The problem with velcro diapers:
First, the handy laundry tabs go bad, then the velcro tabs get loose in the wash and collect all kinds of lint and hair. Then they go in the dryer and the tabs start curling, like this:
Which is only half because of the dryer, really, and half because of all the lint and hair.
Then I email Cottonbabies and request 13 sets of their FREE velcro tabs repair sets.
Then I sit and stare at them. And stare at the foreign object that is my sewing machine. And wonder how, exactly, they expect me to do this.
Then, I take a deep breath and dive in.
The first, and most time-consuming step in the project is ripping the old vecro off. It’s hard to find the threads underneath all that lint and hair.
Then I start the confusing process that is getting the thread all maneuvered into the sewing machine in the proper manner.
But wait. Has anyone seen my white thread? I KNOW I had some. CHILDREN….!!
So then I get out the green thread and pretend it’s white.
And write “sewing machine cover” on the Wal-Mart list. That’ll teach ’em to steal the thread right off my machine…
Next, I take one hook, and one loop tab and pair them together. Look, they’re all nice and labeled for ya:
Line them up on the stretchy tabs where the old ones used to be:
Last, you sew them on. Preferably using nice straight, even lines. But if that doesn’t work, at least try to keep the thread on the velcro:
I also got some soft velcro (it said it can be used for infant clothing on the back of the package), and replaced the laundry tabs, too. I don’t have pictures of that. But I’d like to say, Cottonbabies, if you’re reading this, please consider including laundry tabs in the repair kits. Because, really, without them, it’s only a matter of time before I’ll be contacting you again for new velcro tabs. The baby velcro will work for now, but it’s not the right size, and I worry that it won’t last as long.
And, look! You just saved $18! (By fixing, rather than replacing the diapers.) And, really, you could fix two in an hour, easy (it’s the ripping of seams that takes so long). So that’s a $36/hr job right there!
After doing this 13 times, I actually started getting the hang of the whole “sewing” thing, and started, not one, but TWO more projects! Stay tuned for those. 🙂
Has anyone else been crafty this week?
(Check out the other mommies gettin’ stuff done on Tackle It Tuesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom.)
Great job!! I know about those velcro tabs! It happens to my bibs all the time… I smell a mom invention out there somewhere! lol
Robyn
Just a thought (and I don’t know anything about cloth diapers, so please excuse any ignorance), but maybe it would help to buy a cheap roll of velcro from Wal-Mart and attach strips of the non-sticky part to the velcro tabs before they go in the wash? Just a crazy idea.
I love this kind of thinking! I can’t stand just throwing things away because they’re “not worth the time”. 🙂
Well, you know I just recovered some pillows instead of getting new ones. It’s not that hard, just not as easy as opening a package.
The velcro idea is a good one too.
Thanks so much for posting this! A quick question – did you not find that you also needed to replace the long strip of non-sticky Velcro on the front of the diaper, where the tabs attach? I feel like that is really worn too. Or did just replacing the sticky tabs do the trick? Thanks!!
HI Au Naturale Mama~
Im no good at lurking so I thought I’d say HI! I have several BG that need new tabs.. but I’ve yet to be brave to sew them.. Good job! Oh and i love the laundry line saga.. That cracked me up! You are so funny!
I’ve gone the opposite direction with diapers. I started with pockets and gave up because of the crazy wash routine and hard water. We are now 100% prefolds with wool and covers for back up. 🙂
Blessings.
Vicki
Thank you SO much for posting this. I have the same task ahead of me and have been putting it off. One is just out of diapers and one probably doesn’t really fit in the BG’s just yet. You made the whole thing look pretty easy so I’m no longer worried about it. I have had to replace the leg elastic on some old Fuzzi Bunz and that was definitely more daunting of a task!
Again, thanks for the inspiration!
That’s just brilliant! Awesome tackle!!
Nice! I have some diapers that are haunting me with their bad velcro. Nice to see it’s not as hard as I make it look. 🙂
Julie – It definitely looks rattier, now that I have the crisp new tabs to compare it to, but no, I don’t think I’ll need to replace it any time soon. It works *much* better now that I have new velcro tabs.
And I’m so glad I could help motivate others to replace their velcro tabs, too! Make sure you all get your free sets from cottonbabies.com – don’t go trying to buy, cut, and shape your own! 🙂
looks so nice – and great info, I had NO idea they offered the velcro tabs for FREE (?!) I just spent the morning replacing the velcro bands across the front of some worn used dipes I purchased half prince.
