Cotton nappies

Cloth nappies on the market currently are made from all kinds of different fabrics, but what about cotton nappies? For many years, all cloth nappies were made from cotton, but these days cotton tends not to be used.  Are there advantages to using cotton nappies? Is cotton still a good choice for your babies cloth nappies when there are so many other fabrics to choose from on the market?

Long lasting cotton nappies

The first cloth nappies that I bought and used (and made) for my oldest son, eight years ago now, were cotton.  There were already other fabrics available on the market, but for the most part, nappies were still made of cotton.  Eight years and four children later, a lot of those cotton nappies are still going strong.  One of the great things about cotton is that it can take a lot of abuse, and still last well.  Although most modern cloth nappies aren’t designed to be boil washed or soaked, (and lets be honest here, you don’t actually need to) most cotton nappies will stand up to this, if you really want to.  Although shaped nappies may have elastics or fastenings that might not last as long, the cotton nappies themselves seem to just go on and on.

Effective cotton nappies

Because cotton as a washable nappy fabric has fallen out of favour in recent years, people often assume that it’s just not up to the job.  Cotton might not hold quite as much as hemp or bamboo, but it dries faster, and still hold quite a bit of liquid.  For years and years, when there was no other choice, and nearly all parents used washable nappies, cotton was the only choice and it worked fine.  These days cotton pre-folds are a great choice, as they work well, are easy to use, and very easy to care for.  Even if you don’t like the idea of using a pre-fold type system, then cotton pre-folds make great inserts in pocket and other types of cloth nappies.  Even old fashioned flat cotton nappies can work really well as inserts in other nappies, and many parents have discovered that a couple of cotton nappies work really well as a long lasting night nappy.

Cotton nappies are a great, but often dismissed choice when it comes to fabric for cloth nappies, do you use them?