Oh Baby! Part Two: Contoured Burp Cloth Tutorial

This is the tutorial for the second installment of 'Oh Baby!'. Click here for the first installment of Oh Baby!: Mini Baby Burps.


That is frost in the picture, not dust! It was slightly chilly this morning. And icy. I slipped and fell on the sidewalk. No broken bones, thank goodness!


To make the the Contoured Burp Cloths, you'll need to print out the template. Go here for detailed instructions on how to put the template together.

Ready? Let's begin!


You will need:
  • Free Template
  • Template Instructions
  • Sewing machine
  • Iron
  • 2 pieces of Flannel fabric, 12" x 19" 
  • - One Pretty piece
  • - One Stuffing piece, choose something that won't be seen through your pretty piece.
  • 1 piece of Minky fabric 14" x 21" 
  • Chalk Pencil or Disappearing Ink Pen
  • Coordinating Thread
  • Lots of Pins!
  • Point turner or Chopstick.

Gather your materials. Iron the two pieces of flannel together.  

Using a chalk pencil and the template, draw the shape onto the fabric. Draw a four inch tab on one of the straight sides (see picture, upper middle)

Cut out the shape. 

With right sides together (Minky dots facing up, pretty Flannel facing down), pin. There should be one inch of Minky all around the flannel. The extra Minky is essential since the Minky will shift, even with proper pinning! 

Place pins no further than two inches apart. As I've stated before, Minky is a tricky, slippery beast. It can only be tamed with pins! 


Sew 1/4 or 1/3 inch hem around the shape with a walking foot and a 3.0 stitch length. Make sure not to sew through the tab!

Trim away the excess Minky.

Use a scalloping motion with your fabric scissors to clip away excess fabric all around the the hem.

Flip inside out. Minky dots should be pointing outwards and Pretty flannel should be showing on the other side. Use a point turner inside the burp cloth to push out the hem. Pay close attention to each curve.

Iron the flannel side to flatten everything out. Do not iron Minky! Do not touch the minky edges with the iron! It will melt on your iron! 

Fold the tab pieces inward. Pin all around the burp cloth. Pin, pin, pin. This will keep the Minky from sliding while you topstitch.

Topstitch. 

Done!


Now make some more :-).




This is the tutorial for the second installment of 'Oh Baby!'. Click on the pictures (below) for the first and third installments, Mini Burps and Door Mufflers.


Mini Burps

Door Mufflers


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12 comments

  1. Wow! What a great idea. I've seen a few tutorials for burp clothes, but they're always the straight ones - this seems like a much better idea.

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  2. Great pattern and Tutorial. Wanted to use up some extra minky fabric but didn't like the straight patterns and a full peanut shape didn't sound like fun. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. You're so welcome! I like fabric-stash busting projects! That's why I listed measurements in inches instead of yards!

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  3. I am also admired of these and this is exactly for winter days

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  4. I want to try this but have a few questions. Is a walking foot absolutely necessary when working with minky fabric? Also I am not understanding what step you are using the liner flannel in. Could I sub cotton? What step is it listed in above?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Dana!

      I honestly think a walking foot is absolutely necessary. Due its dips and dots, Minky bunches up and/or stretches in novel and irritating ways.

      Since it helps feed fabric evenly, a walking foot makes it so much easier to sew or quilt through multiple layers. I use a walking foot for most projects - minky fabric, knit fabric, quilted pieces or anything with thick layers.

      If you do try this without a walking foot, double up on pins and sew slowly. Play around with the tension on your machine.

      Re: Liner Flannel

      This step is listed under the first set of 3 pictures - it's kind of glossed over and not explained very well - thank you for bringing it to my attention!

      The liner flannel (BEFORE the flannel is cut) gets ironed to the outer flannel. Just lay the outer and liner flannel on top of one another and iron together. The nap of the fabric makes the two layers "stick" together. After ironing, lay the template on the ironed-together layers and cut both layers at the same time.

      Some people use regular cotton for the outer and/or middle layers - it's up to you! If you look on Etsy, plenty of sellers use regular cotton for their burp cloths. I used flannel because it's so soft and absorbent - regular cotton won't take on those properties until it's been washed numerous times. The nap of flannel fabric also makes it kind of "stick"to your shoulder whereas regular cotton may slide around while you're using the burp cloth.

      Love these questions! Let me know if you have any more :-).

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  5. This is a brilliant tutorial. Thank you.

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  6. Just made this, it was easy. I'm a beginner. I can't get minky easily here in France so used two layers of flanel and one of cotton. My baby boys are expected in July, so I'll make a few more before then. Thanks for the tutorial.

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  7. i have made these burp cloths like this for years, fold the pattern in half and cut on the fold to save fabric and instead of the pinky fabric for the peeps without walking feet, u can use terrycloth for the backing, it is very cheap and easy to sew, additionally it is very absorbent for baby

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  8. Just a comment. If you are battling to sew on the minky (we call it polo fleece or arctic fleece) use a sheet of paper and pin the fabric layers onto a piece of paper - sew through all the layers and then gently pull the paper off afterwards. Works like a dream. Thanks for the pattern. xxx

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