Because everyone deserves something cute to get sick in...

I’m at the point in my life where my friends are starting to have babies. Like, on purpose. They get married, they buy lovely houses, they have children. It’s actually quite nice. I get to go visit their grown up lives and then come home to dye my hair purple and curl up with my Ouija blanket (everyone adults in their own way). It’s also really neat to see these little people who look like my friends. Like..that baby took your face. Genetics are crazy, man.

One of my favorite people recently rolled the genetic dice and won big time, in the form of gorgeous twin daughters. I got to meet them over the holidays and they are precious little balls of wonderful. I won’t post a picture of them here, since she has decided to keep them off the internet (smart move, Mom!) but I can assure you that they are adorable angels made of fluff and sunshine.

DISCLAIMER: Not my friend’s twins

Of course, I had to make them a gift. Something that said “way to be born!”  Unfortunately, I’m more of a dog person. I don’t know a whole lot about babies. I know they like to sleep, eat, dirty their diapers, and spit up. Well, I don’t know if they LIKE those things, but they definitely do those things. I have a vague memory of my siblings and cousins being babies and being allowed to hold them. I always had to have a cloth in case they spit up and I needed to wipe their mouths.

I’m living on the edge here, both by not having a rag and by the angle of this photo

I also do not know which cousin this is because I am “Forget which baby is in the picture” years old, so primo/as if you recognize yourself please let me know.

Eureka! What if those cloths were pretty in addition to being functional?

Okay, I’m not the first person who had this idea. But this is my blog and my tutorial, so here we go! Pretty Baby Bubble Cleaners (I’m just not fond of the term “burp rag” so I’m going with “bubble cleaner.” Again, my blog, my rules.)

Supplies

*cloth diapers (I ordered a package on Amazon)

* fabric (I liked the idea of mixing it up, so I bought a variety of fat quarters)

* coordinating threat

* sewing machine

Step One

Wash your fabric. Seriously. When I was taking a class at JoAnn Fabric the teacher told me that they treat the fabric with formaldehyde to make it stiff and you most definitely do not want to give your little baby loves a gift that could be used as an embalming agent. Also, cloth diapers tend to shrink so you want to make sure that you’re starting with actual size.

Step Two
Trim the cloth diapers so they are the same size as your fat quarters. In a perfect world the fabric would start out the same size, but…

So you have to do a little bit of cutting, which we all know is not my strong suit. Luckily, we’re working with a bigger section of fabric so I was okay. Well, I was okay for me. I didn’t completely screw it up, okay?

Step Three

Take the patterned fabric and turn it pattern side down on the diaper. Then, using the coordinating thread, sew three and a half seams. Yup, three and a half. Before you sew up that last half seam, turn the patterned fabric right side out.

Step Four

Sew up the remaining opening with a ladder stitch. I’ve gotta say, I’m getting a lot better at the whole ladder stitch thing. I mean, as long as you don’t look too closely.

Step Five

Do it again. And again. Like I said, babies throw up a lot so you’re going to need quite a few of these. I decided to put Wonder Woman on while I was sewing which was fun and appropriate because those two little girls are going to be wonder women.

Step Six

Write a personal note that the babies won’t be able to read, but that references all of the times you and their mom got a little crazy together and needed something to throw up in. You know, stuff every child wants to hear about their parents.

One of my favorite things about crafting is making things for people. It adds a little personal flair to the gift. Have you ever received something handmade?  Let me know in the comments!