Boy Dog Diapers

A friend of mine came to me asking for me to make her dog some diapers. Some WHAT?!?!? Yep, her dog has a little dribbly problem and she bought him some diapers but the fit wasn't great so she asked me to make him some custom diapers. Seeing as I've made wedding gowns in the past, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to round out my sewing experience. I used to say I've made everything from wedding gowns to home furnishings to kids clothes but now I can throw in "dog diapers" as well. Anyway, this is what boy dog diapers look like:

Please note the dark shadowy edges on the picture. 

That gives these a more classic feel.

And here's what they look like unfolded:

I used some scrap pieces of PUL I had left over from making diapers for human babies then the inside layer is a poly blend that I felt a maxi pad would stick to. I now know that the way these work is the owner sticks a pad on the inside then wraps the diaper up around the dog's torso, making sure to catch his bits as she wraps. If he dribbles a bit, the pad catches it.

Now, this looks like it is a rectangle but it actually bows out a bit which adds some extra room for the pad so that it doesn't smash the dog's bits. The edges are sewn with fold over elastic then I used super strength diaper hook-and-loop tape along the edges.

Naturally, I recruited my raccoon to model it for you:

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions about making boy dog diapers. I can provide measurements if requested.

Thank you for reading,
Julie

CushyBum Diaper Covers

Although I've been a strict pocket diaper mama from the start, I'm finally starting to branch out a little bit. A friend gave me a stack of Goodmama diapers when I was complaining about how thick Sugar Pop's BumGenius diaper was with the microfiber inserts (really only an issue when they're tiny, now at 5 months, they don't look that puffy anymore). While the Goodmama diapers are wonderful and luxurious and made of amazing fabrics, I didn't love the fact that the potty was held against Sugar Pop's skin all night. I much prefer how a pocket diaper pulls the liquid away from his body and locks it safely away behind a layer of microfiber.

Then I discovered that their snap-in inserts were great daytime stuffers for my pocket diapers. Knowing they were thin but absorbent, I wanted to do even better than stuffing them (plus I'm always looking for an excuse to make more diapers for the little dude). I created a diaper cover like the ones you can put a prefold into but I added snaps so I could snap in the Goodmama inserts. They're slim and trim and I was able to use some scraps of PUL that weren't big enough for my usual CushyBum pocket diapers. I'll admit that the potty isn't locked behind a layer of microfiber but by only using the insert from the Goodmamas, it isn't absorbed and spread to his entire lower region, merely along the center strip of fabric.

Here's the basic outer portion. The edges are finished with a simple fold over elastic (FOE) so this whole diaper came together in about 30 minutes. I also made it a bit long from front to back so for now it is snapped down to a smaller size. I love having snap pliers to add this kind of functionality. This diaper will fit him for a long time.

Here it is with the Goodmama insert positioned. When I tried laying these in a regular diaper cover, I often found that the back slid to one side or another. It was still contained so it wasn't a huge problem but I feel more confident in the diaper when everything is where it should be.

And this is how the insert stays in place. The Goodmama insert already had snaps to stay in the main part of the GM diaper so I just added a couple of snaps to my own diaper cover and stuck them together.

When I throw this diaper in the wash, I don't have to take it apart, I just put the whole thing in and since it is multiple layers just snapped together at the back edge, everything gets really clean and the diaper is ready to be used fresh from the laundry - no stuffing or assembling. I love the simplicity of it!!

Thank you for reading,
Julie