to be more eco-conscious!
Thanks for a really informative post…it’s something I’ve been wondering about!
niamh recently posted..Obnoxious Co-Workers? Here’s Help! [COMIC]
Twitter: vagabondstudio
July 7, 2012 at 3:28 pm
I would absolutely change an older baby! As a matter of fact, my good friend Amanda swapped her daughter over only about 6 months before potty training. ♥ She just saved her dipes for the next baby. Most dipes also have a good resale value if they are taken care of, so you could get most of your money back if you aren’t planning on having another. ♥
Shai Smith recently posted..SBC: Plans for the Summer
So much great information. I like the snappi
Thank you for the input. I have been using pockets and was curious about prefolds. I love the snappi instructions.