Cloth diapering saves money, unnecessary waste, and trips to the store. Cloth diapers are also exceptionally easy to use and ridiculously cute!

Looking for options beyond mass-produced diapers in solid colors and traditional materials, many moms are now making their own cloth diapers or turning to work-at-home-moms for handmade options. One such mom is Brooke Harlan, of Brookiellen Designs.

I spoke with Brooke about her personal reasons for choosing cloth diapers. She explains, "When I was pregnant, I was trying to think of all the ways we could save after the baby was born. I also liked the idea of having less waste! Also, diaper covers are so much cuter than 'sposies! And after using them for awhile now, I've found they are so much more leak proof than the disposables! I had a lot of negative feedback when I would tell people I was going to cloth diaper, which was I guess to be expected. But I am so glad I do it - it really works out well for us!"

When deciding to cloth diaper, there is also the the question of which type of cloth diaper to use. Flat, prefold, fitted, pocket, all-in-one - the options can be daunting. Lillian Renauro, a cloth diaper retailer and owner of Modern Diapers, has an excellent cloth diaper resource on her retail site that can help you figure out what's best for you.

Brooke let me know that she chose to go with the most economical option: Chinese prefolds. These are the traditional diapers that diaper services use and are an excellent option. She has then created her own diaper doublers (to extend their absorbency) and diaper covers (to add the waterproof layer and extreme cuteness).

When I decided on cloth, I also chose prefolds. Then my mother became interested in the options and styles available in next generation cloth diapers and found a tutorial for fitted diapers.  My daughter now exclusively wears handmade fitted diapers in a variety of materials: cotton flannel, terry, Zorb, and bamboo.

While many of the materials used in diaper making are readily available, there are also specialty materials, such as bamboo velour, hemp, and PUL, that exist to improve absorbency, softness, and waterproofing. Luckily, this trend comes with its own set of suppliers! Sites such as Diaper Kit provide one-stop shopping to the diaper sewing mom.

Cloth diapers can also be constructed from recycled materials. Old t-shirts can be sewn into prefolds, receiving blankets can be cut into fitteds, and felted wool sweaters can be made into covers.

If you're not handy with the sewing machine, you can purchase handmade diapers from a work-at-home-mom, like Mary Beth Karchella-MacCumbee of E-A-Poo's. Mary Beth cloth diapered all three of her children, now 19, 9, and 7. She chose them originally for cost but is a strong supporter now because of health and environmental concerns. Plus, they're cute. She says, "each diaper is a piece of fiber art for your baby."

Lillian, from Modern Diapers, also let me know that many of the major manufactured brands of diapers began as one-woman businesses. She says:

Many originated as WAHMs making diapers in their home and moving to manufacturing as their businesses grew to the point of them not being able to keep up with demand as just one person sewing - Rumparooz, Thirsties, Cotton Babies, Swaddlebees, Gen-Y and Thirsties are all great examples of this. I love that within the cloth diapering industry, even in buying a "bigger" name brand company's diaper, there's still a 99% chance that you're buying from a company that was started by and is run by parents who wanted to create better products for their children.

You can also purchase diapers from Etsy, Artfire, or 1000 Markets and from individual sellers such as E-A-Poo's. In fact, Brooke is a member of the Etsy Cloth Diaper Team.

If you have questions about the benefits, hassle, or lack thereof, of handmade cloth diapers, please leave a comment and I'll answer it or point you to someone who can!