A tutorial for burp cloths?
When there are a million out in blog land?
Okay, at least a thousand.
Well, every person adds their own spin on it.
And you know, before I got into blogging I had a small etsy business called Joon Bug Baby where I sold blankets, burp cloths, simple baby items and I blogged about it on the side. Over time however, I grew to love the blogging more and the mass producing less.
And that’s how MADE came to be.
So.
When I was making and selling, these are the burp cloth sets I created.
Easy to make and fast to sell.
The cloths on their own are wonderful; I love using them with Clara. But when giving them as a gift or selling in a shop, it’s all about the packaging. Take an extra 5 minutes to personalize your name around the little bundle.
Let’s get started!
If you’re more of a video-project learner, I have a video for this right here:
Just click play, or watch it here.
Or continue here for the written instructions:
FABRIC Choices:
There are various fabrics to use for burp cloths. Mostly, you need something that’ll sop up the baby spit-up…cause if you’ve had a child that’s a spitter, you know how annoying that can be—especially when it ends up on your clothes as well.
Some people prefer store-bought cloth diapers as the backing for burp cloths because they’re super absorbent. I prefer this soft white chenille (purchased at Joann) because it’s soft and well, cute. I went with a cloth size of 10×18 inches, cause that means you can cut 12 cloths from 1 yard of 60 inch wide chenille fabric. Ding!
For the top fabric, go for cute cottons, silk, or flannels that coordinate with each other (not necessarily matchy-matchy, just cute). If the top fabric is rather thin, add an extra layer of white cotton fabric in the middle of the cloth for more absorbency.
I fell in love with the Michael Miller dot fabrics on the left and bought yards of each color. They became the basis of my burp cloth sets when running my shop. And I always threw a silky cloth in each set since they become super soft with washing and just look classy.
Okay, not rocket science here.
Cut 10×18 rectangles. Put right sides of the fabric together and pin (if you’re adding an extra layer of fabric to make it more absorbent, add that on the very top). Add a side label if you have them (read about my labels HERE). Sew around the edges, leaving an opening at the top.
Then trim the corners, turn the cloth right-side out, and pin the opening closed. Sew the opening closed by sewing a topstitch all the way around the cloth, about 1/4 inch from the edge of the cloth.
Finally, sew 2 lines on the top of the cloth, breaking it into 3rds. This just makes the cloth stay together nicely and helps it fold easily.
There you go.
Done!
To add embellishments on top, cut a double layer of knit fabric, pin to your finished cloth (in this case, a silver silk cloth), and sew in place. As you go around the curved hearts, periodically stop sewing, lift your presser foot, and allow the fabric to relax and bounce back.
And ALWAYS use a lint roller to wipe off stray strings before gifting or selling your goods.
Now let’s make the snazzy ribbon for the top.
Here’s what you do:
If you don’t have a personalized label for the top (read about my labels HERE), just leave it plain, or sew a patch on the top, a small scrap of fabric with a stamp on the top, whatever!
Fold and stack your burp cloths in sets of 3, wrap the ribbon around to measure the distance (make the ribbon a bit tighter than you think it should be so it’s nice and snug around the cloths), then sew it closed and slip it back around your cloths.
Simple stylin burp cloths ready to go!
At our house, we need about 6-8 cloths on-hand since Clara is a daily spitter.
But gifting a set of 3 to a friend is a wonderful amount.
And since they’re so easy to make, whip-up a huge ole stack and you’re ready for any baby shower.
Check out the Celebrate BABY archives HERE.
I have a whole stack of these to put on etsy. Just need to take some pictures!
What do you find is the best material to use? What did you use in the pictures above?
Cutey, cute, cute!!
I love these!
Absolutely fabulous. Not only do you make it look easy, you make the entire process beautiful! Gracias.
So adorable! Love the way you sewed up the ribbon to wrap them. That’s a fab idea Dana!
I love these. I made them last time you posted them for my now 19 month old. She had acid reflux and spit up a lot and I loved these burp cloths. Thanks so much!
