Nursing Cover tutorