Baby Gift: Custom Burp Cloths

I love making baby gifts. Specifically, I love sewing up custom burp cloths. I've made Jonah at least a dozen now. I make mine using pre-fold cloth diapers with a flannel strip down the middle and ribbon trim. And now(!) I can embroider them. So very excited about that.

Here are 2 that I recently made for a friend who had a little boy just after Christmas:


And here is how I make mine. There are lots and lots of how-to's out there. I read a bunch of them and simplified my process to this:

Supplies:
Gerber Pre-Fold Cloth Diaper (3 or 6 ply, your preference)
1/4 yard of flannel
1 yard of coordinating 1/4" grosgrain ribbon
thread to match
(see sidebar for my tools of the trade)

1. Pre-wash both the diaper and the flannel in gentle detergent (i.e.Dreft or Tide Free & Gentle) Some people also wash their ribbon. If you choose to do this, make sure to heat seal the ends of the ribbon so that it doesn't fray.

2. Iron the diaper and flannel. Measure the diaper and cute your flannel to that length + 1". Cut the flannel's width to 6".

3. Fold in half an inch of flannel to the wrong side down the length of fabric. I use my quilter's rule and turning tool to score my fabric and then press into place. Press firmly.

4. I then turn the fabric to the right side and carefully press again.
5. Lay the flannel on the diaper so that it runs down the center. Fold under half an inch and pin on one end to secure placement.
6. Cut 2 pieces of ribbon to length of diaper + 1". Align one piece along each side of the ribbon, tucking a half inch under the fabric for a clean edge.
Hint: I use this basting glue to help in this process. Apply glue to one side of ribbon, then apply to the edge of the flannel. It eliminates the need for pinning the ribbon!

7. Sew down the length of the ribbon through all layers (ribbon, flannel, diaper). I start with the outer edge on the right side of the diaper and work my way left. Make sure to turn in the fabric and ribbon before you get to the end of the diaper. I don't pre-pin because the layers are thicker and a little shifting occurs.

8. Stitch a small hem at the top and bottom of the diaper to secure the hem of the flannel. I stitch in about 1/8 an inch.

Tada! Burp Cloth finished! This is the exact one I made while creating the how-to. My machine also embroiders, so I did that step before starting on the burp cloth itself.