Nappy fabrics and their properties

It may seem a strange place to start, but I’m going to start with a rundown on different fabrics, as that will make it easier to understand the nappy types.  I'm not going to try to make this too comprehensive - I think there is enough new information to absorb here!  (If you are in Sydney and would like to book a workshop, I bring along lots of fabric samples so you can see and feel all of these.)

Two important properties to consider in nappy making are:
1. whether the fabric loves liquid.  Generally the natural fibres, hemp and cotton, absorb liquid well.  Human made microfibre also absorbs liquid very quickly.
2. whether the fabric hates liquid.  Many human made fabrics wont hold liquid.  Particularly important in nappy making are polar or micro fleece and suede cloth.

Wicking is another important term to know.  Fabrics that absorb liquid well will “wick” it through fabrics that don’t hold liquid, and even ones that are water resistant.  It is like the way that water travels if you leave the tip of a towel in a full bath – soon the whole towel will be wet.  If you have a fabric such as cotton (water loving) up against a fabric such as microfleece (water hating) and then the microfleece gets wet, the cotton will pull the liquid through the microfleece and the cotton will end up soaked.  The microfleece, still water hating, will generally end up quite dry.

So now on to a discussion of some of the common nappy fabrics.

Hemp

HEMP is used a lot in nappies.  In fact, most of the hemp fabric used is a hemp/cotton blend, often 55% hemp and 45% cotton.  Hemp is a popular choice because it is more absorbent than cotton (therefore holds more wee!) and is also naturally antibacterial to some extent. 

It is said that hemp “wears in rather than wears out” so it should last a lot longer than cotton fabric and it does get more and more absorbent over the first 8 to 10 hot washes, so if you hemp doesn’t seem to be very absorbent you may not have washed it enough times.  Nappies made from hemp should survive to be passed on to grand children!

Nicely, hemp is also more environmentally friendly to grow than cotton, needing a lot less chemicals.

Other absorbant fabrics

Cotton - often organic cotton is used

Bamboo - a new fibre gaining popularity, with good environmental and antibacterial properties

PUL

PUL stands for Poly Urethane Laminate, and means that the fabric has a coating of poly urethane on it.  This coating is water resistant but breathable.  The fabric that it is applied to may be cotton or have various amounts of polyester in it. 

PUL fabric is used for nappy covers and for the outside of some nappies to stop leaks.  For the best protection from leaks, for example when a nappy is to be worn overnight or for a long car trip, use a PUL fabric that has less cotton/high polyester content.  During the day time when you can change a nappy frequently, cotton ones are fine.  This is because cotton is an absorbent fabric, so if the nappy gets too full of wee, cotton will eventually “wick” the wee through the PUL coating – as the PUL isn’t completely waterproof.  Polyester doesn’t like liquid anyway, so it will last a lot longer without wicking. 

You don’t want something that is completely waterproof, or things will really heat up in the nappy.

Microfleece and polarfleece

Microfleece and polarfleece are both water hating.  The are often used for a nappy liner and also can be used to make a good nappy cover.  How does this work??

As a liner, you put something absorbent on the other side.  The absorbent fabric pulls the wee through the fleece, and the fleece stays feeling really dry.  Nicely, poos also usually roll off it easily into the toilet, so they are easy to clean.

As an outer, with most polar fleece you need too layers so that your inner layer wont be touching anything absorbent.  If your inner layer of fleece is only touching more fleece, it wont pull the wee through, so it offers good leak protection.  This cover is also quite breathable, so actually stays cooler than wearing a disposable!  It is a little bulky though, so I tend to use fleece outer nappies and fleece covers only when we aren’t putting shorts or pants over the top – I make them cute for wearing just with a top.

The difference between microfleece and polarfleece is that microfleece is thinner, and therefore great for liners to add the stay dry feel without adding much bulk.

Suedecloth

Suedecloth works in the same way as microfleece as a liner.

With microfleece, polarfleece and suedecloth some are better quality than others, so you may occasionally get one that doesn’t work well, and you can buy some that work particularly well.

Wool

Wool is wonderful for a cover.  It is cool in summer and warm in winter and very breathable.  Wool can hold a large amount of liquid without leaks, although generally you aim to have a nappy inside that will hold all the liquid necessary.  As the wool breaths so nicely some of the liquid will evaporate though, so the nappy should end up less full over a period of time than one with, for example, a PUL cover.  This is only really relevant at night though, as during the day you would be changing the nappy more often than that!

Wool covers are a bit of a nuisance to wash, but this is easily compensated for by the fact that you don’t have to wash them very often unless they get poo or other dirt on them.  Some people only wash them every 4 to 6 weeks, others every 2 weeks or so.  I find that this depends on how often the wee makes it through the nappy and to the cover.  I use a trimmer nappy on my boy at night than some people, so the wee does often get the cover.  Bedding still stays dry, but I do wash my covers every 2 weeks or so.

Why do they not need washing more often?  Wool contains lanolin, which is the natural sheep wool fat.  This has a magical reaction with the urine, neutralising it.  Basically, it is like it self-washes.  You can tell that this is happening by the smell.  Hang the cover up to air, and when it has reached the point of needing washing you will smell wee.  Up until that point it smells fresh each day.  I will add more info about how all this happens here when I track it down!

To wash wool covers, you use a wool wash and wash them gently by hand in water that is room temperature.  After this you need to lanolise them.  This generally means getting a pea size blob of lanolin (available from me or from the chemist) and dissolving it in hot water, then mixing it into warm water (room temperature again), and gently squeezing this through the cover.  I usually leave it for about 20 minutes or more.  Then gently squeeze water out of the cover and hang it (laying flat) to dry.  It can take a couple of days to dry!

Remember with wool covers that you want to avoid sudden changes in temperature – that is, avoid putting it into cold water if it is a warm day.  This will cause shrinking and the matting together of the fibres – called felting.  It may only be partial felting if all you’ve done is temperature shock and not agitation only, but it can be very disappointing to shrink a nice wool cover.

Wool comes in wool fabric – woven and knitted (jersey) and also in hand knitted/crocheted covers.

Lots of people love fitted nappies with wool covers for their night time solution, as you can boost your nappy as much as you need to and the wool cover allows for evaporation, and also provides protection from leaks.  My boy uses a knitted wool cover that is shaped like shorts and a singlet or t-shirt as his summer pajamas.