Under Cover Month: How Fitted Diapers Work

Why would anyone want to use a separate diaper and cover? Well, there are some good reasons....

It’s week one of Under Cover Month, a multi-blog giveaway event that gives you the scoop on underappreciated cloth diapers like fitteds, prefolds, and diaper covers.

This week is all about fitted diapers. I’m going to start by telling you all about how these pricey diapers work, and why you might want to shell out for a few of them.

How Fitted Diapers Work

Fitted diapers are made of absorbent fabric such as cotton, bamboo fleece, or hemp, and are unique in that they have elastic at the waist and legs just like pocket or All-in-One diapers, but they don’t have any waterproof outer layer. This means that when you put a fitted diaper on baby, you need to put a diaper cover over it. Why would you make things more complicated than they have to be?

Two reasons:

1) Fewer Messes: Because of the extra elastic at the waist and legs, fitted diapers contain messes better than prefolds, so they’re practically leak-proof under a diaper cover.

2) More breathable and versatile: Fitted diapers can be paired with any kind of cover: PUL or wool or fleece–whatever you want. This makes them great for preventing or clearing up rashes when you pair them with a super breathable wool or fleece cover instead of PUL. Or, you can use them without a cover for brief periods to give baby’s bum a chance to air out. Fitted diapers fasten by snaps (my favorite), Velcro/Aplix, or they just have fabric wings that wrap around the hips to allow you to fasten them with a Snappi or pins. This means your diaper will always stay on baby, whereas with a prefold diaper sometimes they get a little small to wrap around the hips and you end up using them like a diaper insert, requiring a cover on top to hold them in place.

Why Are Fitteds So Expensive?

Fitted diapers today cost around $20 apiece. Add that to the cost of a diaper cover ($12-15 for a cover that can be reused several times before washing) and cloth diapering is saving you less money than you expected.

So why are fitteds so expensive? The primary reason is that fitted diapers are made of exotic (read expensive) materials such as organic bamboo fleece, unbleach organic cotton terry, hemp cotton blend jersey knit. Several cloth diaper companies source their own fabrics for fitteds because they want to get soft, absorbent, natural fabrics that are just perfect for fitted diapers. This plus the cost of sewing them together, making extra booster pads for extra optional absorbency, and adding snaps or Velcro/Aplix fasteners makes for a pricey little diaper.

Making Fitted Diapers Affordable

The good news is that many fitted diapers are now adjustable size or one-size, so they fit your baby longer. The other thing that helps make fitteds more affordable is that, because they contain messes so flawlessly, you can buy fewer covers to use with them because you can reuse covers over and over with fitteds before washing them.

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I have tested a number of fitted diapers for 29 Diapers, so tomorrow I’ll tell you a few of my favorites, and why they make the cut in our super picky household stash. These fitteds are soft, versatile, easy to use, and have great absorbency. But there’s even more to a perfect fitted than that. Stay tuned to learn more about the best fitted diaper options.

And check back later this week for a review and giveaway of a fitted diaper you won’t want to miss.