Thursday, December 11, 2008

Check out the Longies!

I finally started listing my wool pants in my Etsy shop! They are made from recycled 100% wool sweaters and are perfect for these cold winter days! They are awesome just as pants, or I can lanolize them at no charge for you to make them into cloth diaper covers, or "longies".

Wool pants make great diaper covers as they are a natural fiber and breathable. They really don't require that much extra care. I was hesitant to try out wool covers on my own daughter, until someone gave me a beautiful pair of hand knit longies. I had to try them and now I love all things wool! I only wash mine once a month or so unless they become soiled (usually from Laina spilling yogurt or something on them). Just stir a squirt of baby wash and a squirt of pure lanolin in a small cup of hot water (I just use the leftover PureLan that I have from my breastfeeding days). The soap and lanolin will melt and mix and become milky looking. Fill a sink or small wash tub with luke warm water and then mix in the lanolin mixture. Gently dunk in the wool longies (or shorties or whatever) and squeeze the water through a few times. Then let sit for several hours. After soaking, gently squeeze out excess water with your hands, then roll in a towel to get the rest. I usually hang the towel up on a towel bar and lay the longies over that to finish drying. It will take overnight or sometimes even longer to completely dry.

The extra care is so worth it! Whenever Laina is looking a little rashy, I make sure to put her in wool and it does help her bum air out and clear up. Check it out for yourself - you'll be glad you did!

(To the right is Laina modeling a pair of longies I made just for her.)

4 comments:

Joshua Hardwick said...

It just doesn't seem like wool would make a good diaper cover. It doesn't stink or feel damp? It sounds like it would be itchy too.

Jenna Hoskinson said...

I was really hesitant to try it at first, too. It's really not at all like you would think. 100% wool isn't as scratchy and itchy as wool blends, and I don't think the babies notice anything at all. When you lanolize the wool, it does make it water resistant. You can't leave a baby sitting in a wet diaper for hours because eventually, yes, the wool will start to feel damp. But it's better for baby to be changed promptly anyways, right? As for the stinkiness - as long as you air it out between wears, it doesn't retain odors at all. Even when the baby has pooped! My PUL covers always need to be washed after Laina has pooped in them, but the wool ones can just be aired out and they are fine. Wool really is an amazing diaper cover! There are lots of other resources available online for info...here's one great article I just found: http://www.thediaperhyena.com/woolscool.htm

Tara said...

So you don't have to wear another cover under the pants? And by the way, the ones Laina is wearing...are those knit? By you? I'm so impressed.

Jenna Hoskinson said...

Nope, no need to wear a PUL cover under the pants if you lanolize them to be a diaper cover. They are good all by themselves! But, like I mentioned in my previous comment, they will feel damp if the baby sits in them wet for any length of time, so they need to be changed regularly. And no, I didn't knit the ones Laina is wearing :( I haven't knit in a long time! They are also a wool sweater that I repurposed into longies.