WHERE CAN I FIND FABRIC AND NOTIONS FOR CLOTH DIAPERS?

There are a few different ways to obtain diaper fabric:

1. Scrounging
Scrounging is the art using the fabric from an old item to make a new one. Scrounging for diaper fabric can be very fun. You can use things out of your own closet, or look for things at garage sales and thrift stores.

2. Local Fabric Stores
There are lots of useful things in local fabric stores. Click here for a list of fabric stores in the Boise area.

3. Online Fabric Stores
There are some types of specialty diaper fabrics and notions that you simply cannot find locally. You will have to resort to online stores for these items.
Here are a few online stores that specialize in cloth diaper fabric:

DiaperKit.com
Diaper Stash
Very Baby
The Sew Shoppe
A Cut Above Fabrics
Diaper Cuts
Wahm Supply (Great place for wholesale PUL)

4. Online Fabric Co-ops
A fabric co-op is a group of people who get together and order a huge lot of fabric at wholesale prices, then split it up. Wholesale prices are usually about half of retail prices! On an online co-op, one person will announce that she is going to order a certain type of fabric. Then she waits for people to sign up and say how many yards they want. Once the minimum yardage is reached, she collects money from everyone and orders the fabric. When she recieves the fabric, she will cut it up and distribute it to everyone on her list. The people who order fabric have to pay part of the shipping for the original lot of fabric, and then the shipping fees for their own package of fabric. There is usually a small co-op or cutting fee that compensates the person who is doing all the work. A co-op is a good way to get specialty fabric at lower prices. . . if you don't mind waiting a month or two for the fabric to arrive. You have to join a co-op in order to participate, but joining does not obligate you to buy anything.
Theoretically, anyone can order a huge lot of fabric at wholesale prices. The problem is finding enough people who want to share the cost with you. If you have a LOT of diaper-sewing neighbors, maybe you could try it out. So spread the word, maybe we can start a Boise Diaper Fabric Co-op!
Here are links to some online diaper fabric co-ops:

Fantastic Flannels
Cradled in Cloth
Diaper Fabrics Co-op
Little Comet Tails Diaper Supply
Cloth Diaper Supplies
Comfy Creations
Lisa's Fabric Co-ops
Sewing Supply Co-op
Stork Preorders & Co-ops
The Joy of Sewing
If you know of any others, feel free to let me know!

Click on the links below for details on finding each kind of fabric and notion:
(Please see our Fabric Guide for descriptions of each type of fabric)

FABRICS: Cotton, Hemp, Bamboo, Microfiber, Vinyl, Nylon, PUL, Polyester Fleece, Wool
NOTIONS: Thread, Elastic, Hook & Loop (Velcro), Plastic Snaps, Metal Snaps, Size Tags

COTTON
1. Scrounging: You can find a lot of good diaper cotton with the scrounging method. You'll want to find fabric that is at least 80% cotton. Look for items that are made out of flannel, terry, or knit jersey. Good candidates include towels, baby towels (usually thinner than regular towels, and stretchy), receiving blankets, flannel sheets, flannel shirts, T-shirts, etc. Don't forget to try jeans; some people like to use denim on the outside of their diapers.
2. Fabric Stores: Lots of cotton here! Again, try to stay with 80% cotton or higher. Look for diaper flannel (I know they have it at WalMart), it is strong and won't fall apart in the wash. You can also find cute flannel prints, terry, knit jersey, etc.
3. Online: You can find some specialty cotton diaper fabrics online that you won't find in a regular store. If you want to use organic cotton, you will have to buy it online! In addition to the diaper fabric sites, the following online stores sell organic cotton: Organic Cotton Plus, PM Organcis, Green Textile, and Near Sea Naturals.
For hundreds of cute 100% cotton flannel prints, visit FlannelWorld.com.
For 80/20 cotton velour in lots of fabulous colors, visit Weir Dolls & Crafts.
4. Co-ops: Again, this is a good place to find organic cotton and other specialty cotton diaper fabrics.

