My first diaper cover!

I'm very proud of these diaper covers. They were SO simple to make, and pretty cheap (when you compare to the cost of buying a diaper or cover for $15+, or compare it to disposables). I used my own pattern traced from one of my KatyDid diapers. I modified it to look more like the Chloe's Toes diaper pattern. I'm told that there's a free pattern out there called the Sprout Snap diaper pattern, which is similar to this one. The Chloe's Toes pattern is $16.99, which isn't bad if you plan to make lots of dipes from it.

My first dipe I did with the cheaper fabric I had. I got this cute purple and green skull pattern in the clearance section at Joanne's for only $3 a yard, so I only paid $1.50 for the half yard I got. I should be able to make 3 dipes out of it. I knew it wouldn't turn out too good since it was my first attempt, so I didn't want to waste any precious Minky!

I made the outside out of fleece, the inside is PUL (polyurethane laminate), and it's bound with plain 'ol elastic. I had a little trouble finding the PUL at first, the ladies at Joanne's didn't know what it was. I knew where to find it though, thanks to one of my friends. It's in the utility fabric section. They only had white, which was fine since you only see it on the inside. You're supposed to use FOE (fold-over elastic) around the edge, but they didn't sell it in the store, and I was too impatient to wait for anything to come by mail, so I bought regular 1 inch elastic. I got a kind that was nice and bendy. I ironed it right down the middle lengthwise to make it easier to sew on. It actually worked pretty darn well. It took a little over a yard for each dipe. 

I found a great tutorial to show me how to sew the elastic on. 

The explanations are great, and it made it pretty easy to do. It helped that it's a SUPER easy pattern for a first timer. 

I ended up not stretching the elastic quite enough around the legs, so I had gaps once it was on. I went over it with another piece of elastic (laid right on top of the previously sewed elastic) stretched as tight as it would go. It made the leg of the diaper curl in a weird way when lying flat, but at least it made it a little tighter.

I haven't invested money in snap pliers yet, and I didn't want to use velcro since I read that velcro and FOE are instant enemies (plus it was more expensive than I realized). So I used buttons. I don't think many people would recommend using buttons on a cloth diaper, but like I said, I'm impatient. It's tedious trying to button them, plus they're not baby proof, and I give Emma a week before she figures out how to get this cover off. But it's a cute little addition to the diaper, and it works for now. I'll probably replace them with snaps and sew up the button holes once I invest in snap pliers.

The second diaper I made, I was brave enough to use my zebra fuzzy material. This one turned out much nicer. I made sure to stretch my elastic to the max around the legs and in the back, that way it would be tighter. This worked out a lot better for me, and the diaper fit almost perfectly! I'm very happy with the way it turned out. 

I plan on using these with prefolds. I got a lot of 40 for $5 at a mom to mom sale last weekend (normally $13 for a dozen), plus I still had a dozen leftover from when Emma was newborn. The prefolds tend to be too long, and I have to fold them over, which creates extra bulk in the front or back, so I trimmed mine using this tutorial. I didn't sew on the extra strip I'd cut off, I don't think I need the extra absorbency, and didn't want the extra bulk. Now when she wears them, they're nice and trim and look just SO DANG CUTE! lol My next diaper I'm going to use my pink Minky. The strip I have left is only 11 inches wide, so I plan to make the tabs that wrap around front from the zebra. I have to wait for my FOE to come in the mail though, wish me luck!