• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Notes From the Parsonage
  • About Us
  • Faith
    • Encouragement
    • Bible Reviews
    • Seasonal Devotionals
    • Topical Devotionals
  • Family
    • Kid Product Reviews
    • Mama
    • Crafts
  • Homeschool
    • Morning Basket
    • Bible Classes
  • Table
    • Kitchen Product Reviews
    • Recipes
      • Desserts
      • Large Family Meals

DIY Burp Cloths- Two Sizes

June 20, 2010 by notesfromtheparsonage 2 Comments

Let's share this!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn

This sewing tutorial will teach you to make DIY burp cloths in two sizes- a standard size and a mini size. The standard size are the typical burp cloth, only these will be the best burp cloths you’ve ever used! The mini size is sized to fit into a wipe warmer to have warm wet cloth wipes on hand or it is perfect to put in the diaper bag for wiping little noses and taking care of small messes.

Now, how do you make them?

Dimensions of DIY Burp Cloths

Standard Size- 10″ x 18″

Mini Size\- 10″ x 6″

A standard size DIY burp cloth next to a mini size DIY burp cloth

The mini is a third of the size as the standard.

The Basics of DIY Burp Cloths

Orange fabric pressed and ready to cut.

To make either size DIY burp cloth, simply cut two rectangles of fabric (we’ll discuss fabric selection in a minute) and sew them together with right sides together, leaving a hole to turn the item right side out.

DIY Burp cloth sewn with wrong sides together with a small hole left to flip right side out. Corners are snipped so they'll be sharp when they're turned.

(You can see the hole in the above photo on the upper edge.) Clip the corners so when you turn your item right side out, you’ll have corners rather than rounds.

Flip right side out, pushing the corners out. Sew around the edge again, all the way around. Sew close to the edge to close the hole. Overlap your stitches where you began.

(This entire process is very simply termed “turned and topstitched” or “T&T.” When you see this, you know the whole process is sew, flip, sew.)

Close up of turned and topstitched edge

Fabric Choice for DIY Burp Cloths

Now, let’s discuss the arduous task of choosing fabric! So, you can clearly use whatever you want, but I have tried several things and used them personally, so I really do know what works.

Woven Cotton with Terry Cloth

The best option based on absorbency is woven cotton on one side (quilting cotton) and terry cloth on the other side. You can buy the terry cloth by the yard, but the best absorbency is to buy cheap towels from the mega mart which shall remain unnamed. You go to MegaloMart and buy their cheapest towels. Cut the end strips off (unless you like that line across your DOY burp cloth) and cut them into appropriate sized rectangles. I have tried both terry by the yard and cheap towels and I can tell you that cheap towels make fluffier, more absorbent burp cloths. (And you’ll have a broader range of colors.) Burp Cloths made out of cotton and terry are cute and functional. They catch the biggest messes from the biggest spitters! They are awesome! The drawback is the bulk. They are pretty hefty and don’t fold up very small, which makes them boogers to stick a few in your diaper bag. There are also limited colors available. Yes, towels come in many colors, but you may have trouble finding exact matches.

Two DIY Burp cloths on top of each other

Flannel Options

The next best option is flannel. You can use a woven cotton (quilting cotton) on one side and flannel on the other, or you can do both sides in flannel. Flannel is soft, thin, and absorbent. The flannel/flannel make awesome wipes in the mini size! (Flannel/bamboo velour make some super awesome wipes in the mini size- but that can be expensive!) Solid flannel comes in more colors that terry and even more than towels. Cotton/flannel burp cloths are perfect for stashing several in your diaper bag for emergency use. They also work well if you have a frequent spitter that doesn’t spit a lot each time. They fold down so easily. You can also use flannel on one side and terry on the other side, if you are so inclined. Flannel is much softer than the terry.  Flannel is also really cheap!

Folded up DIY burp cloths showing the difference in thickness when using Terry cloth vs. using flannel.

