The Layette: Burp Cloths

Burp cloths are my standard baby gift to others because it's fun to play with sweet flannel, they're easy to make, and the end result is so practical.  Beyond burps, they are shoulder-protectors, sheet protectors, bibs, desperation wipe-up cloths in the diaper bag, and then, when the children are older, beloved soft loveys.

I found a few nice burpcloths left from my former babies (I stitched that sailboat onto a plain diaper while we were in Florida the winter I was pregnant with Ben - looking out over Naples Bay), but I was inordinately pleased to sew up some new ones.

Most of the flannel came from JoAnn Fabrics, collected at various times with a coupon or on sale.  I love this British print; I backed it with aquamarine and then happily stitched in pink around the edges.

These sweet violets on lavender came in strips from the creative reuse store.  I pieced the strips to make this burpcloth, with the addition of some cotton lace topstitched over each seam.  I love the result:  sweet and girly, but not pink (I recall that Genevieve was drowning in pink as a baby, and while I do love pink, the eye gets a little tired, yes?).

And I also sewed myself some nursing pads with flannel scraps, bamboo batting, and PUL.  I followed this tutorial.

The sweet baby things are starting to mound up on the shelf above the changing table, which is really a desk.  One of these days I'll really tidy it up good and show you the pictures.