I love these–so cute and so useful. The fabrics you picked and the way you packaged them is all genius. I’m a math person, though, and I’m pretty sure you can make *12* 10″x18″ burp cloths from 1 yard of 60-inch wide chenille. Unless I’m not understanding that you need two layers of chenille plus a layer of cotton for each burp cloth. If anyone is looking at this and calculating the cost per cloth, this would make them significantly cheaper. 🙂
I noticed that too Emilee. 🙂 Love this design for burp clothes….cute enough for gifts and still super practical!
1 yard of 60-inch wide chenille would end up being a total of 60″ x 36″ so that would break down to 6 x 10″ of width and 2 x 18″ of height… Or I guess…
10″x18″, 10″x18″
10″x18″, 10″x18″
10″x18″, 10″x18″
10″x18″, 10″x18″
10″x18″, 10″x18″
10″x18″, 10″x18″
Does that make sense? Or am I figuring that out incorrectly?
yes. you can make 12 cloths
I only see one layer of chenille for the backing and one layer of cotton/flannel for the front. Am I seeing it wrong as I am going to the store soon to get the chenille. I will be a grandmother in a couple of months and would love to make these with all the flannel scraps I have already. Thanks in advance.
Probably she accounted for shrinkage
I use Minky and it does not shrink, so you get more bang for your buck. Plus it is super soft, absorbent and parents love, love, love my burp cloths and bibs with Minky on the back.
these are just gorgeous!!! you have such a talent for making things look so good!!
This is my favorite burp cloth and my go to gift for baby showers! In fact I always get people calling and emailing later how the chenille is the best burp cloth they have!
I still have the burp cloths you made for me when Molly was a baby.
Do you mind me asking how they held up? Did you just throw them in the wash with a regular load or did they get special “treatment?”
🙂
So, so cute! Definitely the cutest set I’ve seen around, thanks for the tutorial!
Silent follower here hand to jump in tonight and say…YOU ARE THE BEST!!!! You rock girl…lol. I don’t how how you do it with the new baby when I have a 2.5 yr old that give me NO TIME…..
Love this!!! I’ll make me some in my next preggo…hehehehe
WTG Dana!!!!
I can’t wait to try these, what a perfect baby shower gift. Thank you for your tutorials!
You make something so simple, inspiring! Love the packaging and the beautiful way you sewed these up.
The chenille just makes them look so soft! Great bright photos as always.
Everything you make is gorgeous. 🙂 These are so lovely I might not want to use them and get them messy. 🙂 I love the ribbon and the fun fabrics and great texture! I have been favoring the thickest cloth diaper liners just b/c they absorb more moisture but that chenille texture is awesome.
i love chenille for burp cloths and washcloths! Where do you order your “Made” labels?
thanks. just found out my sister is pregnant again. need ideas. so perfect timing!
Dana, thanks for the tutorial. This is sure to become my new go to baby shower gift! I love em AND the ribbon!
Dana,
I just have to thank you for all that you share on your blog. You have MADE me rediscover my love of sewing with some of the most adorable patterns for my little guy. Thank you for taking the time to explain each step along the way and especially for all of the inspiration that can be found here.
Ditto! 🙂 Thanks Dana!!!
what perfect timing! i just bought fabric to make some for my sister, but i didn’t know how i was going to package them. yay! yours look so super soft!
I love these! My son was a huge spitter…. I got spit up down the bra on almost a daily basis :/ We just kept about 3 dozen of the cloth diapers on hand (no joke, we went through them like crazy!) but I would have loved to have these instead, they are so cute!! Will definitely be making some up to give as gifts in the future, thanks so much for sharing!!
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I purchased some burp cloths for my daughter who has newborn twin girls and she needs lots more. This is going to make her day when I whip up some in all her favorite colors and prints. Thanks for the tip about using the chenille. And the packaging is so cute.
these are so simple and adorable. I want to just make lots in all my favorite prints and put them in an etsy shop as an excuse to keep sewing them. lol.
