Flat Cloth Diapers & Prefold Cloth Diapers

Prefolds / Flat Diapers:

Prefold diapers can be the simplest kind of cloth diaper to use - and one of the most confusing kinds of diaper to fully understand. Prefolds are rectangular diapers that have more layers in the middle and fewer layers on the sides. Prefolds are wonderful diapers: versatile, absorbent, long lasting, multi-use, and very affordable.

The precursor to Prefold diapers are Flat diapers. Flat diapers do not have a thicker center section but rather have the same thickness and number of layers throughout the entire diaper. Flats are the least inexpensive type of diaper available. Prefolds are generally preferred over Flats because Prefolds have more absorbency and fabric thickness (crucial to stopping powerful urine streams) right where you need it - in the middle.

Prefolds come in different varieties, fabrics, sizes, and weights. Most prefolds will have a 4x8x4 sort of identification - the first and last numbers tell you how many layers of fabric there are on the right and left sides of the diaper and the middle number tells you how many layers of cloth in the middle. Different quality of diapers will have different number of layers. The quality of your diaper will make a huge difference in how well your diapers work, how long they last, and how happy you are with a cloth diaper system.

Prefolds come in bleached (white) and unbleached (natural) options. Both work very well though the unbleached versions last longer because the fiber has not been chemically weakened by bleach. Prefold diapers and flat diapers need to be paired up with either a diaper cover or wool diaper cover because they are not water proof by themselves.