Remember when diapers were CLOTH?

NotSpaghetti

My US born baby wore both nappies and diapers.
UK nappies being, highly absorbent terry towelling fabric finished into a large square, (maybe 24"x 24"). These were folded (in my case) into variations of trangles of kites.
I really only used them as nappies and not as a burping cloth for example as they are bulky.

My US diapers were also cotton but not terry toweling, and not square. They were very soft and useful - a bit like a huge table-napkin.

Most diapers that we had were cotton birdseye which is a weave with a little (very low) texture that's pretty absorbent. They were bigger than UK nappies and rectangular and so were folded into various rectangles before pinning. They gave a slimmer shape to the baby as not so bulky on.

Some of my diapers however were the newer "prefolds" these had a pre-sewn thick panel down the middle composed of several layers of this same soft cotton material.

Here's a traditional UK nappy, a birdseye cotton diaper and a prefold diaper. (See photos - found online..)

The diapers I used were 100% cotton-flannelette.

Large sheet style, tightly woven, thick and super-absorbent, they fit from newborn to toddler, and required folding from scratch.

Like most other things, I'm sure there were different grades of cotton diapers, some thicker and more absorbent that others. The ones I used were what everyone I knew used.

Folded down for infants and smaller babies, folded down less for bigger babies and toddlers. I preferred following in my own mothers footsteps, so I always doubled the diapers for more absorbency.

A diaper pin on each side, rubber pants over top. Made for a bulky bottom, but boy, did they ever get the job done, and very well may I add!

A set of diapers 4-6 dozen would last through the diapering stage of two babies before starting to get threadbare and needing replaced, but the old threadbare ones didn't go to waste. They made for the best general all-purpose household cleaning and wiping cloths ever!

I remember prefolds from my babysitting days, though the old-fashioned fold-from-scratch version were the most popular and widely used, at least in the homes where I babysat.

This explanation (above) was because Aveline asked.
Hope that helps!
🚼

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202512/medium-974rbd-1000042194.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202512/medium-36fkud-1000042193.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202512/medium-tn0tr-1000042191.jpg

My US born baby wore both nappies and diapers.
UK nappies being, highly absorbent terry towelling fabric finished into a large square, (maybe 24"x 24"). These were folded (in my case) into variations of trangles of kites.
I really only used them as nappies and not as a burping cloth for example as they are bulky.

My US diapers were also cotton but not terry toweling, and not square. They were very soft and useful - a bit like a huge table-napkin.

Most diapers that we had were cotton birdseye which is a weave with a little (very low) texture that's pretty absorbent. They were bigger than UK nappies and rectangular and so were folded into various rectangles before pinning. They gave a slimmer shape to the baby as not so bulky on.

Some of my diapers however were the newer "prefolds" these had a pre-sewn thick panel down the middle composed of several layers of this same soft cotton material.

Here's a traditional UK nappy, a birdseye cotton diaper and a prefold diaper. (See photos - found online..)

Nightsky2

Squiffy

Oh, the smell of nappies soaking in Napisan! 🤢🤢🤢 I can smell it now that it’s come to mind! 🤦‍♀️😆

What a stink it was

Yes!

Squiffy

Oh, the smell of nappies soaking in Napisan! 🤢🤢🤢 I can smell it now that it’s come to mind! 🤦‍♀️😆

What a stink it was

Deedaa

As well as the terry nappies my daughter also bought soft terry baby wipes that just went in the wash with the nappies. Not only was it better for the environment, but a wet terry wipe cleaned bottoms far more efficiently.

OMG, yes!

100% baby washcloths went hand-in-hand with cloth diapers. All through my babysitting years it was baby washcloths, that's all I remember, and same with my own children.

Diapers, rubber pants, soakers (training pants), and baby washcloths... into the diaper pail all went till laundry day, and yes, I agree, nothing tidied-up a soiled bottom more efficiently than a good old-fashioned baby washcloth at change-time

As well as the terry nappies my daughter also bought soft terry baby wipes that just went in the wash with the nappies. Not only was it better for the environment, but a wet terry wipe cleaned bottoms far more efficiently.

Mamardoit

Usedtobeblonde

I’ve just remembered Marathon nappy liners, they were like dish cloth material and were supposed to keep baby dry overnight as they soaked the wetness away.
I don’t think they “caught on” as they didn’t stay around for long.
Also Napisan for soaking.

Yes I used those for a while. I also used the ordinary nappy liners. My sister in law got me an enormous box from somewhere. I think they were seconds from a factory. Some of them were odd shapes but they lasted for my eldest three DC.
I bought three dozen Harringtons Terry nappies. By the time baby number three used them they were a bit thin so I used to double them up, and I bought a dozen more.
When baby number four arrived my sister bought the shaped nappies from Mothercare. They still needed pins and plastic pants. I did my share of soaking, nappy buckets, washing and line drying.
For babies 5 & 6 I switched to disposables. I still have several nappy pins.

Oh, how I remember double diapering!

Running the diaper pins through my hair before fastening made the pins go through the diapers super quick and easy!

Double diapers (daytime and nighttime) until the early toddler stage... then triple diapers after, and sometimes even a double-double at nighttime!

Rubber pants over the diapers always. I can still see the red elastic rings my kids wore around the tops of their legs and around their waists from the rubber pants.