Love it!! I went to buy chenille today to start a few for my sister-in-law. My question is about washing the chenille. I doubt the first time mom wants to have to worry about hand washing the new burp cloths (which is what the fabric label says…) or even separating them for a delicate cycle.
Ideas? Are there “sturdier” chenilles out there?
Thanks for your great info (as always!)
They actually wash up GREAT!—just normal old wash cycle with the rest of the laundry. The chenille feels even softer after washing.
Dana, do you wash the fabric before cutting and sewing also or you just let the customer wash them for the first time?
Great questions. With this project, I treat it sort of like a quilt. I do NOT pre-wash the fabrics and let the receiver wash it. I like how the layers of the burp cloth shrink up together with washing. And besides, most parents will want to wash new baby items anyway!
FYI…I didn’t have access to chenille when I started making my burp cloths BUT I did have a great bath towel from $ store with a chevron pattern for $3.50. It didn’t even feel cheap as some of the $ store towels tend to feel. I didn’t have to line the cloths because of the towel thickness. I don’t know measurements of my towel, didn’t think to do that or keep up with how many I could get out of one. Now I’m curious and will have to run tomorrow and pick up a few more just to find out! 🙂
I also like to have a bit of a cut out for better fit on my shoulder—guess it is a neck curve for lack of a better description. I also used cute flannel patterns and plain colored and have tried a cotton …actually a University of KY print…hmmm, blood runs blue in this house. I’m not sure I like the cotton simply because I don’t know how well it will absorb. I don’t have babies, by the way…mine is 19 and our oldest is 27….who is giving us our first grand-baby in November. Hence the making of burp cloths. LOL
I love how you went the extra step with the tags and the ribbon around them as well. I must borrow that one for the upcoming baby showers this summer for friends. Now friends are wanting me to make them for them but I have no clue how to put a price on things….never sold anything I’ve made before. Suggestions or advice on how you come up with a price?
it’s so hard to price things, which is why I stopped selling. You can never really charge what your creative time is really worth, or people won’t buy them :).
I think I sold my 3 pack set for $15 though back when I was selling. Can’t remember now. That was 6 years ago.
Good luck!
I’m a year late on this convo, but I love your tutorial. You had me at Michael Miller. For pricing, at a minimum add up your cost of materials and double it for your price. To add in labor, figure out how long each burp cloth takes to make and then determine what your time is worth. A good minimum might be $12/hr (or however much you could make per hour if you were working a paid job). Say each burp cloth takes you 15 minutes (1/4 of an hour). That means it cost you $3 in labor. If your cost of materials is $1, then your total cost per burp cloth is $4. A good rule of thumb in retail is to mark up 100%, which would make each burp cloth $8. A little pricey, but if you can make them faster, are willing to earn less per hour, or can get materials cheaper, you can probably get the cost down to $2-3 per burp cloth and then sell them for $4-6 per piece. I live in LA where things are more expensive in general, but people readily sell (and buy) handmade burp clothes at 2 for $12. Sorry, I love finance, and I love getting crafty – hope this helps someone looking to start a business!
always have loved these and those knit blankets with the ruffle. thanks for sharing the tutorial. dude that knitted blanket is AWESOME!
Love love love it. You have a great eye for fabrics and color. It’s just so beautiful. Now I’m gonna run out and get your fabric A to Z book.
Cool, thanks! Just made some, here in vermont
Thank you for the tutorial, even though there may be thousands, yours is the one that caught my attention through a pinterest post and I love it!
Great tutorial! I was planning to make some using clothe diapers for a shower gift but I don’t like the texture (or the price) of the ones available where I live. Do you prewash your fabrics for these? Thanks!!!
With all the ga-ga going around about unpaper towels, it looks to me like this could be one and the same, what do you think?
Love the burp cloths, make up in a breeze
Thanks for the tutorial! I am a beginner sewer (just got my sewing machine this year! never touched one before!). This has been a great project to help me practice sewing straight lines! =D My first few are a little crooked and wonkey, but still turned out fine and useable! Good thing I have a lot of family & friends with new babies!
