My Version of the Cloth Diaper Burp Cloth...and Puppies!

I recently rediscovered the joy of sewing.  My Mom handed down an older White machine that has served me well through my new hobby.  So well that I decided to take on the challenge of making some burp cloths for the the little one.  Every where I have read says that old fashioned cloth diapers make the best burp cloths due to their absorbent nature.  So, when I ran across a package of 11 Gerber cloth diapers  at TJ Maxx marked down to $6, I said, heck ya!  The package was marked as having 12, but the one missing must have accounted for the clearance price.  When I got them home, I realized they weren't the six-ply ones that most people used.  They are called Flatfold Premium Cloth Diapers.  

Photo Courtesy of gerberchildrenswear.com

In a way, I was kind of excited because I could customize the size of cloth I made.  However, most of the tutorials online were for the birdseye or six-ply type, so I knew I'd have to figure this one out for myself!

Once they were all washed and dried and ironed, I decided folding them into even thirds was the best way to go.  It layered them up so they would be thicker, but it also made them about as wide as my shoulder and long enough to cover to my chest and the middle of my back.  Hopefully enough puke and drool coverage.  

I then ironed them into the thirds to help hold their form while sewing.  They ended up being nine inches wide.  I think the flannel-backed ones are super cute and a way to add some fun to something normally, um, drab and practical.  Plus, it adds another layer to the thickness.  I hit up Joanne's where they were having a half off sale and got a third of a yard of ten different flannels.  At nine inches wide, I could have just gotten by with a fourth of a yard, but I wanted some wiggle room, just in case.  

Next step was to line them up on the flannel:

You'll see I left myself some width on each of the sides (in the picture above I haven't cut from the main piece yet).  I left about 3/4" on each side.  I was left with a little less than half of the flannel for a future project.  I placed the flannel face up and considered the middle of the diaper the "front" and put that face down.  In the picture of the folded diaper above, if you start at the top and label the parts A, B, and C, B would be my "front".  Hope that makes sense.  

I got to going too fast and neglected to take pictures, so hopefully this will all make sense.  I then pinned and then sewed around the perimeter, careful to grab all the layers of the diaper to avoid bunching in future washings.  Make sure you leave an opening to turn them right side out.  Once done, flipped the cloth over so the flannel side was up and clipped the corners diagonally and trimmed the extra.  It will make it easier if you leave a little "tail" where the open part is, since you'll need to stitch that down in the next step.

Ok, so now you're ready to flip it right side out.  I used a seam ripper cover to push the corners out, but you could use a chopstick or something long like that. Then, go back to your ironing board and press everything down nice and even and flat.  On the section that has the open part, tuck in and press down so its nice an even, hopefully hiding that it's even there.  

For the next step, I used a guide that screws into the plate on the sewing machine that helps you keep a straight seam.  I straight stitched around the perimeter, making sure to catch the open part.  Then, for added security against bunching, I stitched two straight lines down the middle of the entire thing.  You should be able to see them in the picture below.  

And that's it!  I went ahead and laundered them all again since I had man handled them so much and I wanted them to be as clean as possible for the little one.  I have to say, they are thicker than what I initially anticipated, and I really like each of them.  I have no experience with burping a baby, but I am thinking these will work nicely.  Want to see all ten?  I didn't use any theme with these; I just grabbed whatever flannel I liked best and went with it.  I could divide them up into three categories though:

Mature and Sophisticated

Cute Birdies

And, of course, nursery prints

The pink and yellow one in the bottom picture was my steal of the day.  Total, that one cost me 88 cents to make, as I got exactly a third of a yard as a remnant and remnants were 70% off.  The rest of them cost $1.67 approximately to make, since the fabric was on sale and I got such a great deal on the diapers.  I also ended up with a nice scrap stockpile of all these fun flannel prints.  Each one took me probably 15 minutes or so to make, so a pretty quick, easy, and cheap project!  

Now, I hate to do this, but since I haven't found another tutorial online like this, I ask that if you are going to make these, please do not do so for a profit.  If you plan to blog about your experience making these cloths, please link back to this post.  In the blogging community, it's only the right and fair thing to do!   Thank you, and I trust you understand!  

Onto funner things...this is where my first babies have been most of the day, if they weren't chasing the warm sun rays...

Man, I love my fur-kids.  Just a lazy Sunday afternoon in the Freeman household!