Before I ever started cloth diapering I had an image in my head of these Gerber Birdseye flats that are often barely good enough to wipe up a small spill, let alone catch a stream of pee. Little did I know that flats came in many shapes, sizes, and materials.
On the high price end you have hemp flats, I hear these are amazing for heavy wetters and overnights. There are also various brands of cotton or bamboo Birdseye flats that are a more economical price. You can also use the Gerber flats but for about the same amount of money you can get flour sack towels (fst) and many people like those better. You can also use found items, old tshirts and receiving blankets are popular.
For this challenge I wanted to spend as little money as possible so I’m using fst and tshirt flats at the moment. Flour sack towels are about $8 at Walmart in the US, Canadians pay more. 🙁 Target and Ikea both carry towels that will work but I’m using plain ol’ Walmart fst that I already owned.
My mom also brought me a stack of old tshirts that were going to be repurposed. Most people keep their tshirts whole but I cut mine in half so I have two flats out of each shirt. One half of a shirt is just about the perfect daytime absorbency for my guys. So far these are my favorites.
I have a hodgepodge assortment of covers, about a dozen total. My favorites are Thirsties duo wrap and Best Bottom. I also have Imagine, Blueberry, and Alva covers but usually grab the Thirsties and Best Bottom first. For extra protection overnight I have two pairs of wool shorties (ah-mazing coverage) and two pairs of fleece shorties. All of my covers fall in the $10-20 price range. Most of them close to $10 because I hate paying $$$ when I know I can get excellent covers for around $10.