Crafty I’m not. But, give me a big enough motivator and I’ll give it a try.
Bum Genius aplix after about a year is horrendous. Motivation? Yes.
If you have tons (or just one) of aplix Bum Genius cloth diapers and would like to convert them to snaps, follow these simple instructions.
(here is the original link) These are not my words but copy/pasted from a highly crafty (you have to be in my mind to jump into this project) and persistent (inserting this many pics in a post is a pain!) mama.
Time: about 30 mins, faster for subsequent dipes (because of your template)
Tools: Snap pliers or press, snap parts, pencil, ruler, 1 piece paper, stiletto/tailor’s awl (pliers come with this pointy tool), unpicking tool of choice, scissors.
Where to buy snap pliers: As far as where to buy the pliers they can be bought through the Notion Supply Coop on Yahoo Groups. The owner of the Coop is Serena.
Using an unpicker or your preferred method of unpicking, remove the aplix at the front of the diaper. Personally, I think the best way is to break a stitch every 4-5 stitches and every single stitch where it is double stitched (top left corner). It should then just come off really easily. You’ll then want to pick all the bits of loose thread off.
Next, cut the end of the tab off. This makes unpicking the tabs much easier – they will come apart. You can do a bit of manhandling here as the stretchy tabs can take more abuse (i.e. ripping the darn thing off with force, rather than carefully unpicking)
Here’s the tab, all unpicked!
Now you’re going to make a snap placement template for the front. This will make is much faster to do lots of BGs. You won’t have to measure the placement each time! So first, trace the outside edge of the front and cut it out.
Mark your snap placement. I put them every 2cm so they are quite close together for maximum adjustability. Place two snap caps on your template to check they aren’t too close!
Use your stiletto (awl) to poke holes through your template at the snap points.
Place template over the front of the diap and mark placement of snaps with a pencil.
Put your hand inside the dipe and use your stiletto to poke holes through the fron of the dipe but *not* through the inner layer! Be very careful as your stiletto is sharp and you don’t want holes in yourself!
Take your snap cap and put it up inside the dipe and push the prong out of on of the holes you made
Add the socket
Place in snap plier, making sure the cap fall into the die squarely. You’ll actually have the inner diaper fabric between the die and the cap. so your layers will go : die, PUL, cap, PUL, socket, upper part of plier. Press it hard!
Here is your nice, smooshed snap. Repeat for all of the holes on the front
Go through the same steps (template, mark, poke, press) for the tabs, making sure the cap goes *on the outside* and you use the other part of the snap (don’t know what this is called) instead of the socket
Sit back and admire your work!
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice work! I was just wondering if there was a way to do something like this. My Bum Genius diapers are in great shape after a year….it is just the aplix that needs serious help. Not to mention my daughter has learned to undo the aplix. She hasn’t figured out snaps yet!
This is the best idea! I absolutely hate the tabs too!
you have inspired me to try to find a snap press for cheap and do this. I am sending away one BG for conversion but maybe it is worth the $ because I can do it myself, plus then I can use it on my unpaper towels too
I have this bookmarked from the first time I saw it on DS. I’ve been afraid to do it because I don’t want to mess it up. But seeing it again here, I think I may do it now.
THANK YOU so much for posting this! I am hoping my BG’s can make it through the summer before I convert them to snaps. How much do the pliers cost? Just wondering if its really worth it, money wise…how much did it cost you (pliers and snaps?)
You can buy snap pliers at kamsnaps.com for $35 comes with 200 snaps! Ships for Free. I love my pliers, very easy to use!!
THANK YOU! My aplix on all my BGs (mostly what I have) is shot and my hub has been growly about it, so this will solve the problem!
YEAH!
I just sent 25 of my diapers away to have a WAH Mama convert them to snaps for me. Great results! After a year with two in cloth full time the tabs were a joke. I also notice that they seem trimmer since the conversion. Love em!
I may try – the aplix is starting to look shabby after 6-7 months. I thought it was my fault.
This is AWESOME!! 10 minutes ago I was thinking about this very thing. These instructions even make it look easy
Thanks!!!
I might like my BG’s if they were like this!!! sigh…I may have to ship away to DS and have someone else – I don’t think I have the patience for all that, lol!
I’m saving this though!
thanks!
Great idea. I’ve forgotten that you can do this. My velcro is shot too, after 8 months. And my son just figured out that he can play with the velcro. It’ll be no time before he figures out that he can take off his diaper. I’m not a fan of snaps though…i feel like it takes too long to put on the diaper. But with the velcro going…this may be a great way to revive them.
I really, really need to do this or get it done to my BG’s, which I have had for about 15 months. The velcro looks pretty rough, but the bigger problem is that my daugter has learned to undo the velcro and take off her diaper, even under clothing! She’s a sneaky little thing and gets so proud of herself when she does it!
I was gonna do this. I really was. I got all excited since I had 2 bamboo bum genious dipes, they fell apart too quickly, and the co sent me 2 pockets to replace them. The aplix is awful.
BUT I got tired just looking at all those pictures (so many steps!) and I’m not feeling like tackling it today.
