How To Fold Flat Diapers, Technique #2: The Kite Fold

If you don’t care to do origami every time you fold a diaper, there is a simpler option for folding flat diapers: the kite fold. I noticed that this fold required a little more tucking around the legs to make it snug, but it works great, just like the origami fold. Here is the Kite Fold step by step. Please let me know how you like it in comments. Swaddlebees says that this fold is best for babies over 6 months old, but just like the origami fold I’m sure you can tuck extra fabric down at the waist in front or back and it will work fine for a small baby.

How To Fold Flat Diapers: The Kite Fold

Step 1: Lay Flat

The first step to using a flat diaper is to lay it flat on the ground, print side down for ultimate cuteness in the final product (i.e. print aiming out to show off the awesome orange and green and brown polka dots).

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Step 2: Fold Top and Bottom Corners In

Fold the top and bottom corners of the diaper in toward the center of the diaper. For a small baby, fold all the way to the center of the diaper so the corners touch. For a larger baby, fold as shown on the left.

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Step 3: Fold The Left Corner To Top Right

Now fold the left corner of the diaper up to the top edge of the diaper, a little farther than halfway across the diaper for a large baby, or farther to the right for a small baby (this will determine the width of the waist of the diaper). This sounds more complicated than it is. When you try this, the fabric of the diaper will naturally fall where it wants to go and you will get a neat elongated triangle shape on the side of the diaper as shown.

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Step 4: Fold The Right Corner To Top Left

Repeat the same action on the right side of the diaper, pulling the right corner of the diaper up to the top left edge of the diaper. You should now have an inverted elongated triangle shape with a blunt end at the bottom.

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How To Fasten a Flat Diaper

Step 1: Place Elephant Child On Diaper

As Pinky demonstrates, place the child waist-high on the diaper. If the baby is small, you might fold the waist of the diaper down to make the rise shorter. A typical flat diaper will fit a toddler, so you may need to fold the waist in and tuck the front down to get a good fit for little babies.

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Step 2: Pull Front Of Diaper Up

Pull the bottom of the triangle of fabric up between baby’s legs. If you have too much fabric, tuck the waist down by folding the extra fabric into the diaper for a shorter rise. Hold with your right hand as you grab for the left wing.

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.Step 3: Tuck The Left Leg Gusset

To get a snug fit and hold in messes, tuck or fold the bottom edge of the diaper wing toward baby’s bum like so.

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Step 4: Pull Left Wing Across Baby’s Waist

As you hold onto the center of the diaper with your right hand, pull the left wing across baby’s waist with your left hand.

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Step 5: Tuck The Right Leg Gusset

Fold the bottom of the right wing up and tuck it toward baby’s hip again, to create a right leg gusset. This isn’t anything fancy. It’s just designed to keep the leg holes snug against baby so you don’t have a droopy diaper. You’ll see what I mean when you try it.

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Step 6: Pull The Right Wing Across Baby’s Waist

Holding the left wing and center triangle of fabric with your left hand, now pull the right wing across baby’s waist with your right hand. Voila! Doesn’t Pinky look comfy now? You can put a wrap-style diaper cover over this as-is, or you can fasten the diaper with a pin or Snappi before covering. If you’re going to use this diaper without a fastener, I would recommend laying a diaper cover beneath the diaper once you are ready to begin putting the diaper on baby, so you don’t lose any snugness trying to scooch a cover under the diaper at this point..

.Step 7: Fasten! (Optional)

If you want to pin your diaper, you can fit one diaper pin through all the layer of fabric that meet in front at the waist. We like Snappis because they’re sleep-deprived-mama-proof and I can’t scratch baby girl with them if I tried. To fasten with a Snappi, grab the crotch of the diaper with the center piece of the Snappi, and then stretch it out to grab fabric at the right and left hips.

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Step 8: Cover

Lay a wrap-style diaper cover underneath baby, with the edge just covering the edge of the flat diaper at the waist. You don’t want any bits peeking out of the cover, or you will have leaks! Alternatively, you could use a pull-up style diaper cover if the flat diaper is fastened in place.

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Step 9: Snap for Super Cute Fluffyness

Snap or velcro the diaper cover on top of the flat diaper, and make sure no cloth is peeking out the leg holes. Your baby is good to go! I promise this is much quicker than it looks. I just wanted to show you every step of the way, but I managed to complete this process pretty quickly after my first few tries. You may want to pre-fold a few flat diapers to have them ready to fasten at the changing table, just to make it quicker, though.

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