# Confused about wool cover options



## bostonmummy (May 11, 2011)

Hi all - I posted this on in the October due date group, but thought I'd post here, too . . .

My husband and I stopped by a place called the Diaper Lab in Boston yesterday to start getting an overview on cloth diapering. I think I'm pretty clear that I'll just do flat folds rather than the fancier all-in-ones, but I realized after I left that the woman who was showing me everything only told me about the PUL covers and didn't show me any of the wool options. I find it so overwhelming to try to figure out what would be best to have on hand when the baby is born. Do any of you have any favorite wool covers that you use? It just seems to make more sense to use natural fibers all around, but there are a multitude of options that make it confusing to choose. Any advice?

Thanks!


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

My big piece of advice is that non-fitted dipes and wool are not a great mix. You'll be doing lots of hand-washing of your wool.

With flats, I'd stick with PUL covers. If you want to use wool, I'd look for a nice fitted dipe with side snaps (better for skinny legs).


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## iowaorganic (May 19, 2007)

I completely agree with Cristeen- that is a battle you do NOT want to fight...

Get yourself a good fitted diaper and some lovely wool covers ( I love hand knit picky pants and the like). Or go prefolds and pul covers- but you will not love prefolds and wool.


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## mumkimum (Nov 14, 2006)

Hmmm. . I used flats & prefolds with wool a lot when little. I did appreciate having some fitteds too, so I get the pp.'s advice about that above.

A tighter fitting wool cover (which I don't see out there quite as much as I used to - I have liked loveybums & sugar peas wool covers best, myself) works best if you want to try it, and I always find the indian prefolds to work a bit better with the wool, because they're a little stretchier & thinner than the others (flats are naturally both, because of being thinner too). Look for something that you don't pull on and up, and find something with good leg elastic to keep messy diapers contained.

And get a wool wash bar for cleaning accidents quickly & easily (or use slivers of a natural-ish soap, and any regular wool wash).


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## Siouxsie (Jan 22, 2011)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cristeen*
> 
> My big piece of advice is that non-fitted dipes and wool are not a great mix. You'll be doing lots of hand-washing of your wool.
> 
> With flats, I'd stick with PUL covers. If you want to use wool, I'd look for a nice fitted dipe with side snaps (better for skinny legs).










Agreed.

Also, I LOVE diaper lab! For wool I really like wooly bottoms! http://woollybottoms.com/

The other thing is wool gets compression leaks - I love wool for over night and at home in general but wool doesn't really work when they're in a car seat or shopping carriage.


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## Siouxsie (Jan 22, 2011)

Also, personally I found flats and pins were the only combo (of flats/prefolds/snappis/pins) that contained newborn poo.

I just saw that link is out of stock but here is my favorite retailer - http://itsybitsybums.blogspot.com/2011/05/woollybottoms-hybrid-soakers.html if you want to check it out.


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## SageR (Jun 12, 2005)

I used wool and prefolds exclusively with my older boys. I am currently diapering my new baby with flats and wool. We use Disana and Imse Vimse muslin flats. We just fold the flat into a rectangle and then roll in the sides using the jellyroll fold. I like pins and dh likes the Snappi. We get poop on covers every couple days, usually just a smidge. This reallyonly happens if we do not realize the abby has pooped and do not change him right away.
For the first few weeks we used Imse Vimse wool wraps in size newborn. These seem to be hard to find now and expensive but Ibelieve Niki/Niji and Sckoon make something similar that are more widely available and affordable. The wool wraps are not terribly cute but they are machine washable which means you can put them in with your regular wash and lanolize after. Also they have these little flaps of material around the legs called gussets which keep everything in. Finally the wrap style is nice because you can remove a poopy combo without getting poop down the legs.
Around 8 weeks he stopped pooping all the time so we switched to Disana soakers for nights. These are nice and roomy and breathable, but awesome for keeping wetness in. During the day we are using Babee Greens wrap covers (very similar to the old Sugar Peas pp mentioned.) These are nice and stretchy for a trim, close fit, very very soft, but thin. We only use them during the day and if I am going to be wearing him for awhile or he will be in the car seat I put in a wool doubler in the cover - basically a strip of felted wool over the pee zone. These covers are both sold through Green Mountain Diapers and you can see them on a baby and read her description of them. I am reall yhappy with these combos right now.

