Who the heck are you...  and why'd you make this site?  I'm Nicole~ a stay at home mom to a little boy named Jack.  I made the site 'cause it seemed a lot of other folks needed the same thing I did when I first started diaperin' my boy~  step-by-step instructions with photos of a real diaper bein' folded up and put on a real baby.  I quickly found out that flats with character, organic-fabric flats, and domestically made flats were hard to come by, and that sites advocatin' flats were few and far between~ most likely 'cause there isn't a lot of profit in makin' them.

Why flats?  I couldn't say it any better than Judy (a.k.a. judybean), who's kindly allowed me to quote her here on the fun of flats:

Yes, yes! They *are* So. Much. Fun!!!!

They're versatile as heck (stuffers, doublers exactly where you need them, folding for whatever style you need, etc), wash clean easily and dry in no time flat (ha! pun intended!)! Plus, they double as burp cloths, bibs, clean-up rags, blankets if needed, pillows, peek-a-boo toys, etc. They're just amazing. I can't sing enough praises about flats!!!!

And... I totally understand your connection. I too feel connected to those before me using flats. And something about it just brings a smile to my face.

Oh.. and for trimness? They simply cannot be beat. Trimmest darn things around!

But aren't flats a hassle?  They don't have to be.  My flat origami fold takes four, flip-free steps.  A prefold angel fold also takes four steps.  Once you add washin' and dryin' into the equation, they're easy!

Hmm...  d'you have cost estimates?  Without factorin' in covers or doublers, this is what a basic flat stash would cost:

New Indian 27x27" birdseye flats at $1 each x 4 dozen = $48. 

New 36x36" birdseye flats at $22/dozen x 4 = $88 

New organic cotton WHAM/D-made flats at $5 x 4 dozen = $240.  

Makin' 2 dozen new closeout flannel and 2 dozen new organic cotton flats  = $107.  

For the 10 yards of 60" single-napped flannel from Valley Glen Goods I used to make two dozen 30x30" flannel flats, I paid $29.51 with shippin', or $1.23 each.  For the dozen 30x30" US grown & milled organic birdseye flats I'll make when our fabric co-op's order comes in, I'll pay about $3.20 each.  Since I'm usin' some thread my mom passed along to me when thinnin' out her sewin' stash, I don't have any thread costs.    

Frugal mammas can purchase their flats secondhand or easily make their flats for a fraction of this amount, if not for free!

Regardless of which route you go, the real, *hidden* savings are in their true one-size-fits-all flexibility and low washin' & dryin' costs (spend a week on any diaperin' board & you'll see how much time, hassle, detergent-searchin', and rinsin', rinsin', rinsin' can go into multi-layer diapers).

What about environmental & social responsibility?  In my book, the very best way to go is secondhand~ either with secondhand flats or with homemade or WAHM/D-made flats made from salvaged materials you have at home or that you find at a thrift store~ flannel sheets, jersey sheets and T-shirts, or soft dishtowels.  If you have a serger, you can make some really gorgeous patterned flats from pieced together scraps, and don't need to limit yourself to larger pieces of fabric.  If you live in the US, the most environmentally-friendly & socially responsible way to go with diapers made from new materials is 4 dozen organic US grown & milled cotton flats that you overlock/serge at home or purchase from a WAHM/D.  In both instances, I recommend washin' nightly.  

NOTE: Just do the best you can and follow as closely as you can to YOUR ideals!  If your nearest thrift store is a 30-mile drive round-trip, or you are house-bound, order fabric online & let your mailman drop it off with your regular mail.  If you can't afford all organic, go half organic and half closeout fabric.  If you see that US grown & sewn organic cotton flats would be delivered cross-country via a delivery service that doesn't regularly visit your neighborhood, but that there's a WHAM/D in your town with local pickup who uses a Canadian hemp/conventional cotton jersey, make the call based on your priorities.

Why salvaged materials~ by extendin' the use of the fabric, you're savin' the resources, energy, fossil fuel consumption, and waste that goes into the growin'/manufacturin'/shippin' cycle that goes into new materials and savin' things that might otherwise end up in a landfill.

