Cute and Inexpensive Diaper/Flannel Burp Cloths

One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is to sew but to be honest, I have not done much of it lately because up to this point the last 30 years I have been pretty busy. Now that things are slowing down, sewing is on my list of things to do and since I have lots of material in my basement, this will make my husband happy! First up, some of the cute burp cloths I have been seeing all over Pinterest.

So this will be a series of 2 posts.  For this post I will be making cute and inexpensive diaper/flannel burp cloths and then in a week or so later I will post the instructions on how to make cute and inexpensive flannel/flannel burp cloths.  Now this is my first sewing project in a long time so don't judge.  I will get better as time goes on.  I promise!  First, the Diaper/Flannel Burp Cloths.

I start out with 100% Cloth Diapers that are pre-folded and I wash them in hot water, dry them and then pull them right out of the dryer so that they don't wrinkle or get all rumpled. Don't laugh at the word rumpled  - it really is a word that is listed on www.dictionary.com.  If they need to be pressed so that the material lies flat, do that now so that when you are cutting and pinning your flannel your measurements will be correct.  Also iron the flannel so that is flat and wrinkleless.   It is also important to use the flannel that is a little thicker and of better quality than the thin stuff.  They will be more sturdy and easier to work with.  Plus, they will be used for cleaning up yucky stuff and that can be a pretty tricky job sometimes.  I actually had a few of the diapers in my basement that had never been used along with a big bag of material that included some cute flannel pieces. Yay!  So here are the very simple steps.

I apologize for the lighting - it was 11:30 p.m. when I was making the first two cloths.  Hopefully my free time will soon be free time during the day rather than late at night!

Take the flannel and lay it face side up.  Isn't this piece so cute?

Take the diaper and lay it face down on top of the flannel.  When I did this, I picked the diaper back up and ironed it again because as you can see, it is rumpled and not laying flat. The material is stretchy so it may not seem like it has straight lines but that is ok.  After you sew all around the first time you will be turning it inside out.

Making sure that the diaper is laying straight on top of the flannel, pin the diaper and flannel together allowing about a 1/4 inch allowance of the flannel all the way around the diaper.

Starting on one end sew about a 1/8 inch (or a little more if that makes you more comfortable) all the way around leaving an opening that will allow you to turn the material inside out.  The hole I left open was about 4 inches in order to turn the material without tearing the seams or material.

Trim the four corners so that when you turn the diaper/flannel inside it, the corners will lie flat.  Make sure not to cut your stitching as you can see, I almost did!  Practice, practice, practice, Becky!

Trim the edge all the way around except where you have left an opening.  This is so that after you have turned it inside out you can fold this small piece of material in and then sew the diaper and flannel shut.

Turn the whole thing right side out!  See how rumpled and bumpy it looks?  

Ironing it will make it look like this!  Now mine looks a little crooked because I needed to go back in and push the edges out from the inside and then re-iron it to make it lay flat.

Fold in the little piece of flannel that is left at the opening and iron the entire thing flat.

Sew all the way around the cloth as close to the edge as you like.  To help the material to continue to lay flat wash after wash, sew down the two lines on the cloth diaper that run down the middle.

Now you have a cute burp cloth that literally took only about 15 minutes to put together. From ironing the diaper and flannel at the beginning of the process to sewing all around the edges and down the middle seams of the diaper, this is one of the easiest things I have ever made.  Most definitely goof proof!

I love all these cute patterns.

These will be a nice addition to any baby burp cloth collection.  I know who is going to be using these.  Her initials are AMM!

Your done!  Let me know if you have done any of these or something similar.  What did you do differently and what can I do to make mine better - besides practice my straight-line sewing skills!  Again, I promise that I will get better.