I attempted to make a diaper stacker for my friends baby and it did not work out so well as I am new to using a sewing machine. This tutorial has given me new hope as I was just about to give up on sewing altogether. Thank you so much 🙂
LOVE this tute! Thank you!!!!
Phew!! Just finished making 32 of these!! My house felt like a burp cloth sweatshop for a few days there, but I’m so glad I’m done and now I am completely set for all the pregnant women in my life! Bring on the baby showers haha
LLOOVVEEE the cloths! I cant wait to make a ton of these!! I hope you dont mind I blog and share this idea with others to come and enjoy it like I do. Thank you!!
is there an easy tip you have for when you sew the 2 lines to divide up the burp cloth for folding? did you mark it?
These look just so good. I attempting them with corduroy for backing and having trouble with it stretching. Did you find this with the chenille and if so what tips do you have.
Thanks
These are beautiful gifts. What new mom wouldn’t love them.
I really want to make some of these!! Having trouble finding chenille at my JoAnn’s though. Have you ever used minky fabric? Any other fabric I could use to compare?
Love all your projects, Dana!
sure you could try that. Or you could use real cloth diaper/burp cloths from a retail store like Target or Walmart.
Thanks!! 🙂
I have used the terry cloth form JoAnn’s. Or you could use regular towels cut up if you find a good deal!
My Joannes didn’t carry the cotton chenille either but I found it at Hobby Lobby.
It’s so wonderful of you to share your beautiful work
With us. Thank you!
Hi. I have a question. I purchased some cotton chenille from Joannes to make these and some bibs with. I washed it- 3 times, and it smells awful! I have a front loader that isn’t particularly great but my other clothes and fabric don’t stink. This has a very strong chemical smell to it. Have you ever encountered that and is there anything I can do?? Even after bleaching it smells a little better, but seams just covered up. It’s worse when wet and since I’m making burp clothes and bibs- that get wet- there’s no way I can use this. Help!!
You need to run your washer on the sanatize setting with hot water. Do add detergent. This will take care of the horrible smell when you wash towels. Hope this helps!
Suzane
I had some trouble with the minky and chenille fabrics.. I couldn’t keep them
together they kept sliding which caused the cloth to be uneven. Can you tell me what I might have done wrong. I did pin all around, this is my first time using these fabrics. I don’t sew very much but have made some clothes for myself and grandkids. I made the blanket and the burp cloths. Please help if you can.
If you use the minky you need a walking foot or it will stretch and cause it to be uneven. I know this is wayyyy later than your comment but I had the same problem with a blanket I was making. The walking foot and lots of pins are the trick!
When sewing with 1 stable fabric (flannel, poplin, etc) and 1 annoying fabric (knit, minky, etc), keep the annoying fabric against the walking foot and sew on the stable fabric.
I sew this combination alot and this is what I do. Ideally, a walking foot is great, but I’m often too lazy to pop off my regular foot and use the walking foot, and this method works just as well.
When I said ‘walking foot’ in the first sentence, I really meant ‘feed dogs’. Keep the annoying fabric face down, facing the feed dogs and the stable fabric up, against the foot. Sorry, new mommy brain 😛
I make my burp cloths and bibs using Minky on the back. I agree with keeping the Minky side down on the feed dogs while sewing. But do remember to clean your machine and bobbin area frequently when using Minky. There will be a LOT of lint. I love using Minky for these projects, but you have to know to clean that machine frequently to keep it running efficiently. All the best! 🙂
What is the smallest amount of fabric you could get reasonably to make a bunch of different patterns in a set?
Many quilting fabric stores will sell “fat quarter” bundles – you can get 6-10 different fabrics, and get two burp cloths out of each one. I found some really cute ones from fabricworm.com.
1yd of Terry Cloth at Joann Fabric is about $9.99 – use the 40% off coupon and it will only cost you $5.99/yd and will give you 10 burp cloths (it isn’t 60″ wide like the chenille).