Why organic cotton instead of non-organic~ non-organic cotton is subjected to synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and toxic defoliants.  That nasty stuff works its way into the soil & water table and lingers on in the processed fibers.  When you add genetically-modified strains, bleachin', and traditional fabric finishin' to the mix, you're lookin' at a creepy "galaxy glue" soup whose impact can't even be guessed at.  Buyin' organic cotton that has been grown & milled in your country supports your organic farmers & local economy while keepin' shippin' distances (fossil fuel consumption) low.

Why organic cotton instead of hemp blends~ most of the hemp fabric on the market is blended with non-organic cotton.  Also, your hemp fabric was grown & milled out of the country, which in some cases means it was shipped a very long way to get to you.  If you live in the Northern US, Canadian hemp blended with organic cotton is a very viable alternative.  If you live in the Southern US, you are surrounded by organic cotton farmers & mills, and the benefit of buyin' local just plain rocks.  If you really truly love hemp, and the benefits of hemp outweigh the transportation & local economy issues for you, I encourage you to give your preference to hemp that's from the nearest country, uses fair trade/labor practices, and is blended with organic cotton or linen.  If you'd like to show your support for US grown hemp, start here: http://www.votehemp.com/ and  http://www.naihc.org/ .

Why sew at home or WAHM/D-bought~ sewin' the diapers at home means one less trip (usin' packagin' materials & fossil fuels) from the farmers to you.  If you don't have the time, skill, or inclination to sew, buyin' from a WAHM/D means you're reducin' commuter traffic and makin' it possible for a family to sacrifice a parent's steady, out-of-home income to put their kids first.  It also means you are not unknowingly supportin' unfair labor practices.

Why 4 dozen~ washin' nightly, 48 flats is an estimate of the fewest number of flats I think I could make do with.   Newborns need more diapers, but not as much absorbency, and infants/older babies need fewer diapers, but more absorbency.  For a newborn, I would use a single flat, and for an infant/older baby or heavy wetter, I would use two or three flats (or two flats with a couple of folded up wipes in the wet zone).  These recommendations are based on my changin' philosophy (which is heavily influenced with EC)~ I like to know as soon as my son is wet and change him immediately, even in the middle of the night, so I only need the diaper to hold one wettin'.

Why wash nightly~ since 24 -42 flats (24 flats & doublers or 42 flats) plus wipes are my maximum full load, more diapers wouldn't decrease my number of washloads~ it would just mean not havin' to wash as often.  Personally, I prefer washin' nightly.  Washin' nightly reduces the number of diapers you need and keeps stink & nasties from settin' in the cloth, which means less washin' and detergents.  Washin' at night instead of durin' peak daytime hours also means lower cost in areas with higher daytime charges for energy use and helps to reduce the reduce the strain of daytime peaks, which is what drives new facility construction.  Line-dryin' is ideal because the sun will bleach out stains & kill bacteria, and because dryers are very energy intensive.  If you need to hang-dry your flats indoors over the winter, hangin' them near a heating vent or stove will make 'em dry quicker.  I noticed that puttin' the drying rack over the bedroom vent meant I didn't need to use a humidifier to keep my son's nose from gettin' irritated, too.

If you are askin' about environmental & social impact, then I strongly suggest you look through the EC links if you haven't already!  It is more mainstream-friendly than you might expect.

Why d'you have so durn much EC information on a flat diaper site?  It's part and parcel of the whole "A little work now saves you from a lot of work later" mindset.  It's also kinder on our children and natural resources.

My spouse/babysitter won't use flats/Snappi/pins.  Which cloth diaperin' system do you recommend?  That  depends on your cover preference and your spouse/babysitter's willingness:

If you prefer to use wrap-style pockets or covers~ flats may be folded up & used as pocket stuffers as well;  pre-stuff the pockets when doing laundry so that the diapers are ready to go when they're needed.  If your spouse/babysitter is willin' to lay a folded flat (or two folded together) into a wrap-style cover, pre-fold the flats, then tri-fold them so that they just need to be laid into the cover at changin' time.  If their reluctance is with the pins/snappi, they may be willin' to flare the back of the tri-folded, prefolded flat for a better fit.