HEMP
You won't find hemp fabric locally. Once I walked into Mill-End Fabrics and asked if they had any hemp. The lady there looked at me like I was smoking it!
You can find hemp fabric on most of the online diaper fabric stores mentioned above. You can also order hemp fabric at Hemp Fabric Shop and Hemp Traders. At Hemp Traders, click on their "Special Deals and Sales", that's where you can find knit hemp remnants for less than half the price of regular fabric. The selection you get will be random, but I'm sure that most of it will be useful for diapers!
You can also get hemp fabric at an online co-op.

BAMBOO
As of this moment, the only place I have found bamboo fabric is through some of the fabric co-ops mentioned above. This might change in the future, as bamboo is a relative newcomer in the land of cloth diapers. I'm hoping that bamboo fabric will appear on some of the online diaper fabric stores.
UPDATE: Here are a few online stores that sell bamboo fabric:
The Bamboo Fabric Store
Celtic Cloths
Olive Branch Baby

MICROFIBER
Microfiber is usually found in the form of microfiber towels. It's not something you can find at the fabric store, but you can find it at places like Walmart and Costco. Microfiber towels are good for washing cars, so look for them in the automotive section. They also make microfiber bath towels that are meant for drying your hair. It is possible to find these with the scrounging method.
Many diaper websites that sell pocket diapers also sell microfiber towels to use as inserts, but I'm pretty sure that these are the same towels you will find at Costco. I have also seen microfiber yardage in online co-ops.

VINYL
I don't have any experience sewing with vinyl, and I'm not sure how well it would work. If you want to try it, here are your options:
1. Scrounging: With a little bit of imagination, you can find vinyl fabric that would work for diaper covers. Think about things that are waterproof around your home. You can look for shower curtains, vinyl matress covers, vinyl rain gear, vinyl table cloths, etc.
2. Fabric Stores: You should be able to find some forms of vinyl at a fabric store. They sell it for things like tablecloths and rain gear. One thing I've seen is a iron-on vinyl lining that you can apply to any fabric. I don't know how well this would hold up on diaper covers, you might want to try just one or two covers before you invest a lot of time or money in iron-on vinyl. A good source would be Mill-End Fabrics, they usually have a lot of industrial-type fabrics like vinyl upholstery for cars.
3. Online: I am not aware of any vinyl available online. If you are, please let me know.
4. Co-ops: It is highly doubtful that you would ever find vinyl at a diaper fabric co-op, but you never know. . .

NYLON
1. Scrounging: Look for the same kinds of waterproof things that might be made of vinyl, like rain gear.
2. Fabric Stores: Try Mill-End Fabrics, they usually have some breatheable waterproof nylon fabrics like Gore-Tex. This will run you about $8-$10/yard. It won't be as durable as PUL, you'll want to wash your covers by hand and let them air dry. You can get PUL online for about the same price, so you might be better off just sticking with the tried and true fabric that will stand up to the rigors of frequent washings.
3. Online: You can buy Sew Baby Waterproof Nylon online. This is made especially for diaper covers.
4. Co-ops: PUL is usually the waterproof fabric of choice on co-ops, but it doesn't hurt to check around, you may find some nylon.

PUL
1. Scrounging: Finding a form of PUL fabric is possible while scrounging: just look for waterproof rain coats. There are all kinds of waterproof fabrics out there, so check the tag. If the contents include something like "polyurethane", you have found PUL. It won't be exactly the same as true PUL (it may be thicker), but it will probably work. You can really use just about any kind of waterproof rain gear fabric, breatheable or non-breatheable. It may not stand up to vigorous washings, you may want to wash and dry it by hand. But if you can get it for really cheap, you might as well try it, right? You also might want to try boosting the waterproof level of the fabric by using wash-in products (see our Laundry Tips section).
2. Fabric Stores: Don't ask for PUL at the local fabric stores, they'll have no idea what you're talking about.
3. Online: This is the place to find true PUL. You can get it on all of the diaper fabric websites. Other online sources include: Neptune Fabrics and SewZanne's Fabrics. If you want to go directly to the source, Fabrite is one of the companies that makes PUL fabric. You can send them fabric to laminate, or buy already laminated fabric. Unfortunately, they only do HUGE quantities, so you are better off buying PUL from another source!
4. Co-ops: Diaper fabric Co-ops are a good source for PUL at great prices. Sometimes co-ops will send in large lots of fabric to be laminated at Fabrite. You can send them a few yards of your own fabric, and they will include it in the group and laminate it for about $4.00/yard. This is a great way to get your own custom PUL.

