How do fold your prefolds? Prevent Bulky Diaper?

arly1983

New member
How do you fold your prefolds? I have tried a few different ways. My currant favorite is folding the thinner wings in, laying the prefold in the diaper cover and folding the excess up the front and using the cover to hold it in place. My only gripe is how bulky this is. Anyone got any suggestions on folding the prefolds to make them less bulky.
 
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Splash

New member
Trifolding it shouldn't be bulky at all (that's what you're doing). That really is the trimmest way to go, actually. Remember, it's never going to be as trim as a paper diaper, but it's not too bulky that way. If you're having to fold down a lot of excess, you may need smaller diapers.

For Camille, I would actually fold them the other way. Instead of folding them along the natural seams with the padded part taking up all of the middle, fold it against the seams so that the padded part folds over on itself and is in the center of the diaper. That way, the middle of your diaper will be thicker than the top or bottom. You can do this with Jackson if he is a light wetter, but it works better for girls than boys. That will also make your diapers shorter, so no excess to fold over.
You could try twisting them, but that's fairly bulky between the legs.

I'd do what you're doing!
 

arly1983

New member
I think it is just used to getting used to it being more bulky than disposable. One great thing is Jackson's pants had been falling down (he is so long and slim) and now they stay up. DH says he looks like has a butt now.
 

LEAW

New member
What kind of prefolds do you have? Honestly, I think the 4x8x4s (premium) are too bulky for crawlers and toddlers, we use 3x6x3s (standard) instead.

We bikini twist for dd, which takes up some of the length too, and makes it thinner (width wise) but thicker (absorbancy) for between her legs.

With ds I lay him flat on the dipe, then fold the front half in and snappi it (uhm newspaper fold?) because bikini twist on him means he gets aimed out the leg hole... which is just too messy!

My kids have skinny legs so we never were able to do the trifold - the pee would run out the sides before it got absorbed, no matter how tight the cover.
 

Stresch

New member
We do the bikini twist now that Sanna eats solids. It doesn't work at all with breastmilk poop, but it's good now. We used to fold the excess in the back down and then fold the edges in and fasten the 'wing' bits in back to the front. We use a larger diaper at night, and we still sort of do that (since the diaper is otherwise too long), but we don't fasten at night anymore.

Of course, bulk isn't an issue since the kid has no butt. She can easily wear Gymboree pants (known for being trim) with a prefold. In fact, they are still a little loose around the waist.
 

arly1983

New member
Trifolding it shouldn't be bulky at all (that's what you're doing). That really is the trimmest way to go, actually. Remember, it's never going to be as trim as a paper diaper, but it's not too bulky that way. If you're having to fold down a lot of excess, you may need smaller diapers.

For Camille, I would actually fold them the other way. Instead of folding them along the natural seams with the padded part taking up all of the middle, fold it against the seams so that the padded part folds over on itself and is in the center of the diaper. That way, the middle of your diaper will be thicker than the top or bottom. You can do this with Jackson if he is a light wetter, but it works better for girls than boys. That will also make your diapers shorter, so no excess to fold over.
You could try twisting them, but that's fairly bulky between the legs.

I'd do what you're doing!


Thanks, Splash, the prefolds work better with Camille folded the way you suggested.
 
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snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
When infant prefolds were huge on ds I folded the excess down in the back and then just did the angel wing fold. As he got bigger than I started doing a jellyroll fold and just turning the excess at the top down in the front after I snappi'ed it. We mainly use fitteds now, but I always found folding the excess down in the back before fastening the diaper made a big difference in bulk.

What kind of cover are you using over it? That can make a difference too.
 

Kellyr2

New member
Bikini twist isn't bulky BUT it has never held a poop in well. It always gets all over the cover, and with anything else, my covers rarely get dirty. There's also a jelly roll method that's supposed to be good.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
Yep, I use the reverse angel fold a lot, too. Just didn't know it had a name!:) It really cuts the bulk down, while keeping absorbancy in the front. It is my favorite fold to use with a snappi, but is pretty easy to use with just a cover, too.
 

racesmom

Senior Community Member
I prefer regulars to premiums, and fold down in the back vs the front. My favs are trimmed prefolds so no folding down is needed. I prefer the jelly roll for holding in the poop, bikini twist for trimness.

Make sure your cover is trim too.
 

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