Bringing Velcro Diapers Back to Life

I must admit I am guilty of cloth diaper abuse. When I started out with cloth diapering I was cheap and only bought 10 bumGenius All-in-Ones and washed them every day. At the time I thought this was a thrifty way to save money. Although I dutifully secured the hook and loop (aka Velcro) to the laundry tabs they seemed to come apart during each and every wash. The Velcro repeatedly became filled with lint, hair and fuzz. Eventually, the hook and loop started bending backwards and would no longer stay fastened. This often resulted in my house looking like a toddler nudist colony. You know what I am talking about. First you hear riiiiiiiiiiiip immediately followed by the joyful squeals of a toddler in her birthday suit!

Here is what my hook and loop tabs looked like after a few months of use.

When I found out I was expecting baby #2 I realized I needed to find a way to extend the life of my investment. Like many families, one reason I turned to cloth was to SAVE money. I started freaking out that I would need to replace a good portion of my diaper stash. After asking around on Twitter I discovered that bumGenius (Cotton Babies) would provide me with FREE replacement hook and loop and laundry tabs. I sent a quick e-mail to customer service and in just a few days had my replacement kits in hand.

The first part of the job entails taking off the old hook and loop tabs. This seam ripping probably is the most time consuming part of the project. I had my diapers and seam ripper in a bin on my kitchen counter for about a week. I did a few tabs here and there when I had time. It turns out seam ripping is relatively relaxing.

The next step was to sew on the new hook and loop tabs. bumGenius sent clear instructions along with a diagram showing exactly how to sew the tabs onto the diapers. If you can sew at all you should be able to do it with no problem. Unfortunately, I must have been nodding off, daydreaming, or writing love notes in home economics because I can’t sew a stitch. Luckily, my mother-in-law, the always there when I am in a bind Grammyita, is handy with a sewing machine and was willing to help me out. My husband also sewed the hook and loop tabs onto about half of the diapers. Sorry ladies. He’s all mine. In all honesty I absolutely could have done it myself if I didn’t have anyone to help.

The final step was to sew on new laundry tabs. This step is really important because without new laundry tabs your new Velcro will never last. I must admit, we did not take off the old laundry tabs. Instead, the new tabs were sewn directly over the old tabs.


That’s it! It took just a few hours of work to completely replace the hook and loop on ten diapers. OK. So I just sat there eating a sandwich and watching. I was soaking it all in for next time. The finished diapers are just as good as new and are all ready for baby #2.

Just in case you were wondering you need not call the diaper authorities on me. I have long since ended my cloth diaper abuse. I have a much larger stash now, including some great snap diapers, so I know this hook and loop will go the distance- and if not I can always call Grammyita!
-- By Danielle