Your input needed-what do you like in a longie, soaker etc?

[tarahsolazy]

Washable wool is not appropriate for diapering items. It has had all the lanolin stripped away, plus an anti-felting treatment. Pee will go through it just like a diaper. It won't absorb much or repel at all.

I think a variety of items is nice, so people can choose. Be very clear about what kind of wool you are using, people seem fairly picky these days. Many moms are looking for humanely raised wool, organic wool, and custom dyeing. Popular soaker wools are Blue-Face Leicester (just a sheep breed, not brand), Montana Targhee (?spelling, another breed name) Blackberry Ridge Merino, Malabrigo Merino, Peace Fleece, and more. Check out hyenacart to see how things are described.

Not to rain on your parade, but the soaker market is fairly glutted. Take a look at the WAHM well at www.mothering.com and the WAHM area at www.woolywonder.com. The knitting ladies there can tell you more about starting this kind of business.

If you want more virtual "window shoppers" put your stuff up on hyenacart. www.hyenacart.com .

[mommyoftwo]

Thanks for the input. I was going to do a variety of things so that people could choose more basic verses fun. I also was planning on using several of the yarns that you mentioned. As far as the washable yarn goes, I wasn't going to use the chemical processed stuff. Supposedly, little turtle knits has developed a natural way of processing their yarn so that it is maching washable, but still has the waterproof properties etc. It's the yarn they use for their soakers etc. It still has to be line dried but could be thrown in the washing machine on gentle. I personally don't mind the hand washing but I wasn't sure if anyone else would find machine washing a plus. I'm also planning on putting some stuff on hyena cart. It will take me a little while to get a website up and running anyway. While I do hope to make a little money, I'm also doing this because I really enjoy it and it makes me feel good to have something productive to do. When I got chronic fatigue syndrome and had to drop out of medical school, it was pretty devestating. This makes me feel like I'm doing something with my life even though I'm disabled and could never have a real job. I like the flexibility that something like this provides. Plus my mom is going to help me. Thanks for the links. I'll check them out. I've had a great amount of interest in people wanting to be testers so I should be busy for a little while anyway. :)

[mommyoftwo]

I'll make sure I have some neutral, more practical things. I can still make them really cute, like that kacki pair of shorties I did. Thanks for the input.

[lizajane]

i am not a huge wool user, but i wanted to add my opionion since it is a little different!!

first of all, i absolutely could not and would not spend more than $30 on anything diaper related. and $30 would be a HUGE stretch. all of my wool us used, with one exception (and that was retail therapy, LOL!!) so fancy schmancy wouldn't work for me.

i like plain. i LOVE LOVE LOVE my bj marketplace soakers (can't remember their new name on ebay.) they have small pictures knit into the soaker/shorties/longies instead of as an added embellishment. they are simple and soft and easy. i hand wash, which doesn't bother me at all. i like the idea of machine washable, but really, i wouldn't want them with my other dipes, so i actually think it would be more annoying to machine wash. i wouldn't want to do a "load" of wash for just one or two soakers.

i like colors. anything. bright and happy or muted and "soft." i think i am the only one alive who does NOT like varigated thread or dip dyed/tie dyed stuff. i like solid colors. i have been hoping to get some tee shirts (just like onesies but without the snaps) for dylan so i could embroider them to match my soakers. (hey- maybe we should work out a site link! matching soakers and tees! lol!)

i would love to buy organic, etc everything but i just can't afford it. so i personally would not be put off by regular ol' yarn.

i would LOVE some affordable longies, even if others though they were boring.

finally, i think a great idea would be to offer a large price range. starting with plain, one color and going up to organic (or whatever, you know what i mean) yarn with lots of embellishing. that way, you could hit a wide target of folks who can't afford the pricey stuff but want something nice and folks who want fancy schmancy no matter the cost.

:) HTH.

[mommyoftwo]

Hey Liza, thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure how low I could go and still make it worth my time, but I was definitely planning on having some less expensive yarn and then charging more for premium yarn. I was also planning on pricing things so that everything beyond the very basic was an extra charge. That way people could pick exactly what they wanted and if you wanted something basic, you would pay less. That would be for custom stuff of course. For things that are in stock, I will just price accordingly. Funny you mention, t-shirts with matching soakers because I was thinking I would like to do that at some point. I'm totally up for a collaboration when I get everything set up.

[kboyle]

I agreee, i'm a simple kinda gal myself...i LOVE solids, bright, or neutral & muted...if there was some type of "add-on" I'd like to see it small (like the bj marketplace ones, whether knit into, or knit onto like how llamajama embellishes theirs) some dip dyed is nice, but i'm not a big fan of the varigated wools that i've seen, but hey that's just me & i've pretty much sold most of my tiny CD stash :) so what's my opinion anyway!

i also agree with not spending tons on diapers, but for longies i could possible justify spending under $40 if they were a longie in a size that could last long since they aren't worn under anything...but only if i bought them in the beg of fall, that way they would go thru fall, winter & spring before it would be a tad warm to wear out. shorties are adorable, but i'd rather have my babes in a T and diaper than spend $20+ on a shortie....IMHO

jess, i think it's great that you want to start this!! i can't wait to see what you come up with! call me

ETA: OMG Jess, i just took a look at the ones you've done and they are GREAT!!!!!!!!!!! I love them! We'll have to get together soon! Can't wait to see what else you've been up to!

[mommyoftwo]

Hey Kristine,

Thanks for the compliments. I'm almost done with my favorite one yet. It's really fun to have an outlet for my creative side. I'll try to give you a call tonight. I was wanting to take the girls to the zoo with your boys sometime soon. Sound good?