POLYESTER FLEECE
1. Scrounging: You can find lots of fleece while scrounging. The advantage of used fleece is that you can already tell how it will wear. Some fleece pills like crazy as soon as it is washed, and it is hard to tell how new fleece will act once you take it home. Look for things like fleece blankets and jackets. Use thicker fleece for covers and thinner fleece for an inner wicking layer.
2. Fabric Stores: You can find all kinds of fleece at any local fabric store. Look for microfleece to use as a wicking layer. The thicker fleece can be used for covers. The fleece you buy locally is not as good as some kinds of fleece you can get online. If you are making covers out of JoAnn or WalMart fleece, you may have to use two layers.
3. Online: This is where you can find higher quality fleece like Malden Mills and Tonitex. Almost every online diaper fabric store sells Windpro Malden Mills fleece, which is the standard for diaper covers. You can also get the fleece right from the source at Mill Direct Textiles or Tonitex Textiles. The fleece at Tonitex is less expensive, but still good.
4. Co-ops: Check the diaper fabric co-ops to see if/when they are ordering fleece. This is the cheapest way to get good Malden Mills fleece.

WOOL
1. Scrounging: This is a great way to find all kinds of wool! Look for things like wool sweaters, wool shirts, wool skirts, wool coats, wool blankets, etc. I always try to get 95% wool or higher, though I've heard that as little as 20% wool content will make a good cover. Don't avoid things like cashmere and mohair; they also make great water-resistant covers. When looking for sweaters, skip the really bulky ones unless you want a super bulky cover. And avoid the really scratchy ones. There are a lot of different kinds of wool; some are soft and others are really scratchy. I look for large sweaters that are a little on the thin side. Then I wash the sweaters in warm water and dry them in the dryer on warm, this felts (shrinks) the wool. If the sweater is already pretty thick, then lightly felt by hand, or skip the felting all together. Wool Scrounging Tip: You can find lots of pre-felted shrunken adult-sized sweaters in the children's section. Sweaters make great wraps, pull-on soakers, or longies. Wool flannel (skirts, shirts, etc.) is good fabric for cutting into bias strips to bind wool wraps. You can also felt wool flannel and use one or two layers to make a wool wrap. They won't be stretchy like the sweater wraps, but they should work fine if you cut them out slightly larger. You can also use thicker wool like blankets and coats to make wraps.
2. Fabric Stores: You can find wool at fabric stores. Again, look for soft fabrics with high wool content. Stretchy wool knits are ideal for covers, but you can also use wovens. You will want to felt (shrink) your wool before you use it, so don't be surprised if the wool you take out of the dryer is MUCH smaller than when you bought it. Expect to pay at least $10/yard for wool at the store.
3. Online: You can find good wool for diaper covers at the One Stop Diaper Shop. Other online stores that sometimes have good wool include Fabric.com, Denver Fabrics, Fashion Fabrics Club, and PM Organics (for organic wool). The online prices are usually cheaper than a local store, but don't forget you have to pay shipping.
4. Co-ops: You can usually find wool for diaper covers at one of the co-ops. Most co-ops buy wool frequently, and they usually have a pretty good selection of fabrics and colors.

THREAD
You can get thread for sewing machines and sergers just about anywhere. Don't buy the cheapest thread you can find, it will break often. (Maxilock and Gutterman are good brands, try to avoid Talon Surelock.) Thread will frequently go on sale for 50% off at JoAnn Fabrics, watch their flyers and stock up on thread during the sales. If you have a serger, you can get cone thread at the One Stop Diaper Shop for a pretty good price. They also have serger cones that come in variegated colors (use them in your upper looper for a nice look). Varigated cone thread is also available at Jo-Ann. You might also want to try Wooly Nylon Thread, which gives your serged edges a softer touch. It is available in solid or variegated colors.
Don't forget to check the co-ops, sometimes they order cone thread.