My brilliant plan for those dipes that have useless laundry tabs (since I don’t know where to get the super soft tabs they use) : I’ve cut a number of velcro (loop) rectangles to stick to the tabs when I launder them. Then just pull off the rectangles of velcro and store in the laundry room for the next load.
aha I just noticed Maria had the same brilliant plan I did. This is why I am not a wealthy woman I’m not very original 🙂
Wow! Just as functional as they were when they were brand new. I too have replaced my tabs (got free from cottonbabies) and cut other loop velcro rectangles to secure the tabs too when washing. Works Great! Another helpful thing to know for Bum Genius users is what to use as a wetness barrier since we can’t use creams or ointments with cloth diapers. Johnson and Johnson’s Medicated baby powder with aloe and vitamin e (that is exactly what the front of the bottle says) is the best and only thing I will ever use when changing my 8 mo old daughter. I have been using this for the past 8 months since my daughter was born and it has worked like a charm. It has 10% zinc oxide, talc free, and provides a wetness barrier while soothing and protecting babies skin. THIS PRODUCT WILL NOT HARM CLOTH DIAPERS AT ALL. The owner of the boutique I bought my diapers from reccommended this powder to me. You can buy it at Wal-Mart (unfortunately the only place I can find that sells the product). You have to search the adult health and beauty area as well as the baby area of the store. I usually find it in the adult area, but you have to look high and low to find it. You can also use Nistatin powder (without a diaper liner) if your baby has a yeast rash instead of the cream Nistatin. It too is oil free and won’t stain/build up on your diapers. My daughter only had to use the Nistatin once though because BG are so awesome for her skin. Hope this is helpful to someone. Happy Parenting!! 🙂
Oh Yeah! I love Your website Beth- Natural Momma.
I wish I would have found it sooner. :)>
Thanks so much for posting this. You have motivated me to replace the tabs on our BGs since my 13-month-old can undo the velcro through his clothes! I’ve got 6 down, 12 to go. He can’t undo them with the nice new tabs.
Also thought I would point out that Cotton Babies now includes the laundry tabs in their free replacement kits! I just left the old ones on and sewed the new, bigger tabs over the top.
great post! I just contacted BG!
Great job! I am having major issues with the velcro on my bum geniuses. Mine didn’t even hold up for a year.
Good job with the sewing!
This is so helpful- thank you! I wondered what you could do when the velcro wore out… You solved the problem.
I have to say you just made my year! As a mother of a 7month old who takes off his own diaper because these are so wore WITH #2 on the way I was deciding whether I would buy more BG due to this issue! I will call first thing tomorrow morning to ask for repair kits and order another dozen diapers for the new baby!
Thanks for posting this! After replacing these and the elastic, I’ll have practically brand new diapers!
To get the replacement kits, do you just send an e-mail to the general Cotton Babies address, or is there a specific address to send the request too?
Thanks!
Great post… just an addition for those of you who have experienced the same problem, Cotton Babies just replaced (yes, replaced with brand new diapers!) all 25 of my diapers because the velcro needed to be replaced and it had been less than a year. I have twins and was so annoyed that they were both taking off their diapers so easily. We will see how the new diapers work. In the meantime, I bought some medium Fuzzi Bunz and LOVE them! Hopefully my stash will last me until potty trained!
Interestingly enough, Cotton Babies also put a flyer in my new shipment of diapers with “tumble dry” crossed out and the suggested method of drying was to line dry…o.k. who has time for that? Guess they are having lots of problems with the velcro.
Thanks for the great post- your blog came up when I googled “replace velcro on bum genius diapers,” and I’m so glad it did.
Question- I get so frustrated with the sewing machine for small items. Could hand sewing work just as well?
Also in response to Teri’s recent comment regarding line dry: I hang my diapers out to dry as often as I can in the summer, but that still doesn’t seem to combat the problem. The washing machine alone is enough to slowly wear down the tabs 🙁 But man, the diapers are SO fresh and beautiful after a little sunshine…worth the effort.
I googled replacing the tabs and found your post. Its interesting that they gave you the long strip but not the laundry tabs. I read on someone else’s blog that they got the laundry tabs.
