Part 1: The easiest baby gift you will ever make- A tutorial

The eighteen months that my shop was open for custom designs, I made baby gifts. I was always making precious little things for both strangers and friends that were expecting. So, it goes without saying that I have a LOT of experience making baby gifts. That being said, it is seriously so easy! If you can sew a straight line, you can make these items too and create a completely personal gift that will stand alone or be a great addition to a bag of goodies or a pack of diapers.

In an attempt not to make this post super photo heavy (and long), I am breaking it into two parts. Part two will be posted tomorrow.

Part 1: Boutique Burp Cloths

Materials Needed:
-1 fat quarter per burp cloth
-cloth diapers
-coordinating thread
-scissors
-sewing machine

First, let me start by saying that not all cloth diapers are created equal. I have tried many different kinds. Some fall apart in the wash and others shrink a lot. Personally, I like Gerber 6-ply premium cloth diapers. They are the most expensive, but are the thickest and wash to be the softest. You can find them at Target, Walmart and Babies R Us.

1. Wash and dry your fabric and cloth diapers. This is super important because the cloth diapers will shrink a little and so will most fabrics.

2. After the cloth diapers have been washed and dried, measure the length (from top to bottom). Add 1" to this measurement. Next we will measure part of the width. Measure the width from 1" before the center section to 1" after the center section. Add 1" to this measurement.

For example, my burp cloth measured 17 1/2" x 5 1/2" so I will be using 18 1/2" x 6 1/2" for my measurements.

3. Cut your fabric to the adjusted measurement that you just found.

***Note- If you will be embroidering or adding an applique, please do it at this step, before the cotton is sewn to the burp cloth***

4. Place the fabric wrong side up onto your ironing board or table and press the long sides back 1/2", creating a nice crease.

5. Aligning the fabric so that it is centered on the cloth diaper, pin the two long sides in place. Make sure that you are pinning the raw edges underneath.

6. After the 2 long sides are pinned in place, tuck the short edges underneath and pin in place. When doing this, I tuck the corners in at an angle on the underside so the raw edges do not peak out the side. When you have done this, all 4 edges should be pinned in place.

7. Now, place the pinned diaper into your sewing machine with the fabric side up and sew a 1/4" topstitch around all 4 edges. If you want to get crazy, use a fun stitch design instead of a straight stitch. One trick I recommend here is using a coordinating thread for the top and then using white in the bobbin so that the thread won't stick out like a sore thumb from the back of the cloth.

8. Press your burp cloth, fold it and wrap it up beautifully!

Wasn't that a cinch? Seriously, you could make a whole stash of these in under an hour. They are super cute and practical. The best thing about these burp cloths is that the fabric prints hide stains better than the plain white cotton does!

Come back tomorrow for Part 2 of the easiest baby gift you will ever make!