Today we’ve joined forces with Eucalan to bring you another giveaway and introduce you to the new Wrapture scent. Wrapture is infused with Night Bloom Jasmine, which is naturally antiseptic–perfect for washing woolies! Developed by designer Kristin Omdahl, Wrapture is a great addition to Eucalan’s existing line, Grapefruit, Eucalyptus, Lavender (and of course, unscented). If you comment on the blog by Friday, November 16, you’ll be entered to win a gift pack with four single use sachets of Wrapture. I’d love to hear your thoughts on wool as diaper covers and what your wash routine looks like.
Modern cloth diapering looks vastly different from cloth diapering 20, 15 or even 10 years ago. Gone are the days of “plastic pants” and bulky or difficult diapers. With aplix and snaps, many diapers are as easy to put on as a disposable, which means the only extra step you have to take is washing them! Waterproof covers are easy to find and relatively inexpensive, and have improved vastly on the plastic pants of the past, but still don’t breathe as nicely as natural fibres.
Wool has come back in the last few years as the diaper cover of choice for many families. Wool is breathable, extremely stretchy (my youngest has a pair of longies that were full length pants at 4 months old, and now at nearly 2 still fit her in the caboose as shorts!), naturally antibacterial, and bulletproof if it’s properly lanolised before use. The process of lanolising is simple, particularly if you have a good wool wash like Eucalan to apply. The hardest thing about wool is getting it affordably if you’re not a knitter like I am, and then the extra care you have to take while washing it to prevent it from felting. The wash routine, however, is very simple, and only needs doing every couple of weeks when the pants (called longies) or cover (called soakers) begin to smell or get soiled in some way.
When it’s time to wash your woolies, put roughly a teaspoon to a tablespoon of wool wash in your sink or basin (depending on how much you’re going to wash, and how large your basin is). Fill it with tepid (not hot or cold) water. Then gently insert your woollies, pressing them into the water and ensuring that they are fully saturated (I very gently squeeze mine to do this). You only need enough water to cover your longies or soakers. Allow them to stand and soak for an hour or two (or overnight if you want). Don’t handle them while they’re soaking if you can avoid it–excess handling of wet wool can contribute to felting.
When you’re done with that, gently remove them from the water and give them a gentle squeeze to remove some excess water. Don’t wring them out. Take a towel and lie it on the floor, and then lie your soaker(s) on top of the towel. Put another towel or two on top, and then roll the towels up. Squeeze the towels to remove the excess water (or, if you’re like me, you might just find it easier to stand on the roll!). Then lie your soaker(s) or longie(s) out to dry.
It’s really very simple to care for wool with a lanolin enriched wool wash like Eucalan around, and the many benefits to your child (and, in many ways, our environment) are worth the extra efforts you have to take to care for them. Keeping your wool well lanolised will make it a bulletproof way to cover all kinds of diapers–flats, prefolds, fitteds, etc–without the need of synthetic fibres. This is especially beneficial for babies with tender skin that require extra care to avoid rashes.
To enter to win our gift pack of (4) single use sachets of Wrapture, comment on this blog entry by November 16th. Let us know what you’d like to use it for: Eucalan is great for washing lingerie and other delicate products without the need to rinse as well as wool! Make sure you use an e-mail we can reach you at–we will re-draw the winner on November 19th if we can’t reach our winner within 48 hours!
Wrapture will be available on our site shortly in both 100mL and 500mL size bottles.
No diaper covers, but lots of wool sweaters and accessories in this family! Plus the little packs sound great to include with wooly gifts.
I have the unscented Eucalan and would love to try this scent. I use it to wash my hand knits and also to lanolize soakers, longies and shorties for my daughter.
Lots of hand knits for my boys! Use Eucalan already, would love to try the new one!
Definately on my daughters sheepskin she sleeps with and all the cashmere that I keep avoiding washing. Love Euclan
I use eucalan extensively in my daily life because I am an avid spinner and knitter. I love to use it to wash and relax the wool I spin and to block out the sweaters and shawls I knit. I’m very interested in testing a new scent!