I absolutely love a bargain, especially when it comes to cloth diapers. I bought a couple of the "fancy" brands, spent $15+ per diaper, and wasn't any more impressed with them than the cheap $3 diapers.
Unfortunately, it is no longer a bargain when the elastic starts to break in the diaper! When we moved to Texas, all of the cloth was in a storage bin for a couple of months while we made the transition. Between the heat (summer in Texas) and the lack of using them, the elastic in about 75% of the diapers fell apart. You know that crackling sound when you go to stretch the elastic. And yes, even the elastic broke on my fancy diapers (er, I mean my son's fancy diapers..).
Since I am a girl of bargains, I knew I would need to fix these diapers rather than buy a whole new set. I sought out for instructions on how to fix the elastic in cloth diapers, and found a few different tutorials. Between all of those, I figured out a way that is pretty efficient and easy, and I would love to share my process with you!
Each diaper takes about 10 minutes to fix, so don't be like me and try to fix all 40 of them at once. There aren't any really short cuts when doing multiple diapers so might as well fix each one when it needs to be done.
What you will need:
Sharp scissors
1/4 inch elastic
Safety pin
Needle
Thread
Basic sewing skills
Take a look at this adorable monkey diaper. The elastic is SHOT! There is no way this diaper will hold anything in once it is on my child.
1. Make cuts in the diaper
On the edge of the diaper where the elastic starts, make a small cut in the fleece. It is important that you cut the fleece only and not the PUL, otherwise you may run into wicking issues. I know this is a scary thing to do, so start on your least favorite diaper before having an anxiety attack. Now make a cut at the other end of the leg hole on the diaper. There is no need to remove the old elastic so don't worry about cutting that out.
2. Secure the safety pin to the elastic
Make sure the safety pin is at the end of the elastic, there is no need to cut the elastic yet. You will be "threading" this elastic through the diaper between the holes you cut in step 1.
The safety pin will allow you to thread the elastic through the diaper without much trouble.
4. Thread the elastic
Pull the safety pin all the way through the diaper to the other hole that you cut, and out the other side.
5. Sew the elastic onto the diaper
You will start with the hole that the safety pin came out of. With the needle threaded and knotted, sew the elastic onto the fleece. Start underneath the elastic so the knotted end of the thread will hide inside the hole. I usually sew it through 4 complete times, ending back underneath the elastic. Once you have sewn the elastic onto the fleece, and without cutting the thread, close up the hole by stitching the bottom of the hole to the top.
6. Pull the elastic tight
Go to the other hole where the elastic is sticking out, and pull it tight. You will want to pull it tighter than you think is necessary, as the elastic will relax a little after a few washes, and you don't want to have to do this process again.
7. Sew the elastic
Similar to step 5, you will sew the elastic to the fleece. Do not cut the elastic until you are ready to close up the hole. It takes a couple of stitches before it stays put, so make sure you hold onto the elastic and don't let it go. Once the elastic is securely on the fleece, cut the elastic and close up the hole.
You can see from this photo the difference between new elastic and old elastic:
8. Repeat process for other leg hole
Now doesn't that look a lot better?
You are all done!
