How to Make Decorated Burp Cloths at Home

How to Make Decorated Burp Cloths at Home
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A decorated burp cloth makes a great gift for a new baby. They are useful gifts, with thoughtful and personal touches added to them. They can be purchased, but they are easy to make on your own. Here are a few ideas on how to make decorated burp cloths at home.

Start with a prefold cloth diaper. These are rectangular pieces of cotton, usually with four layers and a panel of eight layers down the middle. These make great burp cloths since they are soft and absorbent. They will shrink considerably when they are washed and dried, so throw them in the washing machine and dryer a few times to make sure they are fully shrunken. This will also help the cloth diapers to reach their full absorbency.

One way to decorate the burp cloth is to add a decorative piece of fabric to the middle panel of the prefold. You can use any fabric you wish, though a printed flannel or other cotton material will add absorbency to the burp cloth. Cut the fabric into a rectangle, adding half and inch to an inch all around for sewing. Fold in both sides and one end to fit the burp cloth, iron flat, and then pin in place. Fold in the last end in to fit the panel exactly and iron flat and pin. Topstitch the fabric all around to secure it to the prefold. You only need to add fabric to one side, but you can choose to do both sides if you wish.

Another way to personalize a burp cloth is to embroider the baby’s name on it. This can easily be done even without an embroidery machine. Use a washable fine tipped pen to write the baby’s name on the lower corner of the prefold. Then using a needle and colored thread, go over the pen using short stitches. The back side of the stitching may not be as neat as the front, and the name will be backwards, so you will have to cover it. You can use an applique and simply sew it on over the stitching. You can also use a piece of fabric to cover the entire back of the prefold. Measure the printed fabric, fold in the edges, and sew all around.

A third way to make your own decorative burp cloth is by using ribbons or lace. You can add a piece of lace or a wide ribbon to the edge of the prefold. You can also place the lace or ribbon about an inch or two above the edge for a different look. If you have narrower ribbon, you can sew them onto either side of the middle panel as well.

A decorated burp cloth is a useful gift to give a new mom. She will go through many burp cloths, so why not make her a cute one to carry around? A personalized burp cloth can easily be made at home using a prefold cloth diaper and some fabric, ribbon, or lace.

Image Credit:

Jamiesrabbits on flickr.com, https://www.flickr.com/photos/38389073@N04/5456989652/

References:

Make Your Own Baby Stuff

SewChic blog