One question, was it hard to sew on the long strip of loop to the front? I can’t imagine trying to sew that with machine, but hand sewing seems impossible with a toddler underfoot at all times.
Oh, and about the thread I totally understand! I have no clue where some of my thread has gone since I keep it in a sewing box. I am missing my variegated threads. You know, the ones that I use when I don’t care to have the right color. Man do I miss those.
Hello-
I was wondering what the replacement kits are under on cottonbabies? I am having a hard time trying to find them. Thanks
Just wondering if any other non-sewers out there had a tailor replace their tabs? How much did you have to spend? I can remove the old tabs myself, but don’t own a sewing machine to attach the new….
Jennifer – I know there are mommies on diaperswappers.com who do services on diapers for thos of us less talented than they. 🙂 I’ve seen ads to do elastic and even to change velcro into snaps. Perhaps you can find someone there willing to do your tabs for a small fee?
Thank you for sharing the info about free replacements! I have seven that need new tabs, and it’s only b/c I’ve procrastinated that I haven’t purchased them off of a diapering site. I just called Cotton Babies and a lovely woman said she’d ship me the tabs within a few days. Yay!
Not a crazy idea at all Mama, that’s what I’ve been doing and after 2 years still sticky working velcro 🙂 !!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Kick Ass Necklaces for Cool Mamas 🙂 =-.
Where did you find the material to replace the laundry tabs? I went to my local JoAnn fabric and they had NO IDEA what I was talking about, even when I showed them the actual product.
Is there a place I can buy online? Or some secret code-word for what I need to ask for?
I’ve been told that cottonbabies.com will now provide laundry tabs! They used to only provide the velcro tabs. It’s worth an email to find out!
I’m in the process of replacing the velcro and laundry tabs on 8 of my bumGenius pocket diapers. The repair kits were $1 each from Cotton Babies. I haven’t a clue how to replace the elastic but I just replaced my first set of velcro. It was harder than I thought. I can’t seem to keep the velcro pieces centered and they end up crooked. Even better though, is that the velcro is the new improved version used on 4.0 bumGenius diapers. I bought a few 4.0s to augment my stash, but hopefully I can refresh the others as well.
One where I can order for free, no pricing or image accounts needed..
No-sew fix . . . I am out of the country and didn’t want to wait for the replacements from cotton babies, so I went out and bought a couple of yards of velcro that I stared out for a couple of weeks while trying to find time to replace the strips.
As I waited, the number of usable diapers was drastically dropping, when I had an idea . . . I cut about a six inch strip of the ‘hook’ part of the velcro (long enough to cover from one vecro tab to the other when the diaper is on) and placed it over the all the velcro from side to side and, voila!, no more tabs curling up and the diaper stays put! I reuse the strip with each diaper change and all is good. By the way, I have had my diapers less than a year and I don’t have a dryer, they are line dry only. I love BG, but I don’t love the velcro.
Another awesome product that’s safe for BG diapers is California Baby Diaper cream. I’ve been using it ever since our son was born and the diapers are still going strong 🙂
I just called CottonBabies and found out that the “refresher kits” cost $1 each. I have 24 diapers, and am not willing to pay $24 PLUS spend 12 hours of my time repairing them all (plus, I don’t need the replacement elastics that they come with — part of why they cost money now). I’m bummed… I think I might just have to try the velcro strip-across-the-whole-diaper idea 2 posts down…
Hi, thanks a bunch for writing this. I thought it was fun to read and very helpful. I also had to repair my bumGenius covers but couldn’t manage to get refresher kits. I managed in a different way and wrote a little tutorial too, for the mums can’t get a kit.
hope you feel better soon
nitromama
I’ve done quite a few repairs on diapers for friends and even made some diapers myself. I found the tabs can be cut away from the fabric, the rounded
part and you just open up the area where it isnt sewn and the seams become easier to rip out quicker. This way you arent trying to find the thread in the velcro that you cant see through due to all the stuff stuck in them (hence why you are replacing them). You would be ripping from in between the fabric and the tab instead. You just pull back one or the other side, rip all of the seams out then the other side comes right off once done. This saved me hours of work.
I just cut the loop part off to fit where the old ones were and sew it on. I get a huge roll of each hook and loop to make my own and repair my own diapers. Its easier and cheaper that way since you dont get everything anyways in those packs that you need.
I have done them for friends and make them myself. I could work with you on a price. My email is Krystle0731@gmail.com.
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