Fabrics Available

There are many absorbent fabrics available for your cloth diapering needs!

Cotton: Many cloth diapers have a cotton lining, or cotton inserts. Cotton is a natural material.  Prefolds and flats are generally made out of cotton.  Cotton is very soft for baby, and is also very absorbent!

Bamboo:  Bamboo is another natural material, and is more absorbent than cotton.  It is also very soft!  It is naturally antibacterial and doesn't hold odors.  However, bamboo is more fragile than other diaper fabrics, and must have gentler care while washing.

Fleece: Fleece is 100% polyester.  Some diaper covers are made from fleece.  Thick fleece has waterproof qualities.  However, lightweight fleece, such as micro fleece, makes a great stay-dry diaper liner because it wicks moisture away from baby.

Hemp:  Hemp used in diapers is 55% hemp and 45% cotton, and is all natural fibers.  The cotton is there to help keep the hemp soft!  Hemp is very durable and strong, and is the most absorbent natural fabric available for cloth diapers.  Plus hemp has some natural antibacterial properties!  These are great for nighttime diapers!! The downside is that they take a little longer to dry than other fabrics.

Microfiber:  Microfiber is about 75% polyester and 25% polyamide.  This is a great fabric for inserts because it can absorb around 8 times its weight in liquid.  Microfiber dries quickly and gets more absorbent with each use.  However, be careful to not have microfiber directly against baby's skin, because it can be very drying!  Always use a barrier when using microfiber!

PUL: Polyurethane Laminate is a laminate-backed fabric.  Its soft, flexible, and completely waterproof!  It can withstand the heat of a dryer, and is perfect for use as a waterproof cover, or the outer lining of all in ones, pockets, and wet bags!

Suedecloth: Suedecloth is great for the lining in diapers!  It is thinner than micro fleece, but is very good at wicking moisture away from baby, and it resists staining.  Suedecloth does not pill like micro fleece and stays looking new a lot longer. *Edit* Some babies can have allergic reactions to suedecloth.  My daughter is one of them.  She started out tolerating it well, but now she gets extremely red when she wears a diaper with suedecloth.  I still recommend it for the inside of diapers, but, like many things in this world, its not right for everyone.

Wool:  Wool is perfect for diaper covers.  It is waterproof, but highly breathable.  It can hold 30% of its weight in liquid.  Wool also have naturally antibacterial properties.  The downside to wool is that it needs to be lanolized on a regular basis, but lanolization isn't too difficult!

Zorb: I haven't had any personal experience with Zorb, and it is the newest diaper fabric on the market.  Zorb is hypoallergenic and made from bamboo, cotton, and viscose. Zorb absorbs much faster than any other diaper fabric, and it can hold 3 times as much liquid as any other diaper fabric.  Also, it rarely leaks or wicks moisture onto clothing. *Edit* I have since used a few diapers with Zorb, and I LOVE it.  It holds a lot, is soft, and absorbs very quickly!

I recommend trying several different types of fabric to discover which works best for your baby!