If you prefer to let your child go coverless or use pull-up covers/soakers~ Look for organic cotton, one-size fitteds that have no more than two layers in any one place in the body or doubler.  You'll want a serged diaper, not a turned & topstitched diaper (these have four layers along the seams), with flip out or snap out doublers (one size means fewer diapers purchased, and 2-layer means you're keepin' the easy wash/quick dry characteristics of your flats, so you can wash 'em together without hasslin' with a special wash for your fitteds).  Personally, I LOVE Doodlebottoms one-size, organic velour fitteds with snap-in doublers.

What's the difference between flats and prefolds?  Basically, flats are of a uniform thickness throughout (1 or 2-ply), and prefolds have a thicker center panel (so 2x6x2 to 4x8x4).  It gets confusin' because most folks think of flats as large square or rectanguler "one-size" cloths, and prefolds as rectangular cloths that come in several sizes, but you'll see retailers sellin' prefold-sized 2-ply "flats."

Use-wise, flats take two or three folds to make into a prefold (see the foldin' section), may be tweaked to be slightly longer/shorter or wider/narrower, require only a single size from birth to potty learning, and dry in 20 minutes in the dryer or a couple of hours outside on a sunny, warm, & dry day.  Prefolds can't be tweaked to fit different sizes, require at least two sizes (I needed three), and dry in 60-90 minutes in the dryer or an afternoon outside on a sunny, warm, & dry day.  

Which flats do you personally like best?  In the short run, the 30x30" closeout flannel flats I made were my faves~ the flannel was cuddly soft but not too pilly, had a dryish feel even when they were wet, and were Snappiable.  After several months though, the fabric slowly lost its fluff and became impossible to Snappi.  I also wished they were bigger;  if you plan on usin' flats through potty learnin', a 20x40" or 36x36" size is ideal (if you like the origami & kite folds, you'll want the 36x36" square).  If you're set on usin' a Snappi and plan to use flats for more than 4-6 months or so, stick with more traditional fabric flats like birdseye or old-fashioned diaper gauze (which needs to be doubled up 'cause it's so very airy).

My pet peeve is pinked flats (the pinked edges do unravel a bit, which makes for tangled string balls that you gotta cut off).

Which prefolds do you personally like best?  I haven't tried all that many~ I've used bleached (infant) and unbleached (toddler) Chinese prefolds, bleached (regular) Euro prefolds, and Doodlebottoms hemp prefolds (18x18" custom size).  Overall, the Euros were my favorite because of the comparatively quick dry time, trimness, and durability (I was advised that they wouldn't take a Snappi, but I used one on them with no problems).  Something about the Doodlebottoms prefolds' Snappi track construction made for the best fit in the waist, but they were the hardest for me to Snappi (even though they had nifty hemp terry Snappi tracks) or pin.  Snappis seemed to grab the Chinese prefolds the easiest, but my unbleached ones actually ripped from the Snappi & pins.  The unbleached ones also had huge, hard lint balls trapped in between the layers that took forever to dry and just plain drove me crazy.  

Why in tarnation d'you call yourself gumbush?  It's a whole thang.  The Virginia Opossum's the only livin' marsupial in the USA, makin' it the only local critter that carries its young around in its pouch.  And growin' up, who didn't hear "Happier'n a possum on a gum bush?"  If'n you like, you kin blame it on Enos.  Or Ellie Mae.

What's yer email? possum@gumbush.com

I make & sell flats on my own website.  May I link directly to your foldin' page/specific how-to page instead of your home page?  Sure!  Thanks for asking!

How do I link to you? A text link is fine, or you can use the logo below if'n you copy it to your directory so it doesn't eat up gumbush's bandwidth.