Project #1: Frayed Flannel Burp Cloths

These were a great first project. Very forgiving when it comes to stitching
and super easy to get comfortable with my new machine. 

My mother gave me this Brother
LX2600 sewing machine for
Christmas. I couldn't wait to
get started.

My first sewing project was a complete success. I completed 4 frayed flannel burp cloths in about 3 hours. Yes, a more experienced seamstress would have had them done in an hour, but I was happy getting them done all in one evening.

I chose this project to start with because I knew that I would be able to do it and it would get me familiar with my new sewing machine. I am happy to say that I was able to set it up with out a single issue. My machine is very beginner friendly, so it was a cinch to figure out.

I just ripped out the seam to

where I got off track and then

started from there. Easy Fix.

I chose 2 coordinating flannel fabrics (Little Cuddles Green and Love Floral) from Jo-Ann, one for the front and one for the back; and bought quilting batting for the inside.

I followed an easy tutorial with printable pattern from Homemade by Jill.

The burp cloths were very simple, but a little tedious. I cut out everything for all 4 burp cloths and and then sewed. It was a lot of pinning, cutting, unpinning, and pinning again. Like most craft projects, it's the prep work that takes the longest time. The actual sewing took me only about 30 minutes.

Trimming away the quilt batting

and fraying the edges was easy,

but very tedious. My neck

was aching by the end.

I only had to use my seam ripper once, and oddly enough it was on my last one. I got a little over zealous and went too quickly. My seam allowance got too thick and I just needed to stop, rip, and start over.

After getting the seams sewn, I switched out my top thread to white to sew a stitch across the center of my burp cloth to keep the batting in place. I didn't want a bright teal line on the light floral print. I kept the bobbin as the teal so that the bottom stitch still matched the teal fabric. It worked out great.

You can still see a bit of the teal

thread along the center, but it is not
as noticeable as it would have been

 if I had kept the top thread teal. 

Final Cost

Flannel Fabric (1 yd) = $7

Quilt Batting (34 X 45) = $6 (used 40% coupon and have leftovers for at least 4 more)

Teal Thread = $1.50

Total = $14.50