Chenille Burp Cloths

I have four kids and have used a lot of burp cloths. My boy, Jack, was especially good at spitting up. I think that makes me an authority on the subject and I will say that these really are the best. They're cute, absorbant, and soft. And they don't look like an attempt to disguise a cloth diaper.

Materials needed:

-Cotton print fabric of your choice. The remnant bins are especially good for this.

-White flannel for the middle layer. I've used whatever leftover flannel I've had and it works fine, but it can sometimes show up through your top layer if you have a light print. I like to use the plain white for this purpose.

-Cotton chenille. You can find it with all the other baby soft fabrics, like minkee. It can be pretty spendy, like $12/yd, so try to buy it on sale or with a coupon. I have found it at both Walmart and JoAnn, but prefer the stuff from JoAnn because it is softer.

The rest is super easy. Cut one 11" x 18" rectangle out of each fabric, the cotton print, the flannel, and the chenille. If your print has a pattern with a definite up or down, be sure to pay attention to that.

Lay out your flannel layer first and smooth it out. Then put your chenille down, right side up. Then put your print on top, right side down. This is really important! You want what will be the front and back of the burp cloth facing each other. Smooth everything out and pin the heck out of it to hold it all in place.

Sew with a 1/2" seam allowance. We're going to sew most of the way around, but we need to leave an opening for turning. I start on the short side, a few inches away from the bottom corner. Sew all the way around, turning corners as you go, until you get back to the same short side that you started with. Sew a few inches down that side and then stop, leaving a hole for turning.

I seem to NEVER remember to take pics while I am actually working on the project, so here's a little illustration of how to sew to leave the hole open.

Clip straight across each corner, being careful to not cut any of the stitching. This will help the corner turn easier and look better. I use my seam ripper to gently pull the corners out nice and neat. The last thing is to just top stitch all the way around, which is going to close the hole. Before you start sewing, fold the hole in so that it matches the rest and pin the hole shut. I start sewing at the top of that hole and just work my way all around. Use an 1/8" seam allowance.

If I am giving them as a gift or selling them in my shop, I either use two of the same fabric like in the picture, or I'll use two coordinating fabric. Then I tie them together with a ribbon to make it pretty.