Yes, there is prep work involved to get them ready for sewing. And if you have only a sewing machine it is a complete PITA. That's what I did with my first batch of inserts and they were functional but terrible looking and had rough edges no matter what stitch I used so it would bunch in places and poke DS essentially where the fabric bunched. If you have a serger it's much easier and way less issues.
I just bought some hemp from Kidsinthegarden, prewashed it twice (put it in with whatever) and then folded and cut to size and sewed with zig-zag stitch. The ends tend to roll when you have prepped the fabric, but to me it was not a big deal at all. Yes, my edges are a bit raggedy compared to ones that have been serged, but the thing goes inside a diaper, so I really see no need for perfection.
that said, hemp isn't very cheap, so you are only going to be saving much money if you are doing a lot of inserts.
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Re: Hemp ?
humph... I thought it was no problem!!!
I just bought some hemp from Kidsinthegarden, prewashed it twice (put it in with whatever) and then folded and cut to size and sewed with zig-zag stitch. The ends tend to roll when you have prepped the fabric, but to me it was not a big deal at all. Yes, my edges are a bit raggedy compared to ones that have been serged, but the thing goes inside a diaper, so I really see no need for perfection.
that said, hemp isn't very cheap, so you are only going to be saving much money if you are doing a lot of inserts.