When we first discovered wool in our home, we had no intention of using it full-time.  Up until that time, we had been unable to find a diaper that would keep our baby dry at night, so we invested in a wool soaker, thinking we would use it for nights only.  The soaker worked so well that we purchased several other wool covers shortly afterward, and we quickly found ourselves so enamored with wool that we replaced all of our baby’s polyester covers with wool.  I cannot remember the last time I used a polyester cover, and the truth is, wool works so incredibly well that I don’t miss those old polyester covers- not even one bit.  And my guess is that our son doesn’t miss them either.

How many wool covers will I need to use wool full-time?

The exact amount of covers you will need will again depend on your budget, but the beauty of wool is that you can easily get by with very few covers.  This is primarily due to the fact that wool does not need to be washed frequently (at most once a month), and as long as you let the covers air out between uses, you can use the same cover again and again, rotating two covers throughout the day and night.

For a small to moderate budget, we have found that you can get by withtwo daytime wool covers (either pull-on or wrap style, depending on your preference), and one or two nighttime soakers  (one will work, but two is ideal so that you can rotate between the two while one is being washed and dried).  If your budget is larger, investing in a few additional wool covers can certainly make things more convenient, though it’s not necessary.

Choosing the Right Wool Cover

Like most cloth diapering products, the variety of wool covers available can be daunting.  It can be difficult to determine which wool covers will be appropriate for your baby’s needs.   The types of wool covers that you need will depend on several factors, such as the amount of time you and your baby spend outside of the home, the climate, the time you have available to care for your wool, etc.  Once you identify your needs and determine which types of covers will be a good fit for you and your baby, you may soon find yourself reaching for a wool cover every time you change your baby’s diaper.

If you’re just getting started with wool and are intrigued by the possibility of using it, either on a part-time or full-time basis, the charts below provide a comparison of some of the wool covers we carry in our store, appropriate times to use each cover, and some pros and cons of each.

We have placed the following wool covers into two basic categories: Pull-on Wool Covers, which have no velcro, snaps, or closures of any kind and can simply be pulled onto your baby like a pair of pants; and Wrap Wool Covers, which have a closure such as velcro or snaps and fit in a very similar fashion to a polyester diaper cover.  Both work well; the decision is really based on your own personal preference and needs.

Pull-on Wool Covers (No Velcro or Snaps)

Wrap Covers (Velcro or Snap Closure)