Diaperkit: Deluxe Flannel AIO Kit

I got my second diaperkit in the mail today and made it in 45 minutes.   This time I did it plain and simple and exactly as the instructions direct.  I was SO pleased with the product and with how absolutely easy the diaper was to make.  It's beautiful!!! The following is my step-by-step, pictorial "how-to" for making a Deluxe Flannel All in One diaper from Diaperkit.com.  And I'm telling you, even if you don't sew, you should start so you can make one of these.  It's really not too difficult once you practice sewing velcro and elastic into place.  And since Amber includes practice scraps in her kit, that should be no problem!!!

Here are the pieces of the AIO kit.   

A) Instruction booklet

B) Tri-fold insert

C) Three inner layers of flannel

D) Outer, waterproof layer of PUL 

E) Pre-cut velcro, one length of elastic, and size tag

F) Extra pieces to practice sewing on (and she included an extra piece of hooks (velcro) to practice on too per my request)

First, I stitched the insert/soaker together.  You simply fold it in three (it's actually already folded when it comes) and stitch around all the edges.  You can straight stitch, zig zag stitch, or serge it.  I zig zagged my last insert but this time I decided to straight stitch it.  

 Next, I pinned the insert/soaker to where I wanted it in the diaper.  I put the pins on the inside of the square to keep them out of the way of the foot of my sewing machine, but you can put them around the edges if you prefer and pull them out as you sew. 

Time to stitch it to the diaper.

Once the inner layers of the diaper are sewn together, it's time to stitch them to the outer layer.  You need to put them together with the good sides facing in which means that the shiny side of the PUL will be facing outward, and the side of the flannel to which the insert is attached will also be facing out. 

...like so!

Time to pin them together in preparation for sewing. 

Now, sew around the edges, starting at one side of the front panel and ending at the other side, without sewing through the top of the front panel.  The sewing is my favorite part! That's why it's so great that with Diaperkits you don't have to waste time cutting your pieces out!  You can get right to the sewing :-D 

Both sides of the diaper once it's sewn together and before putting the elastics in.  Be sure to keep the front end of the diaper open so you can eventually turn the diaper right side out.  

And now it's time to put the elastics in!!! You want to start with the legs.  Just look for the little notches that Amber has precut into the sides of the diaper pieces:

Place the beginning of one of your elastics against that notch and be sure to sew your elastics onto the PUL side of the diaper.  Set your machine to a zig zag stitch and sew back and forth a few times to anchor the elastic.  

TO sew the elastic in, you want to pull it taut as you sew--you'll pull the diaper through the machine with one hand making sure to guide it as you do, and pull the elastic with the other.  If sewing the elastic makes you nervous, check out this tutorial from Diaperkit.com.  It's really not that difficult, you just need to get the hang of it.  Practice on your scrap pieces first.  She includes one layer of pull and three layers of flannel in her scraps for you to practice the elastic on.  

The two pictures above show what the diaper will look like from both sides once the elastic is sewn in.  The diaper is still inside out at this point.  

Cut the corners off of the ends of the diaper  so that it will turn out nice and crisp.  Make sure not to cut through any of your stitches.  

Now it's time to turn the diaper right side out.  Yay! My favorite part!!!

You want to start turning the diaper out with the closure tabs.  I help turn them right side out with a ruler.  It's nice and long and thin and has good corners to make sure the corners are square when they turn out.  

Once the ends are turned out, the rest of the diaper will come out very easily.

It's time to close the ends of the diaper.  It is wise to pin it closed--at least at the ends where the selvage makes it bulky.  

Now, sew the top end of the diaper closed. 

The last step to sewing your diaper is attaching the touch tape pieces. 

Amber kindly included an extra piece of velcro for me to stitch with.  She sells extra precut squares of it for $.12 so if you're not sure how you feel about sewing with it, buy an extra piece and practice on your scraps.  

Start with the long looped piece of touch tape.  Center it at the front of your diaper and pin it if you feel the need.  It's not very hard to keep it in place so I don't pin it.  Sew close to the edge of the velcro or it will bunch up after a few washes.  

When you get to the bottom of your looped touch tape strip,  stick your size tag in before running your stitch along the bottom.  If you feel uncomfortable about doing this way, you may want to pin it before hand.  I just don't feel comfortable putting that many pins through PUL, and also pins tend to temporarily contort touch tape and cause the fabric to bunch under it.  

Once the front loops strip is in, sew your first hook square to the inside of your closure tab.  Be sure to sew close to the edge of the hooks.  

Next, sew in your loop square which will function as a laundry tab.  Sew it about 1/8 inch away from your hook square.  

On only one of your tab closures, you will sew a square of loops to the outside.  This allows for a close fit for skinnier babies.  I sewed mine on top of the square left by the stitches from sewing my square of hooks into the inside of the tab closure.  

Reapeat the steps for sewing hooks and a laundry tab into the other tab closure.  You will not need to sew a square of loops onto this tab.  

When your diaper is done, it will look like this on the inside (though you might want to use white thread for your bobbin, I used blue so you could easily see my stitches). 

The front of your diaper will look like this.  

When closed, your diaper will look like this.  Notice that there is only a square of loops on one side of this diaper.  

The fit is GREAT! I thought the fit was wonderful on my one-size improvisation of this diaper, but it's so much better when sewn the way it is intended to be sewn! Besides, the fact that it is a sized diaper makes it much more trim. 

So, go over to Diaperkit.com and buy one for yourself. 

...and stay tuned because in the next few days I will be giving one of these babies away--no, not one of MY babies, one of the diapers, silly!!!  My baby stays with me ;-D

Happy sewing!