Way back when we first made the transition from disposables to her cloth diapers, we decided to look into cloth wipes. I had heard several good things about them and was definitely interested in how they worked, what they were made out of, how they were kept moist, etc. So with a little bit of research and much discussion with Brian, we came up with our decision. We figured that if we were going to use cloth diapers why shouldn't we use the cloth wipes as well? It only made sense since I was going to be washing diapers every other day any ways, why not just toss in a few wipes and make our lives easier?!
Well let me tell you this, I was definitely at a loss as where to start as far as obtaining cloth wipes; did I want to purchase them or did I want to make my own? Did I want to use fleece or flannel? If I made them, how on earth would I go about doing so?? Would I use a wipe warmer? What about a cleaning solution??
After several hours of searching through Pinterest and googling various blogs, I was able to figure out what I wanted to do. I had this crazy idea of wanting to make my own wipes out of old receiving blankets; I had accumulated so many blankets from the hospital while Ava was in the NICU that it was just obvious what I needed to do with them. I was also able to borrow a friend's sewing machine so I could get them finished faster because let's just face it, hand sewing over two dozen cloth wipes was not how I wanted to spend my time.
So, how do you make a cloth wipe, you ask? Well, let me show you!
Before you get started you need to make sure that you have all of the proper supplies.
What you will need to make a minimum of two dozen cloth wipes:
- approximately three or four clean receiving blankets (or more, depending on the size you use)
- sewing machine; if hand stitching, then a needle to stitch with
- pins
-bobbins (if using a sewing machine)
- scissors used to cut thread and material
- thread
- iron and spray bottle
- ironing board
- a pattern
- a marker
First, you need to make a pattern! I used some old card board to cut out an 8x8 square.
Try to cut out the square as best you can. I am actually terrible at drawing straight lines with a ruler, so I asked Brian to help me out. Technically, he made this pattern for me. ;)
You do not have to use an 8x8 pattern; you can cut out any sized pattern that you wish. It mostly depends on how you plan to store your wipes. I preferred 8x8 so that is what I used.
Next, you need to take your blankets and clean them if you have not already. Once cleaned, iron them! Trust me, you will thank me later! When the blankets are ironed they lay perfectly flat and do not have any wrinkles in them, thus making it easier to trace the pattern and cut. You are more than welcome to skip this step, but I found that it made the entire project much easier.
After your blankets are cleaned and ironed, go ahead and take your marker and trace the pattern onto the blanket. I used a Bic marker and found this to be a mistake because the marker lines ended up bleeding all over the fabric of the blanket when I washed them. Obviously after being washed several times the marker washes out, but I had marker bleed onto some of my prefolds, so I would just avoid Bic and stick to Sharpie...or just make the investment and buy one of those fabric pencils...which is probably what I will do the next time I make more wipes. Now, you may not have the same issue I did, so if you prefer a specific marker, then go for it! Regardless you will need something to trace the pattern onto the blanket.
Once your squares are cut you need to decide if you want to double them up or leave them as single squares. If you decide to do single squares, then congratulations! You are finished! Those do not require any sewing.
I decided to do double squares by taking two squares and layering them on top of one another. Once this is done, I just pinned them so it would be easier keeping them together.
Now just sew away!!
Once the sewing is complete, this is what you will have! Pay no attention to my lack of straight edges...I am not the world's most experienced seamstress. In fact, to be honest, I had not used a sewing machine in so long I did not even remember how to use one! Thankfully my sister was with me the entire time to coach me through!
After I had finished my wipes, Brian and I went and purchased a wipe warmer. We decided on the Prince Lionheart Warmies Wipes Warmer. If you are not familiar with this warmer, it is designed to hold cloth wipes and can still hold disposables! We absolutely LOVE it! The part that I love the most about this warmer is that we were lucky enough to find it brand new at a consignment shop for about 50% less than the price at the store.
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| I love the little night light! |
We can fit roughly 14 wipes total in here and that will last us about a day and a half.
Before I place the wipes in the warmer, I dip each wipe into some water, ring out the excess, and roll it up. When we are running low on wipes, I just add some more! It is as simple as using disposables! The only difference is that instead of throwing my wipes away, I just toss them in the diaper pail with the diapers. Oh! And I don't need a garbage bag or anything in the nursery for wipes!
With using cloth wipes we have saved a lot of money! We have only ever bought wipes ONCE since Ava was born and that was when we bought a box to use while traveling home to Illinois and back.
We do use disposables when we go out and about town, but the box that we had bought back in December has lasted us a looooooong time.
We have also tried a few store bought wipes and so far, I have only liked one of the two that we have tried.
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| The Prince Lionheart Warmies |
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| OsoCozy Flannel Unbleached |
I am not a fan of the warmies particularly because of how thin they are and how frequently they shed. By shedding I mean there are constantly pieces coming off of the edges! As you can tell from the photo, my washer/dryer likes to eat the edges.
I really like the OsoCozy wipes! I love how there are two different sides to them; I feel like the more textured side is perfect for those big messes that little babies love to surprise us with! I have also used these (as well as the wipes that I made) as burp cloths when I have run out! They work perfectly!
I am hoping to be able to try out more brands of cloth wipes soon, but for now we are pretty content with what we have. :)
Our next big feat will be eliminating disposable wipes all together!
If you are interested in learning about the wipe/s solution that we use, keep an eye out! I plan on devoting a post strictly to wipe solutions. :)
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