Fat Quarters are $1.99 each at Joann, and you would need 5 of them for you 10 burp cloths. However, you can also purchase clearance fabric or fabric by the yard which can work out to less.
With all of the coupons that Joann has available, I was able to get everything I needed for 10 burp cloths for about $11, or just over $1 each.
Love!! When you sold them did you prewash your fabrics? I always Pre wash my fabrics but wondering if I should do the same for time I sell… Sometimes prewash inch can dull fabrics a little. Do you prewash? If so do you do it for all projects? Would love to know your opinion! Thanks:)
Wow thanks auto correct….. Lets try this again!
Love!! When you sold them did you prewash your fabrics? I always Pre wash my fabrics but wondering if I should do the same for items I sell… Sometimes prewashing can dull fabrics a little. Do you prewash? If so do you do it for all projects? Would love to know your opinion! Thanks:)
I would also like to know about pre washing the fabric?? I want to do them for shower gifts. Also, what silky fabric did you use? Was it silk? Or something that looked like silk. So I was just wondering about washing silk. I’m so inspired! I want to start. I’m hoping Chenille won’t give me a fit to work on! Thank you for sharing! Yours are the nicest I have seen online by far!
I actually don’t prewash the fabrics here. I sort of like how the whole burp cloth shrinks up together a bit when you wash it the first time…sort of like washing a quilt 🙂
Thank you! Just the answer I was looking for! I just purchased some nice Chenille on Fabric.com.
I am making some items for a baby shower……I love your labels! Where did you get your labels? I think the burp cloths are a keeper….. did you wash the material before you put it together. Thank you for sharing!
Here’s info about my labels:
http://www.madeeveryday.com/2010/06/faqs-labels.html
I often do not pre-wash the fabric because I like how the two layers shrink up together when you wash the finished cloths later. Plus, I assume that moms of new babies probably wash all that stuff anyway before using them on baby.
So either way is fine!
Love these and within my sewing ability! I actually picked up some fabric this weekend to make a few of these. I’m wondering tho where you got your white chenille fabric? I am not able to locate that in any local stores (the sales associate couldn’t locate it either) and I’m not finding it on any popular fabric store’s websites either.
I found mine at Joanns.
But if you can’t find it, you can use other fabrics….a few layers of cotton fabric, fleece, minky, a cloth diaper, etc.
It was actually a Jo-Ann’s store I looked at but they couldn’t find it for me either and I’m surprised I’m not finding it on their website. I’m going to look at Walmart and Meijers tomorrow and see if I can find some cloth diapers that might work. Or fleece might be an affordable option since plain white cotton is more expensive than I thought. I wasn’t sure what fabrics would be super absorbent. Thanks!
Joann’s stopped carrying the chenille. We’re all out of luck there now. If your store still has some, stock up. Otherwise the stores can’t even get it anymore. At least not in NY or Maine. And I also checked the website, it’s no longer available.
This is the same issue in Minnesota. Chenille is no longer carried at JoAnn. That was really nice material too. If anybody finds a great alternative, please share!
I ordered some from fabric.com. It seems thicker than the fabric in the picture, but super soft.
I went to my Joann’s here in Utah, and just like everyone else, nothing. I did buy some terry cloth, and thought I would give it a try since that is what most towels are made of. I prewashed it, not sure of how much it would shrink. But, I guess we will see. 🙂
@Lane, what kind of fabric did you buy, and how has it worked?
Joann’s here in Denver is not carrying it anymore either. I did find it in limited quantity at another store but they wanted 9.99/yd. I ended up using terry cloth and they came out nice. The person I made them for loves them for how soft and absorbent they are. I did prewash all of my material and then washed it again after sewing before giving them. Just in case the terry cloth would shrink. What other materials have others tried?
Sorry, it looks like Chenille is not as easy to find as it once was. But no worries…there are plenty of other fabrics to use as your backing. Try using white terry cloth (or other colors…and you could use a towel from the store), flannel, a cloth diaper, minky, etc.