Cotton Knits

You can also use a cotton knit in place of woven cotton. I tend to use woven cotton because it comes in so many prints and patterns. I can find so many cute fabrics. Knit on one side and terry on the other do make some awesome wipes in the mini size, though they can be a little rough (especially on little noses), but can clean poo off little butts like nobody’s business. You can also use knit on both sides, but they are hard to sew and are not my favorite. But if you have some old tees and need wipes, go ahead and use them to make a bunch of the mini size! (If you have a serger, you can just serge two layers of knits together instead of T&T.)

Woven Cotton with Chenille

I think chenille on one side and woven cotton on the other is the most beautiful and functional version of the DIY burp cloth. However, chenille is way more expensive than I want it to be. But to make a baby gift just that little bit *extra special* I will splurge because they are spectacular.

Rolled up DIY burp cloths showing the difference in thickness in Terry vs. flannel.

Bad Fabric Choices for Burp Cloths

You can use whatever you like, but there are a few things that I thought might be nice, but really suck when made into something you need to actually function!

Minky Fabrics

Don’t use minky. It sounds like a nice idea- a diy burp cloth with cotton on one side in an adorable pattern and super soft minky on the other. Well, it is gross when a kid pukes on the minky and it isn’t absorbed at all! It just sits there and you touch it and it is cold, then the baby rubs his face in it and he has puke all over his cute little face because minky does not absorb! Yes, the diy burp cloth is cute as can be. Yes, before the baby is born you run your hand over it and feel the softness and you get all mommy-eyed thinking about your soft, sweet baby cuddling up on your shoulder with this divine burp cloth you made. Then you use it once, have puke smeared everywhere on you and adorable baby, and you never pick that burp cloth again. Until your mother-in-law visits. *laughing* (That was a joke. I am not at all responsible for mothers-in-law getting covered in icky baby puke from a non-absorbent burp cloth!)

Fleece

The next fabric not to use is fleece. It seems like it’d be a nice choice. Many baby things are fleece. Fleece is soft and fluffy. Fleece comes in bazillions of colors. But let me inform you, fleece repels water. That is not a good feature for a burp cloth. (If you need liners for cloth diapers to keep diaper rash cream, bacitracin, or petroleum jelly off your diapers, fleece makes a good liner. Other than that, keep away from the fleece!)

Two stacks of diy burp cloths showing the difference between the thickness of Terry cloth vs. flannel.

So, go sew! Go ahead! Make DIY burp cloths in all the sizes for yourself, your friends, your neighbors, that person across the country that you don’t know but paid you to do so!

DIY Burp Cloth in 2 Sizes with pictures of two stacks of burp cloths

Other Notes from the Parsonage Posts You Might Enjoy

  • Doubly Twirly Skirt Sewing Tutorial
  • Plastic Bag Holder Tutorial
  • Crayon Wallet Tutorial
  • Superhero Cape Sewing Tutorial
  • Cowboy Bib Sewing Tutorial
  • Half Yard Baby Shower Gift

Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: burp cloth, burpie, cloth diapering, cloth wipes, etsy, free sewing tutorial, how to, Moose and Wormy, sewing, sewing tutorial, turn and topstich, wipie

Previous Post: « Child’s Ruffled Half Apron Sewing Tutorial
Next Post: Pixie Skirt Sewing Tutorial »

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Ask LJ: Sewing Beginners – Notes From The Parsonage says:
    March 23, 2016 at 2:42 pm

    […] Burp Cloths […]

    Reply
  2. 2020 Favorites – Notes From the Parsonage says:
    December 31, 2020 at 2:33 pm

    […] I’m just going to tell you, I make superior baby wipes. My wipes hold up better and clean better than any other cloth wipe I have tried. They fit well in […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Let’s connect!

  • Facebook
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Hello there!

Mother holding a one-year-old drinking from a water bottle

I’m Lindsey Jane, wife of a pastor and mama of 9 (yep, 9). Read along as I write about faith and family!  You can read more about our family and me here.

Try Audible Plus Today!

Copyright © 2023 Notes From the Parsonage on the Foodie Pro Theme

4 shares