Real Nappies provided product which is featured in this post. Real Nappies asked me to try out their cloth diaper system featuring pre-folds I thought it was a great opportunity to share everything I know about pre-fold cloth diapers and why I love them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I have now been cloth diapering for nearly 33 months. 26 months with my first child during which time we used a cloth diaper service and exclusively used pre-fold diapers. And nearly 7 months with our second child and we use a various types of cloth diapers many of which are pre-folds.
Pre-folds are the most basic and one of the most economical ways to cloth diaper your baby. Pre-folds come in a few different sizes. You can use them on your baby from the very first day they are born no matter how little or big, skinny or chunky your baby is, you will always get a great fit with a prefold. You can use any pre-fold diaper; after getting a chance to review them, I have to say I really love our Real Nappies.
About Real Nappies:
Real Nappies use premium quality 100% natural cotton fiber in their cloth diapers for superior softness, absorbency and durability wash after wash. The natural soft cotton cloth diapers are comfortable to wear, breathe naturally, and are certified to the highest Öko-Tex ecological standards which involves rigorous testing for over 100 harmful substances. You can rest assured that Real Nappies cloth diapers are free of chlorine bleach, plastics and chemicals, and won’t irritate your baby’s sensitive skin.
Real Nappies cotton cloth diapers are prefolded which means the prefold cloth diaper’s 3 panels are folded and sewn together each having up to eight layers for superior absorbency. The Real Nappies prefold cloth diaper is thicker in the middle to offer more absorbency exactly where it’s needed without it being bulky.
White Snug Wraps (covers) are included in all Real Nappies cloth diaper packs including the Birth To Potty Pack, Essentials Packs and Top-Up Packs. In addition, Snug Wraps are available individually in white and bright fun colors.
What is a Pre-fold?
Pre-fold diapers are rectangular shaped diapers that are divided lengthwise in 3 sections. The outer two sections are often made up or 4/6 layers of cotton and the inside layer is 6/8 layers. Real Nappies pre-folds have 8 layers of absorbency This allows the pre-folds to have the absorbency in the middle where you need it the most. Pre-folds are the pretty much the cheapest cloth diaper option. Pre-folds can be layered into and closed in a Velcro or snapped diaper cover or fastened either with pins or snappi.
What is Great About Pre-folds?
- Super Affordable – A year of disposable diapering costs $1200-$1500. The Real Nappies Birth To Potty Pack has everything you need, including Indian cotton cloth diapers, diaper covers, diaper liners and potty training pants, for $489. That is a huge savings! Additionally if you want to supplement a growing stash, pre-folds is the most affordable way to do that. For less than the cost of most AIO or Pocket diapers you can get 6+ diapers and 2 covers!
- Easy to Fit Every Baby – I especially love using pre-folds for newborns! You can really get a snug fit on any sized baby!
- Easy To Wash – No special washing instructions, just wash and dry. The more you wash, the more absorbent they seem to get. Pre-folds are also the easiest diaper to get clean in my opinion.
- Super Durable – Wash after wash these diapers are work horses. You will easily be able to pass on pre-folds from baby to baby.
- No More Pins – When I was first told about pre-folds I thought about pins and how annoying that would be each and every time. Thankfully, unless you want to you don’t need to use pins. You can use a snappi, or you can just lay the diaper in the cover!
- Different Folds for Different Needs – Boy folds, girl folds, runny poop folds, easy folds… they are all easy, and they all work!
- Customizable Absorbency – You can change the absorbency by using different folds, or by adding in smaller prefolds as boosters. Pre-folds are a great night time option!
- Easy to Use – Pre-folds can seem intimidating, but they are actually very easy to use. Once you fold a diaper a few times, you will have mastered it. My husband will ONLY use pre-folds. He is intimidated by pockets and snaps and doesn’t like change so he just sticks with pre-folds.
In case you are more of a visual person, here is my video on the 4 different ways I know to fold pre-fold diapers. You can really see how easy it is.
How to Fold a Pre-fold Cloth Diaper.
I have been very happy with our Real Nappies pre-folds. They are everything I described above and more. I have several other pre-folds that are not nearly as absorbent as Real Nappies – that alone makes them a real winner in my book! Find out more about the company at www.realnappiesusa.com or on their Twitter page.
Feel free to ask any questions about pre-folds below in the comments section! I’m always happy to help!
Do you use Pre-fold diapers? What is your favorite fold?
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Well you little guy sure seems to approve 🙂
When I cloth diapered, I stayed away from prefolds. I just never got them right! Thanks for the info. I wish I knew about this before!
Very interesting. I am glad to be past the diaper stage though!
It’s great that you are showing mom’s an alternative. I wish I would have known more about Cloth Diapers with my kids.
I never tried pre-folds when we were CDing the girls. I’m pretty bummed that I sold my entire stash for ridiculously cheap just a couple months before I found out I was pregnant with baby #3. 🙁
I did not know there were so many different ways to fold them!
I had no idea there were so many ways to fold a prefold. I instantly went straight to pocket diapers
Shame on me.. I’ve actually never used a prefold..
Great info on the different folds–just what I was looking for to show a friend!
