Resweater Giveaway Winners!

Well ladies the time has come to announce the winners of our very first Artfire Cloth Diaper Addicts Blog giveaway. The Resweater generously donated two 100% Lambswool Sweaters to be recycled into cloth diaper covers for our followers. This Mama is also a cloth diaper user and loves Wool so much she turned it into an art form. She sells hand picked recycled wool sweaters from her Artfire studio, so Mama's like me don't have to venture to far to find top quality, cute wool to turn into something usable for cloth diapering. Granted, she sells wool to all kinds of people, crafting all sorts of different projects. (Check out her blog devoted to Wool >>HERE<<)

We'd like to thank all the participants and Resweater. Keep checking back. We plan to do a giveaway each month. This months giveaway will be fitted cloth diapers towards the end of October.
Our winners were picked by inserting all the comments, tweets and posts into a random number generator.
The Winner for the Girl Striped 100%Lambswool sweater is: Justine M.
The winner for the Boy Striped 100%Lambswool sweater is: ZealandsMom
The winners will be notified via email for shipping details.
CONGRADULATIONS MAMA'S! We would love to see final products of your winnings. Email us at afclothdiaper@yahoo.com and we'll post pictures:>

ReSweater Wool Contest/Giveaway

With the Fall season fast approaching and all this talk about Wool...Artfire Cloth Diaper Mama's and Resweater teamed up to bring you an awesome giveaway for the end of September. Resweater is giving away TWO sweaters, one boy striped and one girly striped, 100% Lambswool sweater for you to make your own Wool diaper covers.
Save yourself a little extra money by making your own covers from old wool sweaters. Slightly felted 100%wool works the best, but wool is wool and there is no other greater natural fiber for cloth diapering covers. (period)
>>HERE<< are a few FREE patterns for Wool covers. All it takes is a straight or a zigzg stitch, no Serger needed. And remember Cloth Diapers are for catching poo and pee, as long as they are functional, they don't have to be pretty :)
Learn more about Wool for cloth diapering >>HERE<<.
Now the lowdown on the contest:


To WIN...

A AFCDA reader will have the chance to be bit greener and win a 100% Wool sweater from Resweater! We're offering two, you can only enter to win one or the other, you pick..boy or girl. AND be sure that your comments identify the gender of sweater you are trying to win:>
The Mandatory Entry:

1. Visit Resweater and take look around. Comment on your favorite item in her studio here.
Additional Entries:

2. Become a subscriber (follow) to Resweater blog and comment.

3. Become a subscriber (follow) the Artfire Cloth Diaper Addicts Blog and comment.

4. Follow @AFclothdiapers and RT about the contest. You may tweet up to 3x/day and leave a permalink in a comment each time you tweet AND include @AFclothdiapers and the Resweater blog.

5. Blog about the contest, Resweater or Artfire Cloth Diapers and post a comment here with a link to your blog.

6, Become a fan of Resweater on Facebook and comment.

Contest ends September 30th @midnight. Winners will be announced Announced October 5th, 2009.

PUL or Wool Covers?

Cloth diaper covers come in all different styles and You have the choice of PUL or Wool (&Fleece) too. What to do?...Which is best? Upsides/Downsides?...
PUL, poly-urethane laminate, is the modern choice now for covers. PUL replaced the Vinyl pants my Mom used on me. A soft woven fabric outside with a waterproof layer on the backside. Most PUL can be dried on high heat in a drier, it helps reseal the bond between the Laminate and the woven fabric. Definitely check with the manufacturer before drying, some PUL should be lined dried instead. So check, otherwise your covers will delaminate and become leaky.
The upsides: PUL covers are quick and easy to use. They wash quickly and dry even faster. They can be used several times before laundering, just let air dry or use a wipe in a pinch to clean up any messes. The down side, PUL isn't very breathable and it's still plastic. Some Mama's really have a problem with plastic, since that is one of the concerns with disposables. BUT you can you them like forever and they can be past around from child to child and Mama to Mama.
Wool is the most Natural choice for cloth diaper covers. At first I was skeptical. How is wool going to stop the leaks? I test drove a upcycled pair of Wool longies I got on trade from a Mama, I was hooked! Wool in it's natural state is soft, not scratchy and when Lanolized, their waterproof.
The Upsides: Natural, organic choice. Wool can be used for virtually weeks before laundering, unless soiled by poo. Air dry the wool. You can rotate through a few pair of covers a day. Wool only needs Lanolized every 6 weeks-ish. I say ish because, depending on the fabric, amount of use and laudering style, your routine may very. I lanolize when I notice it starts to loose it's waterproofness. Always hand wash your wool. Some Mama's have fancy washers that have a delicate/Wool cycle, but I haven't heard any of them that didn't get bally (pilly) wool after using it.
Downsides: Wool is a bit more high maintenance to care for and it can be very expensive when purchased brand new and a few have allergies to it. Thankfully we have wonderful recyclers out there and an old wool sweater is PERFECT for a diaper cover. (Giveaway coming next week on Wool Sweaters for you to make your own wool covers)...

What we rock: We do both. It truly depends on where we are going and what my needs are. I can say that I have not had a night-time leak for months and months. My secret..... PUL and Wool. I double up. I use my phatest night-time diaper, then a PUL cover and Wool pants/shorts or a wrap.

Thanks to Fundawears Cloth Diapers and BusyBumbleBee
for pictures and links to Studios for the goods.