Day 6: Flats Comparison

This post is a little bit late! Yesterday was my 2 year anniversary and I did not have too much time to finish posting this blog, but it is finally here!

I am almost done with the flats and hand washing challenge! My hands feel very dry and a little itchy since I’ve been handwashing almost every day, but I am still enjoying this challenge very much. Since having cloth diapered over 11 months, I have purchased a few different kinds of flats. Today, I would like to do a mini comparison for anyone looking to expand their flat diapers collection.

1. Green Mountain Diaper’s Cloth-Eez Organic Birdseye Flat in size small
   

   
   • These were the first flats that I purchased and I fell in love with how versatile they are and how fast they dry.
   • What I love about them? I love that these are the squarest of my flat stash and that the fabric seems more durable than the rest of my flats.
   • What I don’t like? These are the least softest flats in my stash. Also, the edges have started to fray, but it could be because I bleached them once. This isn’t a big issue to me because I can sew the edges again or cut it to make half size flats for extra absorbency or even make some wipes out of them. I also find that the edges where the company has sewn is thicker than others. It doesn’t feel as flat.
2. Green Mountain Diaper’s One Size Unbleached Organic Muslin Flats
   

   

   Nicely squared

   

   

   GMD Muslin (bottom), GMD birdseye (top)
   • What I love about them? I love pretty much everything about these flats! They are soft, square, thick, very absorbent and fit perfectly in my flip covers when I fold them in half three times. For comparison, these are twice as thick as my AA blankets.
   • What I don’t like? I don’t have anything to complain about these flats, but I will say that these would be bulky on a newborn. Maybe they should come out with a  half size or lighter version for newborn.
3. Nicki’s Cotton Birdseye Flat in size small (unbleached)/large (white)
   

   

   
   • What I love about them? I like that these are softer than my GMD’s clotheez flats.
   • What I don’t like? These are not as square as GMD. They have a pretty large tag. I am actually thinking of cutting them off.
4. Nicki’s Bamboo Birdseye Flat in size unbleached small and large 
   

   

   
   • What I love about them? I like that these are a bit more absorbent than regular cotton and that they feel softer. However, I don’t find them to be super soft. I would say that they are just a little bit softer than their cotton version. I am not sure how other bamboo birdseye flats like Diaper Rite’s compare in terms of softness and squareness.
   • What I don’t like? Nicki’s bamboo flats have a weird shape. They are not square nor very rectangular. They are more like a parallelogram in my opinion so some people may find this annoying. Their tag is also big on these. While their large size is nice for extra absorbency, I find that I need to fold the rise when I pad fold in order to make these flats fit better in my covers.
5. Orange Diaper Co’s Bamboo Terry Flats in size newborn, infant, and toddler
   

   
   • What I love about them? These are super duper soft when you first get them! You just want to burry your face in them because of how soft they are. They are very stretchy, absorbent, and fit nicely around the legs. They contain everything better than my other flats because of the stretchiness. All three sizes are in my rotation. I sometimes use the toddler size as a nighttime diaper and it works fantastic! My son will be a year next month and I am still making the newborn flats work. I pair them with my Disana tie nappies as inserts, I use two newborn flats ( I quad fold one in the middle), and use it as a booster for nighttime.
   • What I don’t like? They start to loose their softness and stretchiness the more they get used.  I am starting to have some issues with getting my snappi to stay in place.
6. Flour Sack Towels 
   

   
   • What I love about them? I like that these are affordable, have cute prints, and that you can find them at your local Target or Walmart store.
   • What I don’t like? These are pretty thin. The don’t absorb as much and I don’t think they will be very durable in the long run. Personally, I think you get more bang for you buck just going with regular flats right off the bat because they are more absorbent and will last longer through many washes.

Flats Wish List

1. Blueberry Gauze Flats
2. Diaper Rite Bamboo/Cotton Flats
3. Fruit of the Womb Bamboo Terry Flats
4. Sweet Iris Bamboo Terry Flats
5. Geffen Baby Jersey & Fladdle Flats
6. One Love Diaper Co Cotton/Hemp and Interlock Flats