Flats and Hand washing challenge 2013 Day 6

                                            

I am taking part in the Third annual flats and hand washing challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and hand washing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all.  You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post.  This year there are over 430 participants from all over the world!

Today I thought I would show my favorite folds and some pinning.

This is how I arrange my flats. I have the kite fold on the left and pad fold on the right. I might skip the pad fold since I love working with pins so much, but my husband and daughter like me to keep it easy for them. I really appreciate their help, so I taught them the easiest way to change her during the challenge. I told them to lay one or two pad folds into a pul cover. Everyone is happy with this arrangement. When I change the baby's diaper, I use the flats folded into a kite fold with a pad fold inside the diaper.

My daughter is a toddler, almost 2 years old, so I don't make the receiving blanket smaller before folding it into the kite fold. I start with a full size receiving blanket.

Then I fold it into a diamond.

Then I fold the top down to form a triangle.

and fold up the bottom a bit, so the rise is just right for my little girl.

I set this to the side and get started on my pad fold to lay inside. I start by folding a flat in half.

and again.

From here, it depends on the size and shape of the receiving blanket. I may fold it in half, or in thirds... just depends. I like it to be about this size.

I then lay it in the diaper.

I fold it so it is ready to go when I need it.

 When baby is ready for a change, I place it under her. I then put the pad fold in the right place.

 

Then I pull the diaper over that.

 

Normally, I can pull the two sides in and use only one pin in the middle, but this one is not going to work that way so I will pin both sides.

 

 I poke the pin in, with my fingers holding the diaper up just enough to make sure that the pin doesn't poke baby, then I stick it back through being careful not to poke my fingers.

At this point, it looks like a pretty poor job. It isn't my best, but it will do.

I tuck in the material, rolling it in so it holds in the waste properly.

I put the cover on and then make sure none of the flat is peaking out. If it is, I just tuck it in.

 Check out what others have to say on open topic day (day 6) by clicking here :)