This is a very unique review/giveaway post! I'm pretty excited about it! I will have 3 reviews in this post - a Trimsies Diaper review, a Trimsies Trainer review and a Trimsies Pattern reivew.
I first heard about a Trimsies diaper on one of the mommy blogs that I read. I was intrigued by the mom's review, so I Googled Trimsies and found the Trimsies website where I discovered that you can buy a pattern to make your own Trimsies diaper! Awesome!
You can either buy the Trimsies Diaper pattern for $8.00 for your personal use OR you can purchase a 12-month Trimsies license for $50 (Go here for more information on the licensing process)
My mom and I decided we'd try it out. She was already sewing some diapers for me, so she had most of the materials on hand. She downloaded the 18-page pattern and tried it out.
The Diaper Review:
My Trimsies diaper is very trim. The waist dips under the belly and is side-snapping. My mom has also modified her Trimsies diaper to use Aplix tabs instead of snaps and I like it both ways. This particular one below has the PUL sandwiched between the lining and a cute flannel fabric. The exciting part about being able to make your own is all the creative things you can do with your diapers. Go to the Gallery on the Trimsies website to see some great examples.
The pattern includes a small, medium and large sizes. My son is 30lb and currently wearing the large size. I would say that in general, these diapers run slightly smaller than other brands we've tried, but that also helps with the trimness factor.
This is an All-in-One (AIO) diaper, meaning the cover and soakers are all one piece. This is very easy AND the way it is designed allows for clean washing and quick drying times. I have no problem drying these diapers with my pocket diapers and pull-out inserts and having them come out dry together. As you can see the soaker is attached at the front of the diaper only, allowing it to come away from the diaper during washing and drying while still staying in one piece.
Pros: Overall this is a great diaper - it has good absorbency and it fits nicely under clothes because it's not bulky. The side snaps allow you to adjust the waist and legs separately. The design makes for easy washing and drying.
Cons: Smaller fit - may not fit babies as long as other brands.
The Trainer Review:
Trimsies also sells a pattern for a cloth trainer for $8.00! Now this is something we are going to be needing in the near future. My son just turned two and we are starting to think about potty training. Monique from Trimsies graciously offered me the Trimsies trainer pattern, so I could do a review on it!
The trainer pattern is a 54-page document and sizes include Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large. Pattern pieces and instructions are provided for making basic style trainers, low-rise, overnight, snapping, and trainers bound using fold-over elastic.
My mom made me up a trainer.
This is a Medium size, which fits my 30lb toddler pretty well. Medium is supposed to be about the size of 2T, which is what he wears, so I think that's just about right on.
As you can see there is elastic around the waistband and leg openings, and it's still a pretty trim fit. His clothes fit great over it. We aren't actually potty-training quite yet, so I didn't leave it on long enough to find out how it absorbed, but I can't see that there would be any leaking issues; it looks pretty leak-proof to me.
My mom had some different colored PUL left over, so she made the side panels a different color, which is kind of fun. Another example of why it's kind of fun to make your own!
Here's a look at it from the inside and without being on a child.
Overall, I'm excited about using it. It looks like it'll be a great trainer for potty-training and my son kind of liked getting to pull it on himself! AND I think it seems more like "underwear" than a Pull-Up would.
Want to buy a ready-to-wear Trimsies Diaper or Trainer?
The Pattern Review:
I didn't personally sew these up - my mom did. So I asked her to write up a little review on what she thought of the patterns, instructions, etc.
I’ve made both the diaper pattern and the trainer. Both patterns were well-drafted and had good instructions. After making the diaper, I feel the pattern runs a little small. I made it both with the snaps as designed and one that had an Aplix closure.
The trainer was easy to make. I would have appreciated a little more information on choice of inner fabrics and suggestions for the soaker. I made it with a suede cloth inner and a couple layers of warm and natural for the soaker, but the next one I think I’ll use either Zorb or micro terry for the soaker, a PUL outside, and a flannel or knit fabric for the liner. I think using the suede cloth defeats the purpose of the child feeling wet.
My mom said there wasn't much in the way of fabric suggestions on the pattern, but after a little searching, I realized that there is more pattern info on the Trimsies website. There is a whole page on Fabric Recommendations.
Also, in Monique's Etsy shop, SewMeAGarden, she sells fun things like these labels and clear elastic that may be harder to find other places.
So there you go! Are you a mom who can sew? Be creative and make your own cloth diapers with a Trimsies pattern!
Giveaway!
Are you a sewing mama?
Want to sew your own Trimsies Diaper or Trainer?
Monique from Trimsies has offered a
Little Sprout Growing reader a FREE Trimsies PATTERN
Winners choice of either a Diaper pattern OR Trainer pattern.
TO ENTER - Please fill out the form below.
Comments on this post are welcome, but WILL NOT COUNT as entries.
# of entries as of 4/16/11 at 1:48 pm PST: 90
Helpful Links for entering:
Giveaway ends on Monday, April 16, 2011 at 11:59 pm PST. Open to US and International residents. The winner will be drawn from Random.Org and annouced on April 17th by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Disclaimer: A copy of the Trimsies Trainer Pattern was provided to me free of charge by Trimsies owner Monique for my honest review. All opinions in this post are strictly mine and are my honest thoughts on the product.
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