I HATED DISPOSABLE WIPES! Mainly because I had to have a second trash can next to my cloth diaper pail and I just don't like clutter and extra STUFF in my life. While pregnant with baby #2, I knew that I would be washing my own cloth diapers so I made my own cloth wipes. I had never sewed before but my aunt gave me my grandmother's 70 year old sewing machine. I had it serviced and the man at the sewing machine repair shop showed me how to thread the string and sew a straight stitch forward and backwards (that's all the machine does). That 5 minute tutorial (and a few YouTube videos) was all I needed to sew a quilt, a bedroom garland banner, a sleep sack, and these cloth wipes as my nesting projects. These wipes are very easy!
Next week I will be giving away a 3 month supply of all natural baby wipes so check back!
DIY Cloth Baby Wipes
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| My wipes after being used on 2 babies. |
The greatest part about these wipes is that when you are done wiping the baby, you just put them with the diaper right into your cloth diaper pail. They get washed the same way that your diapers get washed.
Sizing: You can make your wipes any size you want. I made mine so that they could fold in half in a standard diaper wipes container. I never actually did that but the thought was good.
Ingredients
1 yard 100% cotton flannel fabric (this made enough wipes for a week so I could continue to wash diapers weekly)
sewing machine or pinking sheers
Directions 1: No Sew Baby Wipes
- Wash your fabric in hot water and dry in the dryer to pre-shrink the fabric.
- Using pinking sheers, cut your wipes into the size that you want. Done!
Directions 2: Sewed Baby Wipes
- Wash your fabric in hot water and dry in the dryer to pre-shrink the fabric.
- Using scissors, cut your wipes into the size that you want.
- Sew along the edges using a zig-zag stitch. My 70 sewing machine only did a straight stitch and my wipes look great two kids later. You can also use a serger if you have one.
Note: After the first few washes, there may be some small strings that need to be pulled or cut from the wipes.
DIY Cloth Baby Wipes Spray
Now that you have a beautiful pile of wipes, you will need to moisten them before you use them. You can use just water, water + a squirt of baby soap, or water + a squirt of baby soap + a drop of oil. Here are the methods that I recommend:
- Water: Simply wet the cloth before a diaper change at the sink. Since my older kids wouldn't stop straying everyone with my diaper spray, this is what we resorted to and it works perfect! Soap can be too harsh on the baby's skin. Two wipes and we are done!
- Diaper Spray: Fill an empty spray bottle with water (with or without soap and oil). Spray your cloth to moisten it before wiping.
- Diaper pump: Use the above directions in an old pump soap bottle. If find this easier than the spray because I can do it one-handed during a diaper change.
- Pre-moistened: You can your pour soapy water in your wipes container and keep them there for several days so they are always moist when you go to use them. I never tried this since I wash once a week and was afraid of the potential yuck factor.