Nursing Cover/Swaddling Blanket Tutorial

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a bunch of baby related tutorials with all of you and at the end I will be showing you how I put them all together to make the most precious baby gift for my sister in law. So first up is this great Nursing Cover/Swaddling Blanket Tutorial.

With the addition of each baby I realized that I actually needed and wanted less "stuff" to get by. After all, I had a newborn, a 16 month old and a 3 year old all in tow. The less stuff I had to carry, the better. So I never used a nursing cover plus I always wore Glamour Mom or Bravado nursing tanks, so those allowed me to nurse in public while being discrete. However there were many times I wish I had one, and ended up resorting to using a baby blanket (that I always had on hand) to cover up with. With baby #2 I purchased a few swaddling blankets from Amazon that I just loved. They were actually just soft cotton knit blankets with rounded edges. They made a great little cover up when needed and I loved how lightweight and breathable they were, plus the material was the best for swaddling or covering up that little baby of mine. The only problem I had while nursing with these blankets was that since my little one wasn't used to being covered up while nursing, she kept pulling the blanket down, so let's just say it was a struggle staying discrete at times.

So when my sister in law became preggers with baby #5 I knew I was just going to make her things that she needed and would use. After all, she is going to have 5 in tow now...so the less things to carry the better. So the first thing I thought up and made for her was this nursing cover/swaddling blanket. After making it, I so wish I would have thought of this before. It definitely would have saved me from a few embarrassing moments, oh well! These nursing covers/swaddling blankets are so easy to make and probably only took me about 1/2 hour start to finish.

Nursing Cover/Swaddling Blanket Tutorial

Materials Needed:

*Cotton knit fabric cut to the size of your choice.

*Suspender clips. I purchased mine here.

Cut the cotton knit fabric to the size of choice. Round the edges.

Now set your sewing machine on a small zig-zag stitch. Your going to make the edges into lettuce ruffled edges. If you have never done that before here is a great tutorial on it.

Of course you could add a knit binding all around the edges instead, but that would take a bit longer to make and really, I just love the little ruffles on the edges.

Cut one piece of cotton knit fabric to the desired length and width. This is going to be the removable strap that will go around your neck and attach to the blanket...turning it into a nursing cover.

No need to finish the raw edges, just fold up and sew in place.

Now you have the little clip when you need to turn your swaddling blanket into a nursing cover. Just make sure you remove the clips before giving the blanket to baby...safety first right?

Need a nursing cover...add the clips. Need a baby blanket...remove the clips.

**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo's. Just please be kind and give credit where credit is due.**

Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it!