My advice would be to choose something you can machine wash or else get quite a few (6-8) inexpensive pieces for the newborn stage. I would go for wraps over soakers Once your baby is past the poop every hour stage you can try some soakers or handknits. If you use the same flats the entire time you should plan on using doublers - cotton inside the diaper, wool between the diaper and the cover - or using two flats at a time.
Definitely invest in some good woolwash. A Wool wash bar is good for rubbing directly on poopy areas, while shampoo/liquid wash is fast and easy. I would also reccommend investing in some Imse Vimse or Disana woolcure/conditioner. It makes lanolizing very simple and is very effective. It is more expensive than using lanolin but so easy anyone can do it and not mess the covers up.
And last but definitely not least start practicing your folds and fastening as soon as you can. The more you do it the better you will get and it is best to get started before the baby is here.
HTH! Good luck


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## Norabella (Mar 14, 2008)

I use prefolds and wool covers without a lot of washing the wool, but I also EC so we rarely have a massive poop in the diaper cause I take baby to the potty to finish the poop.

I love the Aristocrats wool soaker covers for nighttime and LoveyBums covers for daytime. I use the Loveybums wrap covers w/ snaps in newborn/small and the pull-on wool covers after ~4 months when I switch to med size.


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## MamaNicole (Mar 3, 2011)

I'm happy using prefolds and wool biobottoms covers. If I had the money would like to get the cloth-ezz workhorse diapers from green mountain...

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm

I use a mix of their organic prefolds, Bummis prefolds, and Dandelion prefolds, with a few different covers.

http://www.amazon.com/Bummis-Organic-Cotton-Prefolds-Diaper/dp/B002R6WR1A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1339113754&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Dandelion-Certified-Organic-Unbleached-Diapers/dp/B003HAPTX8/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1339113809&sr=8-28

So many choices out there, have fun...


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## Just1More (Jun 19, 2008)

I also agree that fitteds would make pullup wool a whole lot more fun, but I've always used flats. If I use the oragami fold, and am sure to tuck in the bottom flaps, we're usually good.

If you crochet, you can get some wool yarn and make some easily. You just crochet a chain from belly button to mid-back, then single crochet in the back loops until it's wide enough. Sew the sides together, leaving a gap for leg holes. Go a few rounds around the leg holes, and you're done. (There are some good patterns out there for specifics, if you need them. )


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## Millie Ivy (Dec 8, 2001)

Meh, my favorite combo is prefolds/snappies with wool. I prefer prefolds over fitteds, because I can use different folds to get the best fit on my babes as they grow. I always found fitteds to be cute and nice to have as an extra or for outings but not nearly as useful as prefolds. PF saved me loads of money too.

I like wool jersey/felt snap covers, and keep my babies in knit shorts and pants a TON. Especially with Texas summers, I found that a nice loose comfy pair of wool knit shorts seemed to be the airiest most breathable and cool option. (even though people will say "wool shorts in TX? Isn't that HOT? You are TORTURING your BABY!". I srsly have found cotton and wool to be miles better than plastic. Or the nasty disposable that so many use here.)

Another lovely thing about the prefolds is you can use as many as needed to bulk up at night. I've rarely had leaks and blowouts with wool/pf. I have had them to be sure, don't get me wrong, but it's not been a common problem.


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## ernjkly (Aug 19, 2011)

Just curious if anyone has tried the GMD workhorse dipes with wool and had good results? It seems as though they might be effective at containing explosive poops....


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## Jennyanydots (Sep 8, 2011)

We use prefolds with imse vimse wool covers at night. Have never used soakers because these covers work so well. They go on just like a standard cover, so there's no particular difficulty with the prefolds... Good luck- there are waaay too many options!

Eta: What the heck was that "spoiler" thing? Don't know how I did that, sorry!


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