How to Increase Rise on a Front Closure Diaper

This is Part 2 of my pattern modification series for customizing front closure diapers. These instructions will work for any front closure baby, youth, or adult cloth diaper.

Today I’m working with a baby diaper pattern that I’m sizing up for JP. I’ve already made a few adjustments to get a better fit — I widened the wings a bit, added some length to the front and back, and tweaked the waistline. (If you haven’t done that step yet, I have a separate video that shows how to make the waist larger on a cloth diaper pattern.)

Now it’s time to make the rise bigger.

Deciding How Much to Add

Right now, this pattern has a rise of 15½ inches, and I want to increase it to 19 inches. That means I need to add 3½ inches total.

For reference, many size one and size two baby diapers have a rise closer to 20 inches. For my purposes, I don’t want to go quite that big — but this method works no matter what size you’re making. You can use it on:

• Baby diaper patterns
• Older child patterns
• Adult cloth diaper patterns

The concept is exactly the same.

Step 1: Fold and Cut the Pattern

Start by folding your pattern in half lengthwise. Once it’s folded, cut straight through the middle. This gives you two separate pieces of your pattern.

Step 2: Secure Your Pattern

Tape a piece of paper down to your work surface so it doesn’t shift around. Then tape your two pattern pieces onto the paper, lining everything up nice and straight.

Keeping things aligned here will make the rest of the process much easier.

Step 3: Measure and Add the Extra Rise

Grab your ruler (even if it’s a little worse for wear — kids are great at breaking things).

• Original rise: 15½ inches
• Desired rise: 19 inches
• Difference: 3½ inches

Measure out the extra 3½ inches and draw a guideline so you know where the pattern needs to line up.

Pro tip: Coasters make excellent pattern weights if you need something handy to hold things in place.

Step 4: Trace the New Pattern Shape

With everything lined up, trace around your pattern to create the new, longer rise. Be sure to transfer:

• Snap markings
• Elastic markings

I like to mark the elastic placements even though I may adjust them later now that the rise is taller. Between the old and new lines, you can simply connect everything smoothly.

Finished!

Once you’re done tracing, you’ll have a new pattern with:

• An increased rise
• Updated snap markings
• Elastic markings ready to adjust as needed

And that’s it! You now have a resized pattern that will fit better without throwing off the rest of the design. This is a simple but powerful adjustment that works on just about any cloth diaper pattern you’re modifying.

If you’re scaling patterns regularly, this is one of those skills that’s absolutely worth mastering.