Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Make Your Own Baby Burp Cloths ~ Easy to Sew {DIY}


I received burp cloths like these as a gift with our firstborn and loved them to pieces. Let me tell you, they were always in use. I couldn't have enough of them for baby was always full of "fun"! These cloths are very easy to make and if I can sew them, you can too (trust me)! 


These burp cloths are meant to be draped over mother's shoulder after baby has been well fed… the rest is history. Flannel is wonderfully soft for wiping up baby.  Here is how you make one:


Supplies:

First, you need to make your pattern. Tape two pieces of regular sized paper together (side by side) in order to make a larger piece of paper (or you can use an old piece of wide wrapping paper). Now, fold that large paper in half and place my printable pattern on the fold where indicated on the printable and cut around the line (leaving the folded area untouched).


Your final pattern should resemble the picture above (you will have to write "place on fold" as indicated on photo onto your pattern). Time to sew. Do you have your fabric ready? I use a patterned fabric on one side of the cloth and used plain fabric for the other side but coordinating fabrics are really cute too.


Fold your flannel fabric in half and place your pattern on the fabric making sure to pin the pattern  "on fold" where it indicates. You will need to cut out two flannel pieces of equal size of either the same or coordinating fabric.


Now, lay the "right" sides of the two (already cut) flannel pieces together (on top of each other).


Pin around the edges leaving open an area at the end as described in the next step.


Leave a slot open where the straight area on your pattern is (on one end only). Do not pin or sew there. This is where you will invert the piece back to the right sides (later on) so make sure your hand can squeeze through the opening.


Next, sew the two pieces together around the edges with a straight stitch (except for the area where we left the opening). Remove the pins as you go.


Now that the sewing is done, turn the fabric inside out by placing your hand inside the little "hole" you left open.


You are almost finished! Time to get the iron…



Iron the burp cloth so it lays nice and flat making sure to get around the edges so that the shape appears nice and neat.


When you get to the opening, carefully tuck the opening fabric into itself (ironing in place may help) and pin in place (to close the hole) as shown in photo below.


Once the area is pinned, it is time to sew the final seams around the entire edge of the cloth.


I use the zig-zag stitch to complete the project but you can use a fancier stitch if you have a fancier machine. 


All done! You may want to iron it one more time.


Disclaimer: There are many ways to further embellish the project. Sewing just isn't one of my strengths as you can see from the final product… For you seasoned sewers, excuse me if I insulted your intelligence with my "baby step" directions :)


These soft cloths should keep mother and child cozy and clean. I think they would make a lovely gift, too. Here are some free printable gift tags for boys (girl tags will be coming soon). You will find the printable pattern for this easy project HERE


"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."
~ Psalm 139:14

24 comments:

  1. I think I am going to try to make these! My friend is having her tenth child in a few months and would probably love a new set of burp clothes!

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    1. Absolutely! The more she has in rotation, the less wash she needs to do :)

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  2. That's a good idea!
    And the flanel fabrics are lovely!

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    1. Thanks Carolien! I have also seen vintage cowboy flannel print which would be so cute for baby boys!

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  3. These are great! We are going to be foster parents soon and this is the perfect project for us. My 15 year has wanted to learn machine sewing. This is nice and easy.

    Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Great! Thanks for sharing your plans! Any sewing project you see on this blog will be easy, I assure you :)

      Hope it all works out well! ~ JES

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  4. I am a beginner when it comes to sewing.The pattern is one I would like to try but unfortunately you had to sign in to facebook to get the pattern and I am not interested in signing in to facebook.

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    1. If you send me your email, I can email you the pattern :) pleasewritetojes@hotmail.com

      Hope this helps!

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    2. Hi Patrice, I just fixed it so that you should be able to print from this post without needing a Facebook account :)

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  5. Like the tutorial...and the pattern..I will try it out while making Gift Card envelopes.

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  6. Burp cloths are must-haves. They are indeed very useful and perfect as baby gifts. Time to sew some so thanks for the tutorial.

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  7. I've made a lot of these Jess and they are well received. It's often a gift that mother's don't receive at showers. Oh so useful.

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    1. Very useful! Someone made me some and I thought of her all the time because I was always washing those handy cloths!

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  8. Those are just adorable...and I love the homemade pattern and tutorial you shared...Thank you! Deb

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  9. appreciate the baby steps :) great tutorial and the cloths are perfect!!

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  10. Congrats on being featured at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House sewing party. :)

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  11. Simple sounds good to me. As a total novice sewer, I think I'm not intimidated by your simple pattern. Thank you!

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  12. I'm making a neighbor a couple of recieving blankets and now I can make her burping cloths as well. Had not thought of it. Thanks

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    1. These pair so nicely with blankets! I love giving them out! :)

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  13. These are so adorable, and I love their shape. I just had several friends have beautiful bundles of joy, and these would make the perfect gift <3 #TuesdaysWithATwist

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  14. Hi, JES. Just wanted to let you know that I'm scheduling a post linking to this tutorial. It should be going up on my blog in September. :-) Thanks for posting this.

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