wool saves the day (errr...night)

Here is a confession: though I have been knitting wool soakers for sale for about 2 years now, I never really used them myself. I made knitted pants for AJ and he wore them, but I used them over other diaper covers, never as a waterproof layer. I don't know why, isn't that weird?

Then over this past summer AJ started having a problem with an awful "diaper rash" which is not really the right term...it was more like his skin was blistering after sitting in a hot, wet cloth diaper all night. We were having to get up and change him during the night again, like a newborn, because he would wake up in pain and demand to be changed. I don't know if it was the hot weather, his diet, the detergent I use, or what, but something was going wrong with our use of cloth diapers for nighttime. I researched the problem and discovered this type of thing can happen because of poor air circulation with PUL diaper covers.

Enter: wool. I wanted something soaker-like for summer (it was so, so hot this year), but not heavy or long. So I used the Little Turtle Knits pickypants pattern and made the shorts version. I lanolized them as best I knew how, and gave them a go:

Voila! No more awful blistery rash! And though the diaper smelled like ammonia in the morning, by the evening there was no smell at all from the wool. Truly amazing! These were knit in the largest size offered by the pattern (but it would not be difficult to make them even larger), using one skein of Patons Wool in light gray, and a tiny ball of leftover Patons Wool in denim. They worked so well I am thinking of making up a few pairs of pants for winter sleeping.

Fab! And the fit is so nice with this pattern...I'm thinking I should apply for a cottage license to sell this version. They are really excellent!