« valentine | another sewing project »
evening burp cloth. not exactly black tie.
2007 @ 10:51 am
(I apologize for the less than stellar pics)
Life’s been pretty hectic these days. I’ve picked up some odd job work (ever sent 700 faxes in a day?), had a friend visit (never. drinking. again. ever.) and have been teaching
beginning knitting over at Brooklyn General. As you can imagine, it’s pretty tough to work in there and not constantly be thinking about projects. Constantly. My co-worker (and mommy to MJ’s best baby bud) and I have a new mantra, “I could make that… but I won’t”. And not for lack of wanting to–only for lack of time!
One such project was a burp cloth–conceived the moment I saw the fabric, an Alexander Henry print.
Finding the baby was secondary and as it happens, one popped into our lives on Valentines Day. Wee Rory Mac. I learned A LOT about my Singer (Futura CE-200 for those interested) during this project. The best thing though? It only took me two hours from start to finish–including a browse through possible animal motifs to include. That’s a significant improvement over the monogrammed Christmas stockings. I can feel the learning curve flattening–what a relief! I’m going to give an overview of how I did the burp cloth, including some embroidery hooping detail. These are written from a beginner’s perspective so excuse the obvious notes.
Step 1: Wash cotton and the burp cloth so shrinkage will be less of an issue for the recipient. Press both pieces.
Step 2: Embroider name on burp cloth (details below). Choose the nicest side, obviously.
Step 3: Cut fabric to equal dimension as burp cloth. I my case, 12×18. Pin with right sides facing, make sure that the pattern of the nap of the fabric is in the same direction as your lettering.
Step 4: Sew with a 5/8″ seam allowance. I suppose you could cut this closer to the edge, but I decided to play it real safe since my burp cloth was not exactly setting at right angles. I am famous for starting my seam right at the edge, forgetting completely about the seam allowance. Start your sewing 5/8″ into your piece! Leave a three inch space to pull the material right side out when you are done.
Step 5: Trim your corners and any other bulky edges. and flip right side out. Press like a mofo.
Step 6: You could be done here, but the piece will feel more like a pillow case than a single piece of material. I chose one of the myriad decorative stitches available on my machine to sew two columns up the length of my cloth, but a nice zig zag will do the trick! I sewed two inches in from the finished edge on either side. And don’t think for a minute I didn’t draw a line to follow with tailor’s chalk.
Step 6: Blind stitch the opening closed and press again, just to be sure
Okeedokee–if you’ve found this blog because you have an embroidery machine and are looking for guidance of any kind, this section is for you. First off, joining the FuturaEmbriodery Yahoo Group. It will save you tons of trouble and also answer the perennial question–how the FUCK do I hoop a onesie?
Embriodery details: To get the name on the cloth, I used a new-to-me hooping method, whereby you do not hoop at all. Sweet. I marked my center with a red tailor pencil and tried to get it as close as possible to the hoop marks. It’s a little off. Eventually I’ll take the time to learn one of the several centering techniques described on the listserve. For now, this is good enough! The letter is just what came with my Futura software. This may be why it only took me an hour to do the embroidery. I did nothing to tax the computer’s tiny brain.
Project Notes for those embarking on this project (or for myself in the future):
1. different burp cloth material. I chose to use the Gerber birdseye prefold diapers since they proved to be the best for Maia. They fold small and didn’t get bunchy once washed as the premium ones tend too. They are cheap though and it’s pretty obvious. Fine for everyday use, but not for something you want to be special! Plus, the embroidery would look nicer on a tighter weave.
2. Get a handle on starting and finishing machine’s decorative stitches. The endzones are hairy–literally.
3. possibly only back a panel of the burp cloth rather than the entire thing. A crisper edge would be nice. But, maybe it’s just me.
4. Find a matte cotton or wool blend machine embroidery thread. I just like this look better than the shiny polyester!
So it’s not exactly innovation, but it’s a nice little project! I’ll definitely be making more!
Comments
What a great fabric. Cute burp-cloth, you’re really getting the hang of that embroidery machine aren’t you?
i’m so so glad that you used that fabric! it’s adorable. (you’ll need to make one for baby gleek!)
I agree - that’s just about the cutest fabric ever, and with the embroidery - awwww. The only risk is that it may perhaps be too cute to burp on?
Adorable! Thanks for the tutorial ~ I just discovered 2 more of my friends are pregnant! Must. Make. Gifts. By the way, my confirmation word is bordering on obscene.
I wish I knew more babies so I’d have a reason to make these ! I love your sense of aesthetic, these are really neat. Thanks so much for the detailed instructions too, writing up tutorials can be a bitch sometimes.
My God, what are the odds: you write this tutorial in the same month that I decide to make my first burp cloth. Crrrazy. And the rest of your blog is a treat too!
Thank you,
[…] I’ve just completed a few burp cloths (for which I have my own tutorial here) in need of revising. Next post (tomorrow) will be the updated tutorial! Just in case you’re looking for a holiday weekend project… […]
oooh! it’s so cute! and you know how much i LOVE that animal print fabric. adorable.