ELASTIC
1/4-inch elastic is the size you will want to use for most of your diaper projects. If you are sewing something bulky, like wool or fleece, you might want to use 3/8-inch instead. You will find specialty elastics like Lastin and Swimsuit elastic in the online diaper fabric stores, but Polybraid elastic from the local fabric store will work just as well. You can usually get it cheaper if you buy it by the yard instead of pre-packaged. Online stores have an even better price: only 20-25 cents per yard.
Fold Over Elastic (FOE) is a special kind of elastic that you can get from online stores or fabric co-ops. FOE is elastic and binding in one. Apply it as you would apply normal binding, then stretch it when you come to a part of your diaper that would normally have elastic. This is a quick and easy way to finish your diapers and give them a professional look. I have heard of FOE sometimes being available at local fabric stores, but I don't know if the quality would be as good as the FOE you can get online.

HOOK & LOOP (VELCRO)
Velcro, Aplix, and Touch Tape are three common hook & loop closures that are used in diaper making. Velcro is easily found at any fabric store, but I would recommend buying different brands from an online store for a few different reasons. You'll want your diaper closures to last as long as possible. Touch Tape and Aplix are a little higher quality than standard Velcro. Also, when sewing diapers, you will use a long piece of the "loop" side and only two short strips of the "hook" side. Buying Velcro from the fabric store usually does not give you the option of purchasing the two sides separately, and you will end up with a lot of wasted hook side. Finally, the online prices of Aplix and Touch Tape are MUCH lower than the local Velcro prices. When I first started sewing diapers, I bought some 2-inch Velcro at Jo-Ann for about $7.00/yard. Ouch! At the One Stop Diaper Shop, you will pay between $.50 - $1.00 per yard, depending on the brand and the width. That price is for only one side (the hook or the loop), but it still ends up being much cheaper, even when you consider shipping costs. You can also buy Loop Fabric instead of buying strips of loop tape.
To save even more money (if you have patience), check out some of the fabric co-ops. They are usually running orders for Touch Tape in various colors.

PLASTIC SNAPS
Don't look for plastic snaps at a local fabric store, you won't find them. Plastic or resin snaps are specialty items that require the use of an expensive snap press (See our Sewing Equipment for information about snap presses). Once you buy the press, the snaps themselves are inexpensive (although they are only available in large lots). You can get plastic snaps at One Stop Diaper Shop or The Snap Store. Serena in China also sells snaps; she is far away, but the shipping is free! You can also usually find online co-ops for plastic snaps in a variety of colors. Not all plastic snaps are the same; make sure that the snaps you are buying will work with your snap press.

METAL SNAPS
If you want to use metal snaps on your diapers, make sure that you use high quality long-pronged snaps that will not fall off in the wash. I know you can get metal snaps at most fabric stores, but I don't know if they are high quality. Metal snaps are more expensive than plastic snaps, but the tool to install them costs much less! (See our Sewing Equipment for information about metal snap setters.) You can get high-quality metal snaps online at The Snap Source. You can also find metal snaps at The Snap Store. These snaps can be applied with their snap press and die set made especially for metal snaps. I don't know if there is a less expensive option for applying their metal snaps.

SIZE TAGS
Tags are a great way to mark your diapers and covers so will you remember their sizes for years to come. You can also attach a tag to show contents, care instructions, or your own personal logo. I don't know of any local place to get clothing tags (if you do, please let me know). You can buy pre-made size tags at the One Stop Diaper Shop. Also check Serena's website for a variety of size tags and other labels.
Creative Effex is an e-bay store that sells small lots (200-400) of various printed and woven clothing tags. They sell small size tags that are good for labeling diapers. They will also do custom tags with care instructions, brand name, etc. I have also seen them sell blank sheets of printable tags that you can custom-print at home (I don't know how well these will hold up before the printing starts to fade.)
If you don't want to purchase size tags, you can always make your own out of little pieces of ribbon. Use a color code so you will know which size is which. Or you can print on the ribbon with a fabric marker. Use a few drops of Fray-Check (available at most fabric stores) on the end of the ribbon to keep it from fraying.