Several of you have asked how I made the diaper covers for Munchkin, so I thought I would put together a tutorial for all the other crafty mommas out there. I have never written a tutorial before, so please let me know if any part of this is unclear. If you have ever used bias tape, you will find that fold-over elastic is very easy to use, and if not, it isn’t hard to learn! I hope to explain it well enough that even a beginner will be able to create some cute covers for your little one :-)

If you aren’t crafty but are still interested in these covers, I recently updated my Etsy site with a few that I have made, and would be happy to do a custom order if you you would like a different size/fabric. I’m also working on some pocket diapers for my site, so check back!

Here are the instructions to make your own diaper covers:

1. First, you will need to gather your materials: for a small diaper (to fit approximately 9-14 pounds) you will need at least a 16″ square of PUL (waterproof) fabric and a 16″ square of printed fabric (I use cotton), about 1.5 yards of fold over elastic (FOE)*, about 8 inches  of 1-2″ wide velcro loop (soft), and a couple of inches of velcro hook (rough) per diaper. Oh, and some thread:-) Some scrap paper, a pencil, a ruler, and some scissors will do for drafting your pattern.

* A note about the fold-over elastic: make sure you get high-quality elastic that will stand up to repeated laundering as diapers get a lot of use! I have been using the 3/4″ no-pill elastic from this store and it seems to work well. Also, the wider the elastic, the easier it is to use. If you have never used FOE or bias tape before, you might want to start with 1″ elastic.

2. Next, you will need to draw out your pattern and cut the pieces. You can use a cover or diaper you already have that fits your child well  or even a disposable diaper to figure out the general dimensions, then tweak it if necessay. The neat thing about making your own covers is that you can customize them to fit your baby just right!  The pattern I came up with looks something like the sketch below. It is 16″ wide at the back, 8” wide at the front, and about 5.5″ wide at the narrowest part in the middle. The entire diaper is 16″ high.  This is small diaper that will fit approximately a 9-14 pound baby. Of course, the pattern can be adjusted for any size diaper you wish to make. Red dots indicate where you will begin and end gathering the elastic.

   

3. Cut out your pieces from the fabric. Notice how I seamed the middle of my printed fabric to ensure that the cupcakes are right-side up on the front and back of the finished diaper.  This isn’t necessary unless you choose a fabric with a directional print. Of course, the PUL fabric should be one solid piece. You don’t want any holes for moisture to wick through!  Go ahead and attach a strip of velcro loop across the front of the fabric piece, then baste the cotton and PUL pieces together very close to the edge and trim if necessary so that your stitch line will be covered by the FOE. Be sure to mark the points where the gathered part of the elastic will begin and end along the leg openings and back (red dots on my pattern) on the pieces.

 

4. Gussets at the leg openings help keep messes in. If you would like to add them, you will need to cut out 2 PUL semi-circles about 8.5″ long and 2.5″ high for the small diaper. (see pattern)

5. Fold a piece of elastic over the straight edge of the semi-circle, tack the end, and stretch the elastic fairly taut while you stitch it on using either a wide 3-step ziz-zag if your machine has it (see photo below), or a plain wide zig-zag. The zig-zag should fall near or just over the inner edge of the elastic. When you are finished, the edge of the gusset should be gathered up. If it doesn’t seem very gathered or doesn’t stretch well, you may be using too narrow a zig-zag. Expirament if you need to until the elastic seems to gather and stretch well:

 

6. Now, find the center of  curved edge of the gusset and the center of the leg opening on the diaper and pin them together. To attach the gusset, I find it easiest to begin near where the pin is and stitch towards one end using a straight stitch just a little at a time while I carefully pull the edge of the gusset to match the edge of the diaper. Take your time! Then go back to where the pin is and stitch towards the other end until the entire curved edge of the gusset is attached to the leg opening of the diaper. Do the same thing on the other side. The finished gusset should look somewhat like a dam along the leg-opening of the diaper:

7. Now comes the fun part; finishing the diaper with fold-over-elastic! I usually start the FOE right behind the gusset on the back of the diaper with the printed fabric facing up, since that is the side that will show on the finished diaper. Make sure you can see the marks for the beginning and ends of the gathered elastic. Fold the FOE over the edge, making sure that the fabric edge is completely enclosed and begin stitching without stretching the elastic (just like bias tape) using the wide 3-step zig zag. Make sure the zigzag falls just over the inner edge of the elastic and go slowly, especially around the curve of the tab. Stop frequently and double check that your fabric edge is completely enclosed in the FOE.

8. When you get to the mark where  the gathered elastic should begin on the back of the diaper, stop, pull the elastic taut, and stitch a couple of inches at a time until you get to the end mark. Continue stitching unstretched around the second tab. Next, you will come to the leg opening. Here you will be enclosing the unfinished edge of the leg opening and the gusset  in the elastic as you stretch and carefully stitch between your marks. Keep going, you’re halfway there now! Continue around the front of the cover and back up the other leg opening, stretching wherever the elastic needs to be gathered.

9. When you get back around to the begining, stop a couple of inches short and cut the elastic so that it just overlaps where you started. Finish stitching the last couple of inches, go right over the cut edge and backstitch a couple of stictches to finish off. Here I like to remove the diaper from the sewing maching, turn it sideways and stitch a plain, narrow zigzag over the cut edge of the elastic to prevent any fraying and make it look a little neater:

10. You’re done! Well, almost :-) now, all you need to do is add a little square of velcro hook to each tab so that you can fasten the diaper and trim off all your stray threads, then diaper your baby and admire your handiwork. Now, isn’t that the cutest little bum you’ve  ever seen???? :-)

*I worked very hard to come up with this pattern and tutorial to teach other mothers how to make diaper covers for their own personal use or to give as gifts. If you plan to make these covers for any other purpose, I ask that you respect my efforts and credit me with the design, and contact me at jodeanbrannan@yahoo.com. Thanks, and happy diaper-making!

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