Usedtobeblonde

I’ve just remembered Marathon nappy liners, they were like dish cloth material and were supposed to keep baby dry overnight as they soaked the wetness away.
I don’t think they “caught on” as they didn’t stay around for long.
Also Napisan for soaking.

Yes I used those for a while. I also used the ordinary nappy liners. My sister in law got me an enormous box from somewhere. I think they were seconds from a factory. Some of them were odd shapes but they lasted for my eldest three DC.
I bought three dozen Harringtons Terry nappies. By the time baby number three used them they were a bit thin so I used to double them up, and I bought a dozen more.
When baby number four arrived my sister bought the shaped nappies from Mothercare. They still needed pins and plastic pants. I did my share of soaking, nappy buckets, washing and line drying.
For babies 5 & 6 I switched to disposables. I still have several nappy pins.

JamesandJon33

Yes Grannypanties I had a daughter first. Her over pants had lace and frills.

Yep, I remember those old rhumba panties!

I never used them with my daughters, but remember them from my old babysitting days!

Yes Grannypanties I had a daughter first. Her over pants had lace and frills.

Squiffy

Oh, the smell of nappies soaking in Napisan! 🤢🤢🤢 I can smell it now that it’s come to mind! 🤦‍♀️😆

I used Diaper Pure, and can still smell the freshness to this day, and I still remember the smell of the rubber pants!

First thing in the morning when diapers were soaking wet after putting in a nightshift, the strong ammonia odour used to pour out of the rubber pants when I'd pull them off to change the diapers! Pee-ew!

Into the diaper pail both rubber pants and diapers would go!

JamesandJon33

First baby in 1965, so Terry towelling nappies. Bucket of Milton beneath the sink for soaking and a Baby Burco, boiler to boil them in . Different fold for boys to girls. Though I doubt I could remember that now. And plastic over knickers, that went crinkly after a few washes. ….what joy, but a line of nappies drying in the wind ….well .

Hand-washing and line-drying were two measures that increased the lifespan of rubber pants considerably, not to mention it helped keep the pants soft and pliable.

When pants went stiff and crunchy and started developing rips and tears, it was out with the old and in with the new in our house.

Chocolatelovinggran

The new design of towelling nappies were very much used by my young family and friends, but all commented on how it impacted on clothes buying for their children.
Modern baby and toddler clothes are often made slim fitted around the waist and bottom, and there's no room for a nappy that isn't disposable.

Yes, 100% true.

agnurse

My mother used cloth diapers with all of us kids. (For context I'm in my early 40s. We are six kids and my youngest brother was born when I was nine.) I developed severe diaper rash from disposables. I well remember the stacks of diapers on the dresser, the rubber pants, the diaper pail for the dirty diapers, and the diaper pins.

When Mum was teaching me how to wash laundry, I remember her telling me the only thing she washed on hot was diapers because that's gross. (She meant the diaper mess was gross, not washing things on hot.)

Your story mirrors that of my upbringing, less one child.

5 kids in our family (I'm the oldest), with 10 years difference between me and my baby brother.

Diapers were cloth in our house, stacked on the baby dressers beside the baby cribs (we had two cribs on the go), rubber pants beside the diapers, diaper pins open and ready, stuck in a pincushion, and a plastic diaper pail in the corner of the baby room for wet-wets, with a second diaper pail in the bathroom for dirties.

Hot water washing in our house, too... did the same with my babies, and always line-dried providing the weather permitted. Rubber pants were hung on the clothesline with the diapers.

And... diapers were always doubled (daytime and nighttime) for extra-added absorbency, tripled for those times when needed.

By age 8, I was making bottles and changing diapers, and by age 10, babysitting in and around the neighbourhood and for an aunt.

Calendargirl

Where is all this ‘diaper’ talk coming from?

It’s nappies, whether cloth, towelling or disposable.

👶

Canadian here, we call them "diapers".

Speaking of word usage, when my mom spoke of diapers, "diapers" meant cloth, and "Pampers" meant disposables (regardless of brand).

I remember the towelling nappies and nappy liners to go under them.

Have to say, Nappisan is wonderful at getting red wine stains out of tablecloths!

What is the difference?

BlueBelle when we lived in America we had both diapers and nappies.
It was useful to know what I was referring to so I did (and do) use both words as that was an obvious way to differentiate.
They are very different in shape and fabric.

Not sure that "diaper" is coming into general use here...

Oh, the smell of nappies soaking in Napisan! 🤢🤢🤢 I can smell it now that it’s come to mind! 🤦‍♀️😆

The new design of towelling nappies were very much used by my young family and friends, but all commented on how it impacted on clothes buying for their children.
Modern baby and toddler clothes are often made slim fitted around the waist and bottom, and there's no room for a nappy that isn't disposable.

Nappies not diapers

My two were both in terry towelling nappies at the same time. The little Mothercare nappy bucket was nowhere near big enough, so I bought a bright orange beer-brewing bucket with a lid (about two feet tall and wide) and used that outside the back door!

travelsafar

I'm sure we potty trained earlier due to fabric nappies. All that boiling, soaking, trying to get them dry in wet weather. It was an incentive to get our babies clean and dry as soon as possible.

and the schools did benefit. I never heard of any child starting school in nappies, not like nowadays

We are UK, we call them nappies here