If you’ve decided to cloth diaper your baby and want to go the most affordable and versatile route, you’ve most likely landed on prefold diapers and covers. But now you’ve got all these flat diapers with so many folding options and you’re thinking, “which one do I use?” At first glance, figuring out all those folds and which one will work best for your baby can be a little intimidating, but once you get the hang of it it really becomes super easy. One of the beautiful things about prefolds is all the different ways you can fold them to get a custom fit for your babies needs. Today I wanted to share some of the most popular folds and how each of them can be used to benefit your baby’s needs at different stages.
Angel Fold
This might be the most popular fold out there due to its simplicity and how effective it is for newer babies. The way the back is fanned out is great for keeping everything inside the diaper, which means no blowouts! The ease of this fold also makes it great for when you are just starting out and cloth diapering your new baby since it requires no extra fuss.
Jelly Roll Fold
This fold (or roll) is great for newborns since it creates a narrower crotch to fit those tiny babies better. The rolling in of the sides also helps keep blowouts at bay by forming a gusset-like feature, which is perfect for holding in runny baby poop of exclusively breastfed babies. Less mess also means you can reuse your covers more often!
Tri Fold
This is probably the easiest and most straight forward fold there is. It also doesn’t require the use of a snappi, so it’s perfect for when you are in a rush or maybe don’t have one on hand. It’s great for heavy wetters since the extra fabric folded in front adds to the absorption factor. You also have the option of folding the pad across the seams instead of along them, which puts the extra absorbency in the middle and is perfect for little girls. The trifold can be used with a cover or you can stuff them in a pocket diaper which extends their use as your baby grows.
Twist Fold
This fold is perfect for crawling babies since it creates some extra room between their legs and they can move a little easier. It’s also very handy when your poor teething baby has diarrhea as it keeps all the poop in the back of the diaper instead of coming up their front. (Super important if you have little girls for keeping poop away from the vagina.)
Hopefully this brought some insight to the benefits of these different folds and can help you decide which one is right for you and your baby. Do you have a favorite way of folding your prefold diapers?
Written by: Megan Drake