There are some nice tutorials out there but none were exactly what I had in mind. I wanted all diaper on one side and all pretty cotton on the other. It is really VERY EASY. It is slightly more challenging if you finish them off with trim but still pretty easy straight stitching.
You will need:
- 100% cotton fat quarter fabric - typically 18 x 22"
- Pre folded cloth diapers (I prefer six ply heavyweight gauze from Gerber.) They measure 14 x 20"
- Washable decorative trim. Grosgrain ribbon or rick rack is perfect.
Wash everything in hot water with mild baby safe detergent and then dry in a hot dryer.
Trim the loose threads |
Press the fabric (and trim) with a hot iron and trim loose threads from the edges.
Trim the fabric to equal the width of the diaper.
With right sides together and using a long straight stitch, start at sewing the long edge of the diaper, sewing the two pieces together around three sides.
Now turn right side out, smooth and press the cotton side.
Flip it over to the diaper side and press the raw edges in as shown.
Now fold the cotton edge over the top edge of the diaper.
If you do NOT want to use ribbon or trim, sew a simple or decorative stitch across to secure the final edge. Finish off by top-stitching all four sides. Now ADMIRE!
If you DO want to finish with some trim it gets just a tiny bit trickier…
Although I am going to describe how to do it, please just use your good judgement and common sense to find a way that works for you. Remember these are burp cloths - fancy spit-up rags! They certainly don't need every stitch to be perfect!
You now have two choices….
1. Use the trim on one side… Cut the trim the width of the diaper plus about 1.5" to tuck under.
Tuck the raw edges between the layers of cotton and diaper on each side and stitch in place. For rick rack I just use one line of straight stitching but for ribbon I use a zig zag stitch on top and bottom. Now top-stitch the entire piece on all four sides for a nice finished look.
2. If you want trim on both sides, cut a length of ribbon/trim twice the width of your fabric plus 2". Carefully pin the trim all the way around both cotton and diaper side. Take care to match up the edges so you can stitch in place through all thicknesses at one time. Tuck the raw trim edges in on one side. Now top-stitch all around and you have completed your beautiful, fancy, burp cloth!
For a nice presentation, I folded in thirds and bundled them in sets of five and tied each bundle with a length of tuile. |