Scrap-Buster Project #2 - Burp Cloths!

My recent absence has not been because I've had Button (I wish!), it's only been because I ran out of thread while working on my lattices quilt, and the store hasn't re-stocked the right colour yet since I cleaned them out last week, so I've been trying to come up with some new projects, but I'm really bad at committing, especially when I don't have that much of a fabric stash to play with.

Fancy burp cloths!

So today's project happened because I'd gone to get lots of nursing shirts at the local Mothercare and Kiddicare, and I happened to find some terrycloth nappies on sale, so I got a bunch because I'd seen some examples of burp cloths on Pinterest that looked really easy and fun. You can also probably use just a cheap bath towel or pre-fold nappies, or the Mio Bambino nappy inserts would probably be great too (and much less messy to work with!), but probably more expensive. So depends what you like and what you want the finished product to look like.

I didn't really use a pattern for this, so I'll just go through what I did. The finished size of my burp cloths were dictated mostly by my scrap sizes and by the size of the terrycloth nappies, but they're roughly about 7 x 20.5".

1. Cut out your fabric in 7.5 x 21" rectangles (or desired final size plus about 0.5" on each side for seam allowances). 

I used 2 terrycloth layers because I felt that just one layer wasn't thick enough, but I wasn't sure how my machine would handle 3 layers, so I decided to go for 2. If you like a thinner thickness, by all means layer them how you will. If you do decide to use more than one layer, as I did, I'd recommend sewing them together around the edges first, as otherwise the layers tend to move around and everything ends up squint.

2. With RIGHT sides together, pin your fabric to your terrycloth and trace the curved edges (I used the top of an ice cream container as my guide). 

I traced out the full shape in that picture because due to my lack of rotary cutter my pieces were by no means straight edged.

3. Sew around your tracings, making sure to leave a gap for turning, and then cut off the excess fabric.

I like to use pinking shears for cutting as I think it reduces fraying and excess bulk. However, be warned that if you're using terrycloth, you will get terrycloth 'droppings' EVERYWHERE. I was literally covered in tiny white bits of terrycloth after this. I need a decontamination zone between my crafting area and the rest of the house. Sorry husband dearest! :P

4. Turn burp cloth right side out, iron, and fold in the seam where the gap was, and then edge stitch around the whole thing.

5. Fold cloths into thirds, and sew 2 straight lines to divide it lengthwise into thirds. This makes it easier to fold the cloths, and also helps keep the layers in the right place.

There you have it! Easy as pie! I cranked out 5 of these in about 2 hours. It's really easy and requires minimal sewing skills. They'd make great baby shower gifts. You can also embellish them with ribbon or embroidery or appliqué or other things if you like, but these are just for me, so they're not perfect, they're a little wonky in places, and they're fairly plain. I have lots of leftover terrycloth, so I might make some more and try to fancy them up a bit, but we'll see if I can find some other creative uses for them first!

A stack of finished burp cloths! Tie together with some matching ribbon for a nice gift!