5 Ways to Customize Your Cloth Diapers

Have you ever dreamed of customizing your own cloth diaper print? Do you love a quirky character or feel passionate about a particular team? Are you constantly searching for a certain animal or icon, but realize a custom diaper is your only way of fulfilling that dream?

I love my The Inquisitive Mom logo and really want to see it on a cloth diaper before our diapers are retired in the next couple of years. I decided to look into ways to custom your cloth diapers and found 5 that seem promising. I’m curious about ways to DIY this project, although skeptical about whether or not my skills are up to par.

1. Design your own fabric with Spoonflower. This genius suggestion came from Lynn, a reader on The Inquisitive Mom Facebook page. Spoonflower provides all of the tools you need online to design your own fabric at $27 a yard and shipping starting at $2.00. Plus, they use eco-friendly printing and quality fabrics. I found a Quick Dry All in One pattern from Babyville Boutique, which calls for 1/2 yard of fabric, in addition to PUL and lining fabric. With this option, I could make two custom AIO diapers for around the cost of a name-brand diaper.

My biggest hurdle? The design process. My amazing website designer created my logo, my cat in the hat button, and these fabulous glasses. The trick is creating an eye-catching pattern using my limited design skills. I am making this too busy or not getting the pattern right. Here are a few examples of my attempts:

2. Print your design on Sew-in Tags. Crystal shared this genius idea with me. The price varies, depending on the size of labels you choose. The ananemone Etsy shop will print the size of your choice, with the first sheet at $23. The number of labels you receive per sheet depends on the size you select. They can be iron-on or sew-on. This is a fantastic option for adding a personalized touch to diapers you already own or diapers that you sew. Just be sure to add a stabilizer and seal up any holes with heat.

3. Draw your design with Fabric Paint or Markers. This is probably the most cost effective way to go, but getting the initial outline of the logo and the coloring correct makes me nervous. I know I could print the logo on cardstock, cut it out as a stencil, and then outline it. I think this option is much more desirable for a different style of design.

4. Use Photo Fabric or Transfer Paper. This option is definitely not ideal for ironing directly onto your PUL fabric. I’m also uncertain about how this would hold up to the multiple washings cloth diapers endure. If I used photo fabric, I would definitely iron and then sew it onto a cotton fabric first. This fabric could be lined with PUL or cut out and sewn onto the PUL. Just be sure to add a stabilizer and seal up any holes with heat.

5. Order a Custom Applique. While this is a cool idea, most of the sites I found that create custom appliques require minimum orders of 6 to 10. The EverdayDesignsB Etsy shop will custom create a design beginning at $24. This makes for a fairly pricey OAK when you add this to the cost of a ready-made diaper or materials.

Have you ever designed your own cloth diaper? I would love to see your finished projects! If you would be willing to have your photos (with credit) showcased in this post, please let me know.