When I sew around after turning it right side out, they do not lay flat. what am I doing wrong?
Have you topstitched around the edges? After turning them right side out, pin around the edges and sew a stitch all the way around, about 1/8 inch from the edge. That should help it lay flat.
That is what made it not lay flat…
Did you clip the corners?
What kind of silky fabric would you suggest using?
just the poly satin stuff they sell at Joanns would work fine. It’s about $4/yard I think?
Did you pay someone to make the tags you use?
you can read about them here:
http://www.madeeveryday.com/2010/06/faqs-labels.html
Just got my first sewing machine (a lightening deal on a Singer on Amazon, Black Friday what whaaaat); unboxed a couple of hours ago; this was my first project. Thanks for making it so easy-peasy – I’ll be making a stack of them for my SIL who is due in April! 🙂
Quelle gentillesse et générosité de partager ton savoir avec nous, alors que tu pourrais garder tes secrets pour toi, c’est magnifique, demain je file acheter du tissu et je m’y met, j’ai un petit escargot à la maison qui bave du lait ^^^Merci beaucoup ce que tu fais est superbe 🙂
Thanks for the awesome tutorial! I just made 8 of these today – they were so easy to put together and look great! I can’t wait to use them when my little one arrives.
Hi- Loved your tutorial and made some burp cloths. I used the Michael Miller Ahoy Matey fabrics. I found out something though….they seem to be completely water resistant-water just beads up on them! What gives? What now?? HELP!
I am new to your blog and just wanted to tell you that your tutorial for these burp cloths is A++! I looked at several and yours was superior to all. I love how detailed and clear your tutorials are. Well done!
My daughter recently sent your website to me because she liked the baby circle skirts. I have a beautiful little granddaughter who is 5 months old, and I love to see, knit, crochet, cross stitch, etc. I am so excited about the patterns for the pacifier clips, burp cloths, blankets, and skirts. I’m a retired English teacher, and I’d give you an “A++++” for your patterns, tutorials, and especially for sharing them with everyone, especially proud grandma’s like me! Keep up the GREAT work!
Do you wash the either of these fabrics before sewing?
Very nice. My sister-in-law showed me some of her burp clothes a friend made and it got me interested. My family is large and we are always having new additions. Thanks for sharing this. I also shared this with our CafeMom group members – Holiday and Party Crafts – with a link back to your blog for the tutorial.
Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
I just love your burp cloths. I haven’t had the opportunity to try them yet. I will be giving it my best shot tomorrow. Thanks for all the helpful advice! Your advice is worth a million dollars to must of us. I am a quilter of 6 yrs and counting, so I am surely hoping to pull this off by Friday, for a baby shower. Thanks again! Brenda
Joann Fabrics no longer sells chenille. Where can you buy it? Or what can you use instead?
I have used terry cloth with much success. Unfortunately, it wasn’t available in a 60″ width at my local store, so 1yd will yield 10 burp cloths instead of 12. However, at $9.99/yd (before coupons) I figured it was worth it.
I am in LOVE with that flower/dot print. Do you happen to remember where you got it from or who makes it?
Cohen needs some of these
Dana, thanks so much for a great tutorial! I made some of these for my boyfriend’s sister’s new baby and I love the way they turned out. I posted about it on my blog: http://www.agirlcallederika.com/2013/07/burp-cloths.html I’m looking forward to using more of your tutorials!
This was a great tutorial and very fun project. I made some for my cousin and am now making more for another friend.
Just blogged about this tutorial! I have used it so often recently to make gift sets for friends new babies. I often get told that they look too pretty to use. Great way to use up scraps. Thanks Dana!
http://scienticiankate.blogspot.com/2013/10/scrap-happy-baby-gifts.html
Hi Dana
The JoAnn near me no longer carries the chenille you recommend for these 🙁 I also don’t see it on their website. Have you run into this issue? If so, where are you getting yours now? Or are you using a different fabric?
