Cloth Training Pants conversion

So we use cloth diapers on little lady genevieve.  And in a matter of time, she will be ready to start using the potty.  So I have been looking for cloth training pants ideas.  I read reviews of a handful of commercially made cloth training pants.  I found that commercial made training pants are just as expensive as the cloth diapers; which is somewhat disappointing considering the amount of time you use them for potty training.  I decided to google DIY cloth training pants to see what others have already come up with in this area.   I found this DIY Cloth Training Pants tutorial, and decided to go with this style training pants for the little lady.  They are a simple conversion of the basic Gerber training underwear.

WHAT YOU NEED:

3 pack Gerber training pants $7.99.  I went with plain white, since I wanted to use cute PUL patterns.  

Stay dry fleece (there are different kinds of fleece, so ask for the active wear fleece).  Fleece is very absorbent and wicks wetness off the bottom.  I used color coordinating fleece to line the underpants- which adds to the cuteness factor.

PUL- Joann Fabrics has a small section of supplies for making your own cloth diapers.  They have a few different patterns of PUL that you can have measured and cut, or you can buy the 3 pack of pre-cut patterns in a pack.  It's a better deal to get your material cut, however I found that the pre-packaged fabric had cuter designs.  

Like the tutorial, I traced the thick padded area on to a piece of wax paper (somewhat transparent), and used it as a pattern for my fleece and PUL.  I found that I needed to cut the PUL a little longer on the front and back to fit the outside of the underpants.  

I used 4 pieces of fleece for the inner absorbent pad.  I sewed them together with a straight stitch at each end.  Then I sewed that pad into the inside of the diaper with a zig zag stitch, all the way around.  Then I attached the PUL to the outside of the underpants with a zig zag stitch.

A very simple little project!  The underpants are still a little big for lady genevieve, but it will still be a little while before she's ready to take on the potty.  We will see how they work out in a few months.  I showed her her new big girl panties, and she cried when I tried them on her!  They are not intended to be completely waterproof (like cloth diapers).  The goal of these underpants is to help prevent big messes (with a little extra absorption and a waterproof layer down the middle) for those inevitable potty training accidents.  Easy to make.  Inexpensive.  Good for the environment.  Very cute.