The most breathable cover of all is a wool wrap. It may seem odd to suggest wool as a waterproof cover, but think about how dry sheep and fishermen stay in their woollen outers: the secret is in the mesh of the fibres. As long as the nappy has plenty of absorbency, to hold onto the wet, a wool wrap is perfectly reliable, but will let the moisture seep through if the nappy itself is not sufficiently padded to cope with the volume of liquid. Technically, wool is water resistant rather than waterproof, so if the nappy underneath gets too wet, it will start to seep through the wrap.
You can even make a wool wrap yourself if you ever accidentally wash a jumper far too hot. As the fibres blend together, it won't even need hemming at the edges. Wool wraps are expensive to buy, but are ideal night covers for any child who suffers easily from sweat rashes, eczema or other rashing.
Wool wraps are naturally anti bacterial, and do not need to be washed every day. In fact, assuming there is no poo on the wrap, it can be simply turned inside out and hung to air.
The only thing you need to be careful of with some wool wraps is the fact that the Velcro tabs will stick very easily to the wrap while it is being handled. However, you can fold them in on themselves into the wrap to prevent this happening elsewhere on the cover.
Check out our Nappy Instructions section for information about caring for wool wraps, kindly supplied by Kim Wong of Cuddlebabes, the Wool Queen, in my book!
To knit your own wool pants, see here.
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Added on 15/05/2007 22:54:41