The first style of flat diaper I tried was the plain jane Diaper Rite Birdseye Cotton Flat in white from Diaper Junction. A package of 12 (size large) retails for $22.50. (I snagged them for fifty cents less). If you paid full retail, the price per diaper would be $1.88. This is the lowest priced flat I have purchased. I was fortunate enough to have a $10 gift certificate and I purchased enough product (as part of baby’s Christmas last year) to get free shipping. This completely negated the discount (shh, don’t tell!) but we needed some other items anyway.
According to the Diaper Junction website, the diaper is about 32″ square from the store and will shrink as it is 100% cotton. Diaper Rite’s brand site says that 5-15% shrinkage is expected once fully prepped, and that it’s likely that no 2 diapers will shrink the same amount. Like most brands, it suggests to wash them approximately 3 times on hot and dry them before use. I’ve been using them for about 6 months now and they are slightly less see through and much more fluffy than in the picture below. I measured one diaper and came up with 27×29 after half a year’s use (that’s taking an average of the width at top, bottom, and middle in both directions).
These are the diapers your grandma (or mom or great grandma, depending on your generation) would have used. This is what everyone not in the ‘know’ generally thinks of when they think ‘cloth diapers’, that and poking a baby with a pin. So unnecessary! Typically I pad fold these diapers and stuff them inside my pocket diapers. It’s a lovely cross between modern fit and old time fabulous! To pad fold you simply fold the square in half, and then half again the opposite way, making a smaller square. Then you fold it into thirds until all the layers are bunched together for a thick ‘pad’ of absorbency. Check out my quick tutorial here, it’s on Pinterest, too! There are many other folds, this just happens to be my preferred way of diapering because it’s easy and what I’m used to. (for reference, Gerber diapers are NOT the same and made of a different type of material.)
For price, absorbency, ease and overall bang-for-your-buckness, I’d give these diapers 5 stars. I reach for these first when I’m folding them and I love how clean and white they look every single time out of the wash. I’ve not seen a touch of staining in all this time, even through horrible teething toddler (eep!) POO. I typically use these diapers as my go-to during the day and try and find them to use at night, as well. We’ve occasionally had damp pjs or sheets if she sleeps more than 12 hours or drinks half the pool during family swimming. Usually, though, they’re less than ‘half full’. If you have a deep sleeper or heavy wetter, you might consider a different fold or adding a hemp insert to the back for overnights. During the day they’re just as absorbent (if not more) than the standard 2 microfiber inserts that come with, for example, a bumGenius diaper.
Compared to a cotton tea towel for size-unwashed.
This is why you don’t prep new cotton diapers with your regular diaper laundry– all that fluff gets caught in ‘velcro’ tabs way too easily! Lint after first 3 prep washes.
Do you have any questions? Post them in the comments! Let me know what you think! Would you consider using flats for your next baby?