I just got back from Joanns and your right, no chenille. It is also not very easy to find online. I’d like to know where else she gets it too 🙂
Sorry I bought the chenille a couple years ago, right before I had Clara. Maybe they don’t sell it there anymore. You can do a google search and see if it pops up in a shop. Or, just use cloth diapers as the backing!…or minky, or something else similar….Terry cloth would be fun! You can buy a white towel and cut it up!
Use mInky. It is great for backing bibs and burp cloths. My customers love it!
I was at a craft fair today and purchased some of these today for an upcoming shower gift. I do love the chenille backing and am thinking I will try to make more with an old chenille bedspread I have! Thanks for all the pointers.
I loved your tutorial so when I made my own baby gift set I put a link to your website at http://thewhetmans.blogspot.com/2013/09/baby-gift.html
Thanks for Sharing
Where can u buy chanell . Iam in denver Jo-Ann’s no hobby lobby no.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/177807740/custom-super-absorbant-burp-cloths-4?ref=shop_home_active_3
This etsy seller is using your photo to sell her items. Thought you should know.
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Hello! Thanks for the tutorial! It´s great! I made some burp clothes!! Greetings from Barcelona and blessings!!
Hi,
I love your tutorial and your website! I assume you meant 10 wide by 18 long or the other way around? Thanks!
Thank you so much for this; had to modify, due to materials on hand, but even made the ribbon holder for them. Not bad, for a Beginner. Thanks for sharing.
These are wonderful! I can’t wait to make them. We have lots of babies that will be born here soon. Thank you for the idea to use Chenille. I never thought of that. I was using flannel but the moms tell me that sometimes it wouldnt absorb the spit up. Chenille would be so much better for this purpose. Thank you again. Have a great day!
Thank you so much for a great tutorial!!! I just finished a dozen of these and I love them. Thank you for a clean and clever tutorial!
Hello, I realize this blog post is from a couple years back, but after combing the comments I have a question that I didn’t see answered yet. Jo-Ann currently offers a polyester chenille, is this the same material you used back then or should it be strictly cotton fabric?
Absolutely fabulous. Not only do you make it look easy, you make the entire process beautiful!
Fabric.com sells cotton chenille. You should use cotton so that it absorbs. I use the chenille and coordinating cotton flannel.
Thank you for this post, these Burp Cloths are so Darling!!! I can’t wait to make a huge stack for my someday grands. Now if my grown children would just get on the ball!!!
OHMYG!!!! I love these!!! I have two grandsons born 10 days apart (Jan. 26 th & Feb. 5th, 2015). This is what I’ll be making this week!!!!
Thank you for this post, These baby burp cloth designs are brilliant.
Thanks so much for this post!
Do you use a walking foot when you make these? I’ve tried sewing these before & the chenille stretched on me. If you don’t use a walking foot do you have any tips on sewing with chenille??
These are soo cute!!! How many can you make out of a fat quarter of fabric?!
I made my first one yesterday! The Chenille seems difficult to work with, its kinda stretchy. I had a hard time keeping it all smooth while pinning to sew. What am I doing wrong?
Sorry you had problems with it. Stretchy fabrics can be a hard (and easier at some times) to sew with. It’s important to not pull the fabric as you sew. Chenille is not a knit fabric. But maybe this post will help a bit:
http://www.madeeveryday.com/2012/05/ask-dana-no-fear-how-to-sew-with-knit-fabrics.html
And this video, about how to sew with knits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYI9AG7pORc
This is such a beginner question – I know! Can you tell me when pinning the two right sides together- What type of seam allowance I’m using? 1/4? 🙂 I saw that it said 1/4 for the top stitching. Thanks for helping.
Thanks for this tutorial – I made several for my niece, and she loves them!
What’s a good online source for cotton chenille? I read the fabric on fabric.com and amazon has changed and is not very good anymore…
It looks really cute! Thank U for the tutorial. Do yoy have any idea if it is possible to buy cotton chenille in Europe? I cannot find it except from US online shops 🙁
Is the chenille you’re using 100% cotton? I’m not able to find it anymore Jo-Ann’s only has polyester??
