Thursday, February 17, 2011

Make a Darling Baby Shower Gift on Your Lunch Break!

I love to create cute simple gifts for all kinds of occasions. I am having lunch with a friend tomorrow that recently had a baby. I have already made her a baby blanket but I wanted a burp cloth to go with it. I don't have a lot of time before lunch tomorrow so I decided to get this done on my lunch bread today and see if it was possible. I am happy to tell you it is absolutely possible to drive home, create your burp cloth, eat lunch and drive back to work all within an hr.

I realize some of you do not work outside of the home and are very busy moms. This something you can do when kids are napping or during quite time without making a huge mess or spending too much time.

This is a great gift idea for a baby shower or just baby gift. Very expensive, less than $5. It's the kind of gift you can make 3-4 of for $15 and they look darling bunched up and tied with a ribbon like a bouquet. I will be featuring that in a different post.

To begin with... You will need a package of Gerber burp cloths. Find at Walmart or Target! You get four cloths in different designs. They have girl and boy designs. These are great because they are already flame re-tardent. I picked out the below and set it on my craft mat which is so worth the investment. I waited until I got a 50% coupon at Jo-Anns and got a steal of deal on it.  I then picked out my fat quarter which measures 18" X 21". You can make at least two burp cloths with one fat quarter. $1.29 at Jo-Anns and they always have a huge selection.



I then press out both pieces.


I lay out the fat quarter over the burp cloth. I make sure I am only going up 4" from the bottom.


I then trim and fold over all edges 1" around and press with steam.


Here is a great secret for the speedy seamstress looking for shortcuts. I avoid using pins whenever possible. I love this Dritz Spray Adhesive also found at Jo-Anns. It's sort of pricey but will last a long, long time. I spray just little squirts all along the folded edges and then turn it over and position it in place and  press good with steam. It's not going to go anywhere.
 After pressing and positioning I go ahead and top stitch all around with a coordinating color of thread. In this case it was medium pink. I then press. When using a craft map you can just press your project right on it. No need for setting up the ironing board.

Now comes the embellishment part. Rick rack is so fun and colorful. I used 1/2" for this project. It's perfect.
I cut and position the rick rack on top and bottom of the fat quarter material. I leave about 3/4" extended so I can sew under on the back.
 Here I use my Dritz again and lightly, spray the rick rack, position how I want it and press it firmly down.
No pins to bunch up, much better than just eyeballing it. I then sew trim onto the burp cloth. When finished I press the whole thing really well. Here is the cloth fold in half.

Here it is finished and already to wrap or roll up with a ribbon around it. Whatever suits your fancy, so many ideas. Be careful with your embellishments. Don't get too carried away with bows and buttons, remember this is for a baby and babies CHEW on everything.

From start to finish it took me 25 minutes!
I love to machine embroider and this is the perfect gift to embellish with a darling design and to make it personal. If you have an embroidery machine you will have more fun creating these. I have a Brother HE-240 combination embroidery and sewing machine. I love it!!! Very easy to use and not expensive. Got mine on HSN flex pay.

I hope you all enjoyed this little tutorial. I had a blast putting it together. I will soon be showing different gift ideas using embellished burp cloths.

Thanks for stopping by!!




















6 comments:

  1. Very cute! Thanks for the tip about using spray adhesive...I'm gonna have to buy some! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
    Erica @ http://bisforboycreations.blogspot.com

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  2. Hi Susie
    I love your blog. And, what a darling craft. Thank you so much for the tea suggestion. I will put that on my wish list. And, Thanks for visiting My Cozy Corner.
    xo
    Betty

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  3. That is so cute! Fabulous gift. Thanks for linking up to my Catch a Glimpse party! :)

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  4. I want to make these for the next baby shower I go to. Love them!

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  5. Oh my word! I've sewn for most of my life and have never seen the Dritz spray adhesive! LOVE THAT IDEA! Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial and for visiting my blog! :)

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  6. Hi Susie...thanks for visiting my blog...I followed you back. This is a great tutorial. I never knew about the Dritz spray adhesive. I'm going to buy some ASAP! What a GREAT helpful hint. Nice to meet you and I'll be back soon.

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