Baby Bath Mitt Tutorial

You will need

• The pattern (click on the picture below and then print it - I hope it works! - or just draw your own by tracing around an oven mitt)
• Terry toweling. I used a hand towel I got from Kmart for $1, and got two bath mitts out of it (but if I cut each piece separately instead of two at a time, I could get 3). Recycle a towel you have at home or pick up a fun coloured towel from the op shop or a discount store like Red Dot.
• 7 x 20cm rectangle of ribbing (you can use elastic and make a casing instead if you prefer).

 1. Cut out your pattern pieces.

2. Lay your pattern pieces one on top of the other, matching up all the edges. Starting at the bottom (wrist end) on the thumb-less side, sew about two-thirds of the way up (the stopping point is marked on the pattern with an arrow, and in the picture below with a pin). Don't go all the way around, make sure you stop before you get the the curve.

3. Open out your bath mitt and lay it flat, right side up.

4. Fold your ribbing in half length-ways, and line up the raw edge with the wrist edge of the bath mitt (if you're using elastic and casing, you'd do this with your casing material - fold it in half, wrong sides together and line up the edges like you would with the ribbing).

5. Sew along the raw edge, stretching the ribbing as you go by pulling it towards you as much as you can while sewing it. This will gather in the wrist a little bit and make a snug, comfy wrist band (if you're using the casing/elastic, just sew it normally, then attach your elastic to one end. Thread it through, pull it out as much as needed to gather it in, then sew the other end into place). Overlock this edge.

6. Place the mitt right sides together again, and starting from where you left off, finish sewing all the way around the edge of the mitt. Overlock the entire edge. Its easier to overlock if you change the settings so it doesn't cut off the excess material as it overlocks, this way you'll be able to get around the difficult curves without accidentally cutting into something.

7. Turn your bath mitt right side out, and put your baby in the bath so you can use your new bath mitt!

Burp Cloth Tutorial

I love these. I wish I'd had them for my first two babies. I just used folded-over flannelette nappies with them and they just didn't cut it with my spewy babies! I'm in the process of making a pile for our new bubba.

The main idea came from my husband's cousin's wife (got all that?), one of several wonderfully crafty girls in his family, who posted some pictures of some she'd made on facebook. She used two hand towels sewn together with a section of pretty fabric at the top. I wanted something less bulky but still absorbent so I adapted them a little.

You will need (for a set of 2):

* 2 hand towels. I picked mine up from Kmart for $1 each. You can also use terry towelling or chenille cut to size, but I like the range of colours hand towels come in and I'm up for anything that makes life easier - no measuring and cutting to size!  

*Fabric. I bought 60cm of 112cm wide fabric, which was exactly enough for 2 burp cloths and the decorative strips. 


1. Lay your hand towels side by side on the fabric, put a few pins in them to hold them in place then cut around them.

2. Cut the strip of leftover fabric into four equal strips lengthways.


3. Take one strip, turn the long edges under about 1/4 inch and press. Do the same with the other three strips.

4. Take a hand towel and position two of the strips where you want them. Pin into place, and then do the same with the other hand towel.

5. Top stitch down each side of each strip, and do the same to the other towel.

6. Now lay your hand towel back on your fabric, right sides together and pin around the edges 

7. Stitch all the way around the edge, leaving an opening at one end so you can turn your burp cloth right side out later. In the picture above, I've marked where my opening is going to be with pins (at the bottom end) so I wouldn't forget to leave it open!


The seams will lay flatter and be easier to top stitch later if you stitch alongside the binding, like this...

Instead of ON the binding like this...

7. Trim away the excess fabric and clip the corners (want to know what clipping corners means and why to do it? See Make it and Love It and click here)

,8. Turn your burp cloth right side out and top stitch all the way around the edges.

 

And voila, a very handy set of burp cloths that can be used as change mats, to put under baby on the floor or whatever else you need them for.

 You can also use a waterproof material like PUL, polyurethane or even a recycled shower curtain instead of the fabric, or sandwich it between the fabric and the towel. Just cut the waterproof fabric to size, then at Step 6 lay it down first, then lay the fabric and towel with their right sides together on top and continue. You could also try appliqueing cute shapes or letters to the towel instead of the plain strips.