By Amber Schlosser
Burp cloths are an absolute necessity for parents with babies. Every baby needs to eat, so they'll have to be burped too. And no one likes spit up getting on them or their clothes. So, if you are the crafty type and possess some basic sewing skills, why not make your own burp cloths? They make cute gifts, or you can keep them for yourself.
Sewing baby burp cloths is easy ad you can be really creative, especially with all the different types of fabrics available. Below are some basic steps to sewing a burp cloth.
Buy some absorbent fabric. There are different types of fabric you can use. Some of my favorites are soft flannel, cotton, and minky. You just want to make sure and choose one that will easily absorb spit-up. For this tutorial, we will be making the baby burpers double sided. What I like to do is choose a flannel fabric and a minky fabric that match. You can make the burper any size you want. But a good general size is nineteen inches by fourteen inches. What's most important is that it covers a good amount of area when placed over someone's shoulder.
Once you have your fabric, be sure to prewash and dry it so that it doesn't shrink and pull weird later. Then, you'll need to cut the fabric into the size you want, making both the front and the back pieces the same size.
Next, face the print side of both fabrics in towards each other. So you are going to essentially be sewing these pieces "inside-out" so you won't be able to see the raw edges when you turn it right-side-out. Be sure to pin these pieces together before sewing. Leave a space, about four to five inches, where you are not going to be sewing. This will ensure you can turn it right-side-out.
Next you can begin sewing around the border of the fabrics, about a quarter-inch from the edges. Once you are finished sewing around the border, turn it right-side-out. You will then need to sew the opening shut, making sure the raw edges of the fabric are tucked inside.
For extra durability, you can top-stitch around the edges again. If you don't want the thread to be obvious, you can always use an "invisible thread". Or if you are confident in your sewing abilities, you can use a thread that offers a fun accent color.
The last step is to measure the burp cloth into thirds (lengthwise) and sew two corresponding lines right down the middle. This ensures both pieces of fabric will stay where they are supposed to and won't get shifted weird.
If you follow these simple steps, you will be on your way to sewing burp cloths easily. What's really fun about burp cloths is that the sky is the limit. You can play around with making matching sets and using all sorts of different patterned fabric. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
