If you are just joining us on our bumGenius rehab journey, please start with Part I.
Replacing the hook & loop tabs and laundry tabs.
Usually I first replace the laundry tabs. You don’t have to remove the old laundry tabs unless you want to. You can just sew the new ones right over the old ones.
Simply place the new tabs over the old ones, stitch all four sides and then an X across the middle for extra stability.
The bumGenius repair directions suggests sandwiching the hook and loop pieces with the stretchy tab between them. I found this to be incredibly difficult to do so I developed a method that worked easier for me.
First I sew the loop side of the Hook & Loop (the soft side) onto the diaper. Then I sew the hook side (the abrasive side) to the loop side. This way the abrasive side doesn’t scratch against the throat plate of the sewing machine and the Hook & Loop is much less crooked.
Finished laundry tabs and Aplix tabs from bumGenius repair kit
Finished DIY laundry tab and small Touchtape hook & loop replacement tabs
Finished DIY laundry tab and large Touchtape hook & loop replacement tabs
Stitch closed the ends of the elastic channels where the elastic was replaced, sewing along the stitch holes from the previous stitches.
I like to wait until the end to trim all of the loose threads. (If you leave some loose threads on the inside of the diaper, no one will probably notice as long as you are the one using the diapers and you aren’t giving them away or reselling them).
Other procedures I’ve seen, recommend drying the diapers in the dryer to help seal any small holes in the PUL laminate. This is up to you. There is always a remote possibility of damage to the PUL, but bumGenius diapers (while preferably line dried) are approved for occasion dryer use so the risk of damage is low.
I also added some tabs and a front loop strip on two Grobaby (now Grovia) diapers that were given to me as hand-me-downs as well when the hook stopped sticking to the loop fabric laundry tabs. (These are an older design. I believe some kind of hold back strips were included in the newer version to help prevent this problem.) I was surprised to find how easy this was. Grovia is definitely a higher quality diaper with higher quality PUL that was easier and more pleasant to handle than the bumGenius PUL. If I had it to do over again, I might have considered Grovia a little more.
I’ll say right now that I am a beginning seamstress. I am also a lazy sewer. I get easily frustrated, I struggle to cut in a straight line (even when I use a rotary cutter) and I hate pinning. But I want to learn and I think I have the ability to, if I keep at it.
So that was my very long journey through diaper rehab. I hope my documentation of this process will help you as well.
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