Terry Nappies - The Versatile Cloth Nappy or Diapers

If you use terry nappies, you will save money and learn how to do something which is traditional.  It is a little like cooking from scratch or making your own furniture in that it is a long-standing skill that many people before us have had.  It is not a difficult skill like learning how to cook a traditional meal or making up a bed with sheets.  In fact it is dead easy when you think about it.  The fabric nappy towelling square is already woven and all you have to do is fold it up, use a Snappi (Australia) or Nappi Nippa (UK) to fasten the nappy with their simple pull-tab and grippy thingies, and velcro or snap a cover over the top if you want waterproofness.  Most cloth nappy retailers and vendors have nappy covers that will fit over terry nappies, or else you can use Fluffies available from most department stores or knit pilchers or soakers to go over the terry nappy.  Pilchers or soakers are usually knitted (sometimes they are made from felted wool instead) woollen covers that go over the nappy, and then soaked in a mixture containing lanolin to make them waterproof.  You can knit them yourself easily following a pattern, get your granny to make some or buy them ready made.  You can get long ones for winter that are like a nappy cover and leggings in one and these are called longies.  In any case what you want to do it get the terry nappy, lie it flat on the table or the bed or the change mat or wherever, and fold it into a nappy fold that is suitable for the size baby that you have.  There are also special folds for boys and girls, if you want to utilise them, and there are folds for newborns and for walkers, and for heavy wetters.  Just ask your mother or grandmother to show you some nappy folds or check it out on the internet.  That’s about all there is to using terry nappies, they may take a tiny bit longer to put on than a disposable or an MCN but you get the satisfaction of knowing how to nappy a baby using just a simple piece of cloth.  If push ever comes to shove you will be able to use old towels etc, whereas people who don’t know how to use terry nappies are liable to get really stuck for a nappy solution!