Make Your Own Burp Cloths (and other baby things)

When Sarah was six months old I took up an interest in sewing, crafts and making hair bows.  I would make bibs and burp cloths for Sarah, and even made tops for the girls.  I had a huge obsession with Chenille, Minky and Flannel. But over the years our lives have gotten so busy I don’t have time for my crafts anymore.

When I found out I was pregnant with Shelby I could not wait to get back into sewing and making her all those cute handmade items I made for Sarah.

A few things I am working on right now are burp cloths, nursing pads, crocheting baby hats, handbands & bows, baby blocks, cloth wipes and anything else I might think of making.

Now, I am a HUGE etsy fan! I even have my own shop, and sometimes it’s easier to just buy the items already made for you. Like today I found the cutest crocheted hat with flower for 10 dollars (it’s on sale). But other times when I see the same hat for over 20 dollars it’s easier to just try and make it yourself.

This is the same thing with burp cloths. While I was searching etsy all the burp cloths were rectangle (don’t get me wrong, they are super cute) but when your draping it over your shoulder you need a little more fabric to cover the area (IMO). I think the 3 pack for 18 dollars is a great deal, your getting them 6 dollars a piece, not too bad…. BUT you could spend just about the same amount of money and make them yourself..and make more.

I bought the pink chenille on fabric.com for 13 dollars a yard. One yard will give you 8-9 burp cloths (using the pattern I used). I also purchased Michael Miller Flannel 1/2 yard for 4.50. A half yard gives you three burp cloths. As you can see it’s cheaper to make them yourself.

If your a newbie sewer than the rectangular  9″ x 17″ would be the easiest. Or you can fancy it up and try the Oh Baby Burpies from You Can Make This. Which is a very easy pattern to follow, just requires more fabric turning while sewing.

I used the pattern of Oh Baby Burpies, but instead of using the Gerber prefolds for one side I used Chenille. Another patern I love is the one from homemade by jill.

Another item that is REALLY easy to make is nursing pads! Think about it, most women nurse their baby for a year, a box of disposable nursing pads cost around 6-8 dollars for lets say a 60 count, which ends up being 30 pairs. Most of the time nursing moms have to change their pads at least three times a day, some more and some less. Well that box of nursing pads will be gone in about 2 weeks or less.  As you can see the money adds up quickly. I decided that since I am cloth diapering and making all kinds of other baby goodies why not use my extra flannel and the Gerber Prefolds I had bought for the burp cloths and just make my own nursing pads. I’d like to have about 10 sets total.

My friend Chana (another DIYer) has a great tutorial on her blog to make your own nursing pads. These are super easy to make! I used the left over flannel from my burp cloths and baby wipes to make them. I made 6 (3 pairs) for now, and again when I get the rest of my flannel to finish my burp cloths.  Like I said, I had bought the 12 pack Gerber Prefolds to use for the burp cloths, but changed my mind and wanted to use Chenille instead. I had seen another nursing pad tutorial using the prefolds since the inside is a fleece, which makes a perfect backing.

I just did a top stitch on all the layers and then washed them once. I wanted to make sure the fray looked ok and wouldn’t pull the stitch out. I made sure to do a back stitch on every pad.

I also decided that with cloth diapering I’d might as well make my own cloth wipes/wash cloths. These were so easy to make! I used another wash cloth I had which was 9″x9″. I cut up 2 old brown towels and used green flannel for the other side. The baby’s nursery colors are green, pink and brown so I figured I’d make the cloths to match. I made a total of 30.

Baby Blocks are another easy item you can sew up in no time. They are cute and your baby will love playing with them!

Now I am sure you have lots of fabric scraps laying around from your sewing madness right? Well look at this adorable Scrappy Baby Bib Tutorial!

I do like to crochet, and since I haven’t done it in years I decided to make a baby hat with tassels last night. I didn’t use a pattern or anything.

A few other items I know people are making are baby legs, longies, bibs, and even cloth diapers (covers and inserts).

I am sure there are tons of fun items you can make for baby, and I’m sure as I find out about them I may just try them. Right now, I’ll stick to my long list of things I want to make!