MIY Monday: Gifts for New Baby

My friend Michelle is going to have her 6th baby any day now (though she's really hoping it's not before tomorrow, since they are scheduled to go to an Astros game tonight!) A few weekends ago, we threw her family a baby shower and I was delighted to make a few things for her to use with the new baby. She will be using cloth diapers with her new little munchkin, but these items will be good even for a mama using disposable diapers.

I made a soft, padded travel changing pad, some flannel wipes, and a nursing cover (pictured at end of post).

I purchased a package of nice receiving blankets that coordinated with the colors of her baby bedding. One pack (4 blankets) is enough to make these items, plus have some left over to embellish burp cloths, AND have one of the blankets un-cut to give as a matching receiving blanket. This pack cost me $10 at Walmart, and I thought that was a great price to pay for a sweet, custom gift set.

I didn't exactly measure anything; this is a super easy project. One of the blankets, cut in half lengthwise seemed to be a good size for a changing pad.

I used two different blankets, so each side would look different, but coordinate. I cut them and then measured out a piece of thin quilt batting to go between the layers of flannel.

Pin pieces (WRONG sides together with batting in between) and, if desired, also pin a long piece of ribbon in between the layers on each end, so the pad can be rolled and tied.

Sew together.

Trim the batting between the flannel layers.

Cut a frayed-edge around the changing pad.

Wash and dry the pad, and the finished look will be nice and soft.

Now, a note about wipes: if your mama-friend is not going to use cloth diapers, these flannel wipes are still great for wiping little faces and hands. She can moisten them, put them in a travel wipe box, and have them in the diaper bag for an outing.

If you think your mama wouldn't use the wipes, you can make an extra changing pad... it's always nice to have more than one!

For the wipes, I took the left-over halves of the two blankets I wanted to use and folded them into a square (roughly 7x7, I think) and just cut them like that so they would all be the same size and I would have to painstakingly measure every wipe.

Take one square of fabric and sew a stitch around the entire square, leaving about 1/2 to 3/4 inch allowance. Then use your scissors to go around and cut a frayed edge on the wipe, just like the changing pad. Throw your wipes in the washer and dryer with the changing pad, plus one of the blankets (un-cut) to soften them up.

You're done!

I saved one of these blankets and will use it to make embellished burp cloths, and give them to her when the baby is born.

Oh, and here are pictures of the nursing cover. Let me know if you're interested in seeing a tutorial on how to make one of these.