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Wednesday, January 14, 2015
If you saw the last post from the Make it Green in 2015 series, you learned about all the icky chemicals lurking in disposable diapers. Well some of those same chemicals are found in disposable baby wipes. Visit the Environmental Working Group and do a search of the brand you use... it's pretty bad that wipes need 3-4 preservatives added to them, and these preservatives are known to be skin irritants.
"When you know better, you do better."
Maya Angelou
So after I looked into all the ingredients, I decided I could do better for my baby. A friend gave me a pack of flannel cloth wipes when I first started cloth diapering and after that, I was sold. It's easier to wipe baby's bottom and throw the wipe in the diaper and toss it in with the diaper laundry than it is to separate. It just doesn't make sense to be throwing something used for your diapers away when you cloth diaper.
I cut up some fleece into squares and I repurposed an old baby bath towel. These two work great for wipes. But I do prefer flannel the most, so I went to Goodwill and found a full-size bed sheet for $1.88. PERFECT for wipes! I'm going to tell you how you can make your own reusable cloth baby wipes, which will save you money, be better for your baby's skin and keep trash out of the landfill!
First thing is to figure out what size you'd like. I suggest measuring the palm of your hand and adding at least one inch, this will keep the poo off your hand. 6 inches is just right.
Cut off any seams or edges of your sheet. Double your fabric right side on the inside.
Measure from one end in 6 inches.
Mark along the 6 inch line vertically. Measure again down 6 inches and mark along the line horizontally. Cut.
You can pin your squares together, but they're really small enough that I (a beginner at sewing) don't need to. Put the square under the foot of your sewing machine, about 2/3-3/4 of the way on one side. Set your machine with a straight stitch and start sewing along the edges.
Leave a small space to turn the fabric through. I love to repurpose and found out that chopsticks are great at getting corners pushed out.
At this point, you can iron the wipes to have them lay more flat, which makes it much easier to topstitch. Pinch the opening closed, place under presser foot and sew over the opening first with a straight stitch. Keep sewing along the edges.
When you get to where you started, go over that hole area again and backstitch.
Voila! You just made a cloth wipe!
You can add cotton terry to one side, which helps clean the messy stuff up a little better.
Here is my recipe for cloth wipe solution:
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 Cup of Distilled Water
Put them together in a spray bottle. Use as needed. You can add a drop of tea tree oil or your favorite essential oil if desired.
Here is my recipe for cloth wipe solution:
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 Cup of Distilled Water
Put them together in a spray bottle. Use as needed. You can add a drop of tea tree oil or your favorite essential oil if desired.
I made 10 cotton flannel wipes in about an hour or so. 3 of them are double-sided with cotton terry and flannel. I'd love to give these upcycled cloth baby wipes away to one of my readers!
Just fill out the competition form to enter the giveaway. Giveaway will run from 1/14/15-1/26/15. Open to US only. Must be 18 years of age or older. Void where prohibited. Winner will be announced on this post, as well as emailed (so make sure to log into the form with the email address you use). You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.
LatchedOnMom did not receive payment for the review which was given. All opinions are my own, written by me. Latched On Mom and other participating bloggers have no affiliation to the company, unless otherwise stated. Other participating bloggers did not receive compensation to promote this giveaway. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any other social media.
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I've used some cloth wipes before (i.e. the package of baby wash cloths that I didn't think were good enough for bath time), but I mainly use disposable. I'd love to change that since I use probably 15 a day, on a good day.
ReplyDeleteI love my cloth wipes, though I haven't really tried to make any myself yet. I need more free time ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've been using disposables but working to switch to cloth. I'm not too sure how many I go through in a day because they don't actually work all that well for poop so when my daughter goes number two I go through quite a few just to get her completely clean. Yuck! What a waste of money.
ReplyDeleteI made a few cloth wipes and realy lIke them, just haven't had the time to make enough to last for a few days! Not sure how many I would use but less than the I do with my toss aways
ReplyDeleteI use about 10 wipes (disposable) and I uses wash cloths for wiping hands and face. I haven't tried cloth wipes but I have been thinking about it for sometime now.
ReplyDeleteI use between 8-10 wipes a day. We use cloth wipes at home, but disposable wipes when we are on the go.
ReplyDeleteWe're expecting a new grand this summer, I'll be babysitting a couple days a week so I guess cloth wipes are in my future!
ReplyDeleteI have made cloth wipes by just cutting up some old receiving blankets and using a serger around all the edges, works great and I love not wasting money on wipes!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a serger, still learning it. I personally prefer the clean edges (t&t) over serged. The serged edges have caught up on Velcro in the wash.
DeleteI've never used cloth wipes, as we are still awaiting the arrival of our first LO. I do plan to exclusively cloth diaper and use exclusively cloth wipes though, so I'm sure I will need a ton!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I try to be green myself so I love to see others do the same.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, My babies grew up but let's be honest, every mom thinks she needs them forever!
ReplyDeleteI use about 4-6 wipes a day, depending on the frequency of #2 diapers. I got some GroVia cloth wipes for Christmas, but I have yet to use them. I've been looking for a do-it-yourself wipes solution before I start using them, so a big thank you for that! I would love to win these words because I love handmade products. :)
ReplyDeleteThe wipes solution is easy! Having it in a spray bottle is super convenient, you can pack the wipes and bottle up and go :)
Delete* wipes, not words. Oops!
ReplyDeleteI plan to use cloth wipes on my little one when he arrives. I have minimal sewing experience but maybe this would be a good project for me to try while I learn!
ReplyDeleteI encourage you to try! This is a project that a few funky stitches won't matter :)
DeleteI use about 20-25 because we use them as family cloth for my 2 year old as well.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I am thinking of trying family cloth soon!
DeleteHaven't used them but would like to give them a try
ReplyDeleteI use about 10-15 wipes a day. I love them and it's so much easier when you're a cloth diapering momma.
ReplyDeleteWe're expecting this June, so we haven't tried cloth wipes yet, but I'd really like to use them.
ReplyDeletewe use about 20+ cloth wipes a day with our newborn. We use them for more than just diapers.
ReplyDeletewe love our cloth wipes, we go through quite a few a day since i'm cloth diapering two kids right now. We probably use around 15-20 a day.
ReplyDeleteI have used cloth since my son was born, but until recently my husband used disposable wipes. I would only use around 8-10 a day, where my husband was using so many more. I got to the point where I couldn't stand the smell of the wipes anymore, so when the last package was gone, I told my DH we weren't buying anymore! I just cut and sewed up a receiving blanket to clean up and have microfiber cloths to get him nice and dry!
ReplyDeleteI really love your blog!
ReplyDeleteI normally only use 2 wipes a day!
ReplyDeleteHmmm I don't keep.good track because I use cloth wipes so I just use as many as needed. Maybe 10ish
ReplyDeleteHmmm I don't keep.good track because I use cloth wipes so I just use as many as needed. Maybe 10ish
ReplyDeleteWhen my oldest was a baby all we had were cloth wipes so yes I have used them.
ReplyDeleteWe go through around a dozen a day or more. My daughter is potty training, but she uses cloth to wipe after she pees!
ReplyDelete