He’s so cute and I don’t think I can handle cloth diapers.
Great video! I am going to try the jelly roll fold tomorrow with Ryker. We have only had one blow out so far with prefolds but I have just been using the newspaper and trifold. Have been meaning to cruise youtube for other folds so this was perfect. Thanks! I can’t even believe your little guy is already 6 months. Craziness!
What an awesome guide! I love the pics of all the ways to fold a prefold. I personally do not use prefolds but prefer to use Best Bottom AI2s. However, your guide is just what someone wanting to use prefolds needs to get started.
P.S. Your baby is adorable. That smile is precious!
I so wish that cloth had worked for us. I will admit that prefolds worked the best when compared to the other ways you can cloth diaper.
I definitely didn’t know any of this. Wish I knew more when my boys were little.
I so wanted to use cloth diapers but they really confused me.
Sounds great! I tried cloth diapers, but I didn’t have a good experience. 🙁
Every time I read a post about cloth diapers I start feeling a bit guilty for being scared of them.
Great topic, as I’m celebrating 1 year of cloth diapering…with prefolds! It’s an often overlooked cloth diapering option, but the most effective and leak-proof, in my opinion. My Preference for Prefolds event just started today, and I’m giving away 3 amazing prefold prize packs!
Yay for one year!! We just love our prefolds. I have more of them than any other diaper! They are really a great option! I will be sure to check out some of your giveaways! I will be giving away a booster pack of Real Nappies as soon as I get it up!!
I always wondered how the heck to cloth diaper in a way that would work and is comfortable, but looking at those folds, I can see it- those look like they’d offer coverage and not irritate the baby.
I wish I’d known this because then maybe I could have had a better diaper experience. I gave up after the first diaper MESS!!!!
We use the newspaper fold. Love the savings that prefolds offer!
I have got to cloth diaper my next baby! Great tips, thank you!
I just started using prefolds and they are my favorite for nighttime! I definitely need to get more!
and YES @Kristin you have to cloth diaper!!!! I LOVE our cute little fluffy bum!
what a wonderful and thorough review! I LOVE The pictures showing the different folds. Definitely bookmarking this page! Your baby is sooooo cute!
I used prefolds with my first 5 kids, right now I’m using fancy AIOs with my newborn!
I’m excited to expand my cloth diaper stash and include prefolds. Currently an all pocket stash.
Really enjoy this blog. I have not used them but think they will be a smart choice to add to my stash. Easy to use and cheaper than the all in ones.
Thanks for the pictures of the 4 common folds, grouped all together like that. Very useful for comparison!
My favorite fold to use on my daughter was the newspaper fold.
Prefolds are my go to diapers. I always use the padfold though, I’ve never been good at any of the other ones lol.
I only have one prefold and use it to stuff my pockets because it’s not the right size for my baby 😉 I’d love to try more!
Great post! I learned a lot about folding prefolds and the reasons for the folds in the video! Your little guy did great during the video and he’s adorable!!!
I would love to try these, but my stash is mostly pockets. They see so affordable and fairly easy to use. My mom used them on me when I was growing up. I am also scared of prepping them!
What’s nice about prefolds is their versatility. They can also be burp cloths and changing pads, and be used as inserts in pockets. And once you no longer need diapers they can be used for cleaning around the house.
Great pictures of the different types of folds. Very helpful. Thank you
Love Prefolds
When I first started cloth diapering I said I would never use pre folds and now they are one of my favorites! The newspaper and jelly roll are my favorite folds 🙂
WOW! That looked easy! I will have to get some to try. Thank you!!!
Wow, I had no idea there were so many ways to fold the inserts.
I had a diaper service for my son when he was little because we lived in an apartment building with a basement laundry room, so we used prefolds and covers, but then, when he was older, I used pocket diapers on him because he was so wiggly. For the baby I’m expecting in August, I’ll be using prefolds, covers, and pocket diapers. I’m glad to see there are so many ways to fold them.
We loved prefolds for the newborn stage!
Thanks for the tutorial! Instead of using newborn pockets or AIOs, I think I’m going to go with prefolds and covers for those first few weeks at least. (We’re expecting our first, so everything is theoretical right now lol).
I don’t currently use prefolds because I was intimidated and thought they looked complicated! After watching your video, I think I might reconsider 🙂
I love cloth diapers! And thank you for the info!
Never knew about all the ways to fold prefolds – thanks for the guide!
I love my prefolds. I tri fold them in the covers They work great and wash easily. Thanks for the post on the different folds.
I love that you are having this kit giveaway. I believe it’s a great start for us beginners!
So much to learn. Thanks for sharing.
I plan on using a mix of CD for my newborn, including prefolds–I’m thinking the newspaper or jelly roll folds–I guess trial and error will help me decide which ones work best! I always love a good prefold post for a confidence boost! 🙂
I think that prefolds will be great to use on my infant since I can adjust as needed for size.
Thanks so much for presenting the different folding techniques- I have only used the newspaper fold- but am going to try the others now.
What kind of diaper cover are you using in the video? I have not seen one like that before. So soft looking and stretchy. 🙂