I’m hosting a baby shower this Saturday and made these cute burp cloths for the Mom-to-be.
These kind of burp cloths are amazing!
They are large and hold lots of spit up, perfect for new mommies.
If you buy them just by themselves, they are very plain.
With our large assortment of ribbon and fabric, we must dress them up!
I’m going to show you the most basic way of doing this,
but please feel free to get creative and embellish your way. 
- Supplies –
Prefold Cloth Diapers (You can find these in baby sections near the onesies.)
Fabric – fat quarter gives you enough for three
Ribbon or Ric Rac
Coordinating Thread for fabric and ribbon
We carry everything you need to embellish these burp cloths!
Click the links to check our our huge selection.
First things first. Choose your fabric.
I chose Grass Green Foot Prints in
Grow with Me by Deb Strain & Daughters for Moda Fabrics
and Cream Main in Mod Tod by Sheri Berry Designs for Riley Blake.
When you get your supplies, I suggest washing your fabric and the cloth diapers.
Press out the wrinkles and then move on to the first step.
Measure the area you want to cover.
When you measure the area to cover, it isn’t seam to seam.
You can feel a thick center to the diapers, and we want to cover that.
I found that not all the diapers were created equal, so my measurements are guidelines, not exact measurements. Make sure to double check.
I measured mine to be 5″ x 19″.
Add an inch to each measurement.
This means we will cut our fabric to 6″ x 20″.
This will give us plenty of wiggle room later on.
With these measurements, you should get three pieces of fabric from one fat quarter.
The next step is to fold and press your edges.
I suggest laying your fabric on top of the diaper and see how much you need to fold it. It will vary with each diaper. Generally, you will fold about 1/4″ down.
Pin your pressed fabric to the center of the diaper.
Using a white or coordinating color thread, sew all the way around the fabric very close to the edge.
Make sure to back stitch.
Now we will add our ribbon along the edges.
I used our custom made Saddle Stitch Ribbon in 3/8″ Brown/White.
These are very high quality and a great price at $2.29 for 5 yards.
Cut your ribbon the length of the fabric.
Seal your ends with your preferred method. I use a lighter.
Pin the ribbon along the seam of the fabric.
Using a color coordinating thread, sew down the length of the ribbon.
I did a stitch straight down the center, but sewing along the edges is best.
Back stitch at each end.
And you’re done!
So easy and it makes such an impression.
I can’t wait to give these Embellished Burp Cloths to my friend!
And I am already working on some girly ones for another friend.
These will have Ric Rac and frayed edges, so cute!
Dress yours up with Lace, Ric Rac, Ruffles and more!
*NEW* I added these cute burp cloths with Ric Rac and Frayed Edges!
To add Ric Rac follow these easy steps:
(Sorry, I was in such a hurry I didn’t have time to take pictures!)
Press your fabric on the sides where you would be sewing it down to the cloth diaper.
Open your crease with the right side of the fabric facing up.
Pin the center of your Ric Rac to your fabric down the crease.
Sew, back stitching, down the center of the Ric Rac.
When you’re finished, fold the crease back under the fabric again.
This will leave the cute edge of the Ric Rac. Press the edges again.
Sew the fabric down with your coordinating thread, just like in the tutorial above.
Now for the frayed edges burp cloth!
Instead of pressing the fabric back along the sides, I left the rough edge out.
Make sure to fold under the top and bottom of the fabric.
Sew around your fabric, leaving 1/4″ edge on the sides.
Cut into your edges, stay away from the stitching, every 1/4″ or so.
There is no exact science to this.
When you’re finished sewing and cutting, throw it into the
washing machine and dryer and see the cute fraying unravel.
I love how they all turned out!
12 Comments
I just bought some really cute fabric and it will be perfect for this project!
These are TOTALLY my favorite burp cloths—to use for my own babies AND to give as gifts:)
Do you flip the diaper over and cover the back side as well? Or is just one side covered?
Hi Kathy! I just cover one side. The diaper itself is so absorbent, that I wanted to leave one whole side showing.
This may be a dumb question. I have been looking into the cloth diapers and there seems to be a few different kinds. Is there one kind that is better than another? I think I ended up getting pre-folded birdseye 3-ply cloth diapers. Just wondering what type you used for this project?
Hi Krystal! Not a dumb question at all! There are different kinds and the kind you want to get are thicker. I have bought some before that are the thin kind and those don’t work quite as well. I am not sure exactly which kind I got. I took one out of the package at the store to make sure it was the right kind. The one you mentioned sounds about right to me. It will have two seams and an absorbent part in the center. I hope this helps! And have fun!
Oh and p.s. – I dyed some of my cloths and it makes them even cuter! Imagine all the fun colors. – Shirley 
I was wondering what width you used for the ric rac burp cloth? I am trying to figure out if the 5mm is wide enough or if I need to purchase a bigger width! Thank you!
Hi Hannah! I used the 3/4″ Ric Rac – http://www.theribbonretreat.com/Ribbon/34-ric-rac.aspx. I am not sure how that translates in mm. Hope this helps! – Shirley
I see you cover the center of the diaper. You have the two sides of the diaper. Is that just folded in your picture? I think you are wanting us to use the whole diaper as the burp pad, and you have just folded those sides under!
Hi Margie, yes, only the center is covered and in my pictures, the sides are folded under. The fabric goes from top to bottom and in the middle covering the seams of the cloth diaper. Does that answer your question? – Shirley
I love this tutorial, but I have a question! I used the pre-fold Gerber brand from Wal-Mart, thicker middle as mentioned. Washed and dried them before I started but “inside” the middle sections the cotton is bunched and I can’t straighten it out. I’ve tried ironing but it’s not laying flat. Any suggestions? If you hold it up to the light, you can actually see it bunched up but I don’t know how to fix it. lol
Thanks so much!
Shelly Lambert
Hi Shelly! Thank you so much. I am so glad you like these cute burp cloths. I have made multiple burp cloths from this tutorial and my burp cloths always bunch but not as bad as those did that you purchased. Mine did bunch a little bit, but as I was sewing the fabric to them, I would try to straighten/flatten the inner lining/batting as I went and it seemed to help tremendously. It just made the process of sewing on the fabric a little longer, but my finished products has ended up really cute. I am sorry you are experiencing issues with your burp cloths, but hopefully this will help a little. Good luck and have a great day! Michelle