DIY cloth training pants!

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**update: These cloth training pants are now available for purchase at my shop www.etsy.com/shop/theflannellamb

 First of all, I have an important announcement: Abbey slept in big girl pants all night last night!! Yaaayyyy!!!

She slept in these:

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We used cloth diapers for Abbey, and have loved them. We would use disposable from time to time, but for the most part she was in cloth so, when we started moving into potty training, we knew that store bought disposable trainers were not an option. As I started looking for cloth training pants (ones with some level of  absorbency and a waterproof liner), I was incredibly disappointed. I don't mind paying $15-$18 for a diaper that will be used for 2 1/2 years, but for training pants? I don't think so!

So, now I was on a mission! I knew I could make something for soooo much less than that, but how to do it? I wasn't really feeling making the training pants from scratch. That's a lot of work, and I knew I would be really picky about the fit, and I just don't have the time or energy for all of that. (If you're feeling ambitious, Elsie Marley has a very cute kids undies pattern HERE) Abbey already had some Gerber training pants , you know, the ones that have a little extra padding, so I decided to just start with those. I grabbed some flannel and some PUL and was ready to go!

What's that? You don't know what PUL is, or where to get it? Well, let me tell you!

PUL is the laminated fabric that is used to make the outer liners of cloth diapers, and you can now buy it at both JoAnn AND Hobby Lobby! Woot!

I started by making my pattern;

I used wax paper, pinned it around the trainer, and traced the seams of the reinforced section.

I ended up with this:

If you look closely, the bottom section is about half an inch longer than the top section. That part ends up on the back of your training pants.

I labelled my pattern, just to be safe.

Then I used my rotary cutters to cut out 4 layers of flannel, and one layer of PUL, leaving me with this:

Quick note: PUL can be a little pricey, about $15 a yard, but you use so little for this project, that it's not a budget buster. I purchased 1/4 yard, and it was MORE than enough. I could easily get 15 of these pieces out of my little bit of PUL. 

I started by pinning and sewing the flannel into the inside of the training pants.

Why flannel? It's soft, absorbent, and not too bulky.

I pinned and then did a zig-zag stitch all the way around. One trip around is fine, since you'll do another trip around when you sew the PUL to the outside.

Flip the training pants to the right side, and repeat this process with the PUL.

(no, you're not crazy, I switched training pants on you! White on white doesn't photo well!)

These two steps could probably be combined into one if you really want. I don't like sewing blind, so I did each side in it's own.

There you have it! Your own (roughly) waterproof cloth training pants for...maybe $3.50 a pair? I will take that discount, thank you very much!

I love these training pants! They are perfect for outings, long naps, and now over night. They catch any "oops" without requiring a change of clothes, which is just what I was looking for. Abbey has had one full accident in these. 4 hour naps will do that. These didn't keep her pants dry in that case, but they did keep her sheets dry, which in my book is a win!

I hope these help all those cloth diapering Mama's out there!

side note: I didn't plan on matching the PUL to the training pants, there just happens to be a pattern in the line that matched perfectly. It makes the OCD "things have to match!" side of my very happy!

**This tutorial is meant for personal use only. Thank you for your understanding!

Be blessed!

Heather