(There is yarn content in here, I promise!!!)
I’m going to admit that my online attention has been elsewhere. I’ve barely read more than a handful of blogs in the last two weeks and rarely left a comment. And for what? My latest obsession, not yarn or fiber (although that’s always an obsession), but diapers.
A few of you will be in the know about this, but most of you will be thinking, “diapers?” How much time can a girl spend obsessing about diapers? Let me tell you, LOTS of time.
Because there is a lovely place called Hyenacart. Sort of like Etsy, but aimed more at families/natural living. There are gorgeous, gorgeous cloth diapers here. And while the Fuzzi Bunz and prefolds have served me well for the boys, they are old and worn and it’s time to step it up. This kid is getting handmade fitteds, such as my cute red monkey diaper I found this weekend.
The thing is, diaper shopping is as much work as yarn shopping when it comes to small, indie sellers. You basically need to stalk the sites and grab them when you have the chance. Plus, I’m trying to stick to some sort of budget. After all, cloth diapers are supposed to be saving me money, not break the bank. So I’ve been looking for a few nice splurges as well as the more budget friendly sellers as well. But wow, there is so much to choose from (if I can only get to them first!)
And of course, this is not just a post about buying diapers. This is a blog about making things, and that includes diapers. So I’m also obsessing about sewing diapers and of course, knitting soakers. (See, there is knitting in here!!) But I’ve never sewn a diaper, and it’s been two years since I’ve made a soaker, so I’m out of the loop. There are patterns to look at and yarn to obsess about. Amazingly, my stash is not very full of good soaker yarn, and this is the best part I have to share with all of YOU knitters out there.
You see, I thought I was pretty up on my internet yarn sources. I’ve haunted Etsy and most of the smaller yarn sellers online, so I was sure I’d seen it all. Nope. Because in all my soaker research/Hyenacart shopping, I’ve made a discovery. There is more yarn out there. Yarn I’ve never even heard of, dyers I’ve never run across, all that seem to lurk within the cloth diaper circuit. And this is nice stuff, beautiful colors, interesting yarns. A lot of very specific wools out there that would be nice for more than soakers. Lots of BFL, targhee, organic, rambouillet, handspun….a lot of beautiful yarn.
Want a peak? Go here. And here. Also here. And to see all of it, here. And don’t forget Spot’s Corner, where you can see who is selling off their stash (and you could sell yours!).
So hopefully, in exchange for some new yarn shopping for all of you, you’ll forgive my little blog-reading hiatus here. I promise I’ll be lurking around again soon, as soon as I’ve spent all my money:-)
Knittymama 
Yarn Pirate is expert at soakers. She has pretty ones as well and the yarn shops you showed have caused me to order yarn. We can be poor together.
Oh, goodness. I completely understand. I spent many, many hours on the net, trolling for diapers. My favorites were Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heiney’s. I did a lot of buying and selling on Ebay with my stash, although I don’t think you can do this on Ebay anymore unless they’re new and unused…? Which is a total shame, in my opinion, because it was a great way to save some $$ and re-use at the same time. Oh yeah, I could go on and on about cloth diapers. Loved ’em!
I admit, I’m not much for buying diapers, but my Very Baby diaper pattern is well used. I have found tons of really cute cotton knits as well as sherpa and cotton velour over the last few years at Mill End. I also found some Carters poly knits that I had laminated and I have been slowly been selling on ebay.
Who knew there was such a niche?!
It’s amazing how diaper shopping can eat all of your time (and money!). With this last baby I am diapered-out and am only buying tried-and-true products where I know what to expect! No more “trying it out” and “seeing if I like it”. If I buy anything at all, that is.
But soaker yarn–soaker yarn I can use!
Well, wow. I am totally non-plussed. My last baby’s bottom was diapered ten years ago, I had no idea. Thanks for the very interesting links.
Wow, me too, My youngest is 7, I had no idea there was so many types of cloth diapers. I do love the red monkey diaper.
I use Bumgenius diaper and love them!!
Oh, the diapers. I didn’t dare get sucked into that world, so we mostly used prefolds. If you get into making your own and need snaps, I have a press – would be happy to do them for you.
Must resist the yarn.
wow, look at all those goodies! i can see why you’ve been a busy little mama. i hope you find lots of great finds and share them w/us!
🙂
I can shop for diapers for hours and once spent weeks trying to track down a particular pattern of Happy Heinie. My fave was granolababies.net. She always throws in extra treats and wraps up the packages so nice. I miss cloth diapers. Want me to knit you a soaker? I need an excuse! 🙂
Please email me. Thanks
Don’t forget to get on Freecycle and post a request (I think you have to offer something first!) because I gave away my last two dozen diapers that way. They were so nice that I was saving them for some reason (was I really thinking that, many years down the line, I would use them on my grandchildren?) but I gave them away as a Saturday Seven. You would be surprised who is giving things away. And thanks for the links – I didn’t know people sewed their own these days.