But I will wash the dipe & hate the tabs & be back… this much I know ; )
gee my spelling is horrible when I type one handed, nursing, and not wearing my glasses.
This is absolutely brilliant! I have tons of BGs that needs some work (just the hook& loops) & this is just the best way to do it! thanks Autumn for sharing this!
Okay I LOVE this idea…now maybe a stupid question…but where do you get the snaps like that!? Is there someplace I can order them online? I don’t live near any fabric stores, so this would be really helpful! THANK YOU!
(please email me the answer…I read so many diaper blogs, I’ll probably forget to check back for the answer…until I don’t need it any more!
THANK YOU!!!)
I thought snaps would be the way to go with diapers but I found that there is less flexablilty in size, what your baby is between snaps. With velcro you can put it anyhwere. I find it is the hook that wears out much faster then the loop and it is so easy to sew a new tab on the way they have assembled it on the BGs. I guess if your not a sewer that would make it a bit more difficult.
though it is nice to get the info on where to buy snap pliers. i’ve never seen pliers just a snap press and it is very pricy
I agree with you, Kristen, that you can get a snugger fit with aplix. I actually prefer it over snaps except with my bg organics.
I am SO THRILLED to see this! I was just about to send my BGs back to have the Aplix replaced but this will be SO MUCH BETTER!!! Thank you for sharing your hard work! ~camille
Wow, wonder how much it would cost me to pay someone to convert the 18 of mine…I was about to send a couple back to be replaced.
I really like this idea. My BG diapers are seriously wearing out. The velcro and tabs are worn out on a lot of them and leg elastic is strecthed out on some as well. I must say I am disappointed they didn’t hold up better, I have always washed them per instructions, and used a diaper doubler at night, which they say you can do, but which strecthed out the leg elastic. I don’t think I’ll be buying anymore, and I don’t think they will last through another babe this way. However, I have 3 pockets with snaps that I like much better. They fit kind of funny, but the snaps are durable, and DS can’t take them off. I am not too crafty though, so maybe I either need to get my mom to help me convert them, or I can send them away. How do you find A WAH mom to convert them? I would love to get more use out of my BG, as I have about 18 and it is the only diaper we are using.
I love this idea!! Just so everyone knows Cotton Babies the manufacturer will replace the Velcro or try to help up to a year from when you bought them (with proof)! At ten months I called and sent them in I had 15. I got all new covers back within two weeks . Great customer service! Now they are looking a bit shabby so I will keep this in mind thank you!
Can someone tell me where to find the plastic snaps. I’ve searched Joannes and they don’t carry any. I don’t mind ordering off line but I haven’t had much luck there either. Thanks!!
I ordered mine from kamsnaps.com, they have pliers and snaps. just tell them I sent you.
Tara
Thanks so much!!
This is so cool! I was so excited and happy when I found this page. I’ve been searching for a way to do snaps on my diapers myself, instead of having to send them to someone else. Plus, I don’t have the money to buy a press, nor do I have enough dipes to want to, but I can afford those pliers. I’m so thrilled now! I’m still a little new to cloth diapering and I’m thinking of attempting to convert my flip covers and inserts, so I can snap the inserts to the covers and make diaper changes a bit easier, has anyone else thought about this? Do you think it’d even be possible with the pliers? Sorry about asking questions on the blog, but I don’t know where else to put this. Thanks!!!
I think it would be a great idea! The only problem is that you would have an exposed snap on the insert. Don’t think I’d like that.
You can always ask questions here! Just add a comment and I’ll answer as soon as I can
Just ordered myself the pliers and 200 snaps for $34.95. Awesome. I was thinking I was going to send some off to have them switched to snaps, at $3.50 per diaper. This way I can do all mine for about half what it would have cost me otherwise. My real issue with my Bg’s is that the waist velcro is really bad too, not just the tabs. While the tabs are easy to replace, the waist won’t go in the machine and has to be hand-sewn and I just don’t think it will hold up as well. My little guy is 2 and I hope he’ll be potty training soon, but if I fix these they will be good for nighttime still even if he does potty train, and I can pack them away for #5 should we have him/her!
Otherwise I was about to start throwing them away! I am a big fan of snaps as the babes are less likely to pull them off themselves and they don’t all stick together in the wash!
Thanks so much for this tutorial! I just tried it out and it looks great! Now to try it on the baby…
And hopefully, convert the rest of my 12 BGs!
I got really excited when I found this tutorial because someone recently gave me 30+ BG AIO’s. They all need new velcro so I’ve been busy removing it for the last week, then it dawned on me this tutorial is for the pockets (which I have a handful of) so I’m wondering… Is there a way to use this for the AIO’s? Can I hide the snaps or will they be exposed on the inner side of the diaper?
Love the site, great info!!!
Just checking this out as I was considering this… I’m not sure what to do, ’cause I LOVE the flexibility of aplix, but mine are all worn and stuff. However, I had been putting them in the dryer and just recently put up a clothes line so I can sun dry them. I have the velcro replacements for tabs, but the front/waist is looking sad too. Dunno what to do.
@Sonya: This site I just came across has several tutorials for different types: http://www.kamsnaps.com/