Looking for cheap cloth diapers? Stock up on inexpensive cotton prefolds

If you've done any research online, you've no doubt discovered that cloth diapers of the 21st century can cost a lot of money! (Anywhere from $12 - $30 each, depending on the brand.)

Don't let that high price tag scare you off! If you're on a tight budget, you can still do cloth diapering on the cheap. Simply pick yourself one or two prefold cloth diaper packages -- combined with a few sassy diaper covers -- and you'll be set for months, all for well under $100.

But what are these inexpensive cotton prefolds of which I speak, you ask?

A "prefold" is a rectangular cloth that gets its name from the way it's been folded and stitched to have multiple layers of thickness down the middle to soak up the wetness. This seriously cuts down on the amount of origami-bending you have to do to wrap the cloth diaper around your baby's bum.

Prefold cloth diapers are typically made of bleached or unbleached cotton. You can also get organic prefold diapers as well as prefolds made from flannel and hemp jersey or fleece.

Cotton prefolds are also often referred to as "Chinese prefolds" or "Indian prefolds."

Why? That's a good question. I suspect it's because the cotton came from China or India, but don't quote me on that. (Unless, of course, I'm right, in which case please do quote me and pay me reprint rights to boot.)

Whatever the ethnic flavour of your prefold cotton diapers, they're the least expensive diapering option out there. If you're looking for cheap cloth diapers, this the way to go!

Of course, you actually have to go to the work of folding them, but once you get the hang of it, folding's really no big deal -- especially when you're using Snappis, the coolest invention on earth. Seriously. Cars, fiber optics, the Internet, rockets that go to the Moon -- they've got NOTHING on Snappis.


One of the best things about prefold cotton diapers is how they manage to be of good use to you long after their career as butt covers is finished. Prefold cotton diapers make great burping cloths, dish rags, and dust cloths as well.

Here's the story of a woman who found an even more "novel" use for them:

From: SFGate.com --

Art imitates life for Brisbane woman

When Brisbane artist Beth Grossman faced the decision about whether to have a child, her colleagues discouraged her from entering into what they saw as a parent trap.

They warned that Grossman's demanding life as a full-time artist wouldn't mix well with child-rearing. Choose one or the other, they told her.

Grossman chose motherhood.

After 80 hours of labor, she gave birth, seven years ago, to son Avi -- 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and 22 inches long. "In art school, they said people would write you off as an artist, and motherhood would slow you down," Grossman, 47, recalled in a recent interview. "But I've always worked from personal experience, and that's what was going on in my life."

Grossman, who is originally from Minneapolis, became serious about her art 17 years ago after she left her graphic design job. Her focus in her artwork, she said, consists of re-contextualizing stories and interpretation of history. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Minnesota and a master of arts in performance studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Her current series, "First Comes Love," which premiered in October 2004 at the Belmont Arts Commission's Manor House Gallery, is on display at the Brisbane Library. She has a knack for making art out of everyday objects.

A piece in the series called "Life in Diapers" is a book made of 40 cloth diapers chronicling Avi's first year.

"My hope," she said, "is that my artwork will encourage my audience to tell and document their stories, creating a collective voice to pass down from generation to generation."

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Well, I'm sure Milo's prefold cotton diapers could tell quite a story of their own, though I don't think it would be a good idea to pass them down from generation to generation...