Yes, I find 100% cotton is best for this — it’s much more absorbent. You can find it here – http://amzn.to/2z73nMr
Dana, I’ve been making these for the past week and have had a blast. I keep encountering one problem though; my fabric always slips and ends up becoming crooked once I start sewing. I have the pieces cut exactly the same, but even when I pin, the chenille or top piece continually slide around making my end product slightly sloppy. Any suggestions to help?
Sorry about that. You could try safety pinning the fabrics in a few places throughout the burp cloth, in the middle of the fabrics. This is similar to what quilters do, so the layers don’t shift.
Hi…couldn’t wait to make these for my new grandson. I had to order the chenille as my Joanns didn’t carry it. I started sewing on it today and am having a big problem w/ the chenille moving when stitching, even though i pinned it all the way around. It is so frustrating. Any tips on sewing on chenille?
Sorry you had problems with it. Stretchy fabrics can be a hard (and easier at some times) to sew with. It’s important to not pull the fabric as you sew. Chenille is not a knit fabric, but can have a tendency to “stretch” or move at times. Maybe this post will help a bit:
http://www.madeeveryday.com/2012/05/ask-dana-no-fear-how-to-sew-with-knit-fabrics.html
And this video, about how to sew with knits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYI9AG7pORc
dang..just read the comment before mine …with the same problem.
Hi Lois, see the above response
How much did you sell a set of three for when you were selling them? I am thinking to sell these at a craft fair or something.
Can you tell me where you got your name tags? Love them and your videos. thanks
Thanks Beth! There’s a link in the post for more info about the labels. ????
These are so cute!
What’s your favorite type of fabric to use for the top layer? I love the print with oranges on it but can’t find it to save my life. 🙁
Any cotton, flannel, corduroy print is cute on top!
Joann’s has a lot of food options on fabric in their novelty fabric section, I would look there
Hello! Is chenille aborbant? Could you use a towel like material? I can’t find chenille. Thanks
Yes, you can use towel fabric (terry cloth). That works great!
I loved your awesome instructions. I have bought chenille from Fabric.com, which looks great, and cotton fabric from Joann’s Fabric. I am planning on opening an Etsy Shop and I am wondering what you used for packing? I have bought from an Etsy dealer plastic bags, similar to what retailers use on cloths purchased online for my grandchildren.
Sure that sounds good! I sometimes wrap a piece of fabric around a set of cloths, like you see here in this post. Good luck!
Do you give free patterns??
Yes, there are some in my tutorials section here:
http://www.madeeveryday.com/tag/tutorial/
What a cute gift! I have a baby shower to go to next month and plan on making a few.
I recently became a grandma and a few of my nieces and a nephew have little ones and I wanted to make these cute burp cloths. I do sew a lot lately and have used up most of my labels. Where do you get your labels? Thanks!
Please tell me the seam allowance you used when sewing these. 1/4 or 1/2″?Thanks. Getting ready to make them tomorrow for my daughter.
Hey Rebecca, It doesn’t really matter to be honest, but probably a 3/8 inch or 1/2 inch seam allowance.
I’m a newbie and your YouTube Channel is awesome! I’ve been inspired to tackle this project, but my JoAnn’s hasn’t carried chenille for a long time and I thought there was a link to chenille online just the other day on here. Also, the link to the personalized labels isn’t working anymore. Could you update your links in this post. Thanks so much!
What about if I just surged the edges maybe with a wav stitch. Would that be sufficient
Sure you could try that! I like the polished look of sewing and turning it right side out…but serging is a great option too!
Can anyone suggest a good online fabric supplier for the chenille cotton? I used to shop at Joanne’s but the store near me has closed.
That’s where I used to get mine too! Bummer they don’t carry it anymore! You can also use Terry Cloth fabric—very absorbent. Or just buy a white bath towel, cut it up, and you can make a few burp cloths with it!