Make Your Own Burp Cloths!

As the youngest granbaby has a tendency to spit up quite a bit, my daughter was delighted when I said I would make some burp cloths.  A pinterest inspired sewing project that is fairly easy and quick to put together. 

I found two posts on how to make these one here: http://www.petitelemon.com/blog/2011/03/28/how-to-make-a-burp-cloth/ and one here: http://littleredhousedesigns.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/baby-shower-gift-1.html.  Pre-folded cloth diapers are mentioned as the base for the burp cloths, something I couldn't find here in Australia so I used cotton towelling instead.

I have a huge stash of materials, so I like to have a look in the piles of fabric before buying more...lol.  After digging around I found some cotton towelling I bought by the metre... apparently it is very hard to find now a days, shows you how long it has been sitting in the cupboard.  Plus I came up with a bit of flannelette, some lace and ribbon.

My burp cloths are...
1 - 15x15in piece of cotton towel
1 -  7x15in piece of cotton towel for the padding in the middle
1 -  7x16in piece of flannelette for the top
2 - 16in pieces of ribbon, lace, twill etc

I played a bit with folding the towel in the middle to make the padding in the centre.  This first cloth is three layers thick, which I think is just one layer too much!

Looks lovely all folded up, but not very flexible... so onto attempt no. 2.

Burp Cloth No.2  - Method...
Step 1. Position the 7x15in piece of cotton towel in the centre of the 15x15in piece of cotton towel.  Zigzag stitch the pieces together on the long edges.  This is now the BASE of your burp cloth
Step 2. Overlock the edge of the base piece. 
Step 3. Iron under .5in on the short edges of the flannelette.  Position the flannelette in the centre of the base piece of cotton towel and pin in place.
Step 4. Position the ribbon and/or lace over the raw edges of the flannelette, so the flannelette edge is roughly in the middle and pin in place.  Don't forget to turn under the .5in allowance on the ends of the ribbon.
Step 5. Sew up both sides of the ribbon and across the top and bottom edges of the flannelette.  The lace and ribbon were attached using a triple stitch, along with a walking foot on my sewing machine to help feed the thick materials through.

 

After making the first few test burp cloths, I realized I would need more material to make the real thing for my daughter.  As I couldn't find towelling by the metre I bought 75x150cm bath sheets from Target, this will yield 5 burp cloths 15x15in. 

 

They only thing I would change is either sewing a piece of bias binding around the edge of the base or turning under a seam.  My Daughter uses at least two cloths everyday and with the constant washing the edges are getting a bit tatty.

 

This was another quick sewing project that I had fun making, with the end result being rather cute!  I recommend giving it a try, they make sweet Baby Shower gifts.

Have a great day!