This next guest poster is a long time friend, who happens to also be a super mom! Marion and I went to high school together and I’m happy to have her posting today about her new Etsy venure in selling her handmade cloth diapers. Take it away Marion!
In the last eight years, I have given birth to five children. As one can imagine, most of my time revolves around being a parent and having babies. Even in such a short amount of time having babies has changed so much for me. I have gone from hospital births to home births, from not thinking much about pregnancy diet and nutrition to mostly thinking about it, and from paper diapers to cloth diapers.
I wish I could say that I wanted to cloth diaper from the beginning to save the planet, but that would not be true. The main reason I began cloth diapering was to try and save money. My parents bought me eighteen pocket cloth diapers and my world has never been the same since!
Trying just one kind of cloth diaper did not work for me. For one I had three children in the time period I began using cloth diapers, one of which who always had a rash. I started to try different cloth diapers based on cost and the fabrics used to make them. By baby number five (Bria, seen above), I was convinced that I could make the perfect cloth diapers for this new little baby!
I have always loved making things! My dolls got lots of my homemade clothing and I knit all the time. But the last time I had worked with a sewing machine was in junior high! Luckily, the skills came back quickly. Sewing diapers would just become another way to be creative. I began making my own cloth diaper patterns and figuring out the best combinations of fabrics. Each time my baby grew and needed a better diaper, I had come up with solutions for what I had not liked before. By my last set of diapers, my mom mentioned I should try and sell them.
With the last scraps of fabric I had I made a couple of ruffle cloth diapers and took them into a store in downtown Port Townsend, Washington. The shop owner, a profession sewer herself, gave me some tips on how to improve my product. I ordered some new materials and went back with what I am now calling RubyRumps.
My RubyRumps diapers are made a beautiful bright PUL (the main waterproof fabric for cloth diapers) and super soft organic hemp/cotton. I decided to use organic hemp/cotton because it is great for babies with sensitive skin, wonderful to sew, and is very absorbent. I make AIO (all in one) cloth diapers and hemp/cotton fitted diapers with covers.
If you’re interested, check out my Etsy shop Ruby Rumps to learn more! Or, if you happen to be in Port Townsend, my diapers are sold at Seams to Last.
You can also find me at my Ruby Rumps Blog and Facebook Page!
Deborah Batchelor says
November 29, 2012 at 7:41 pmGreat cloth diapers/nappies, wish I’d come across these a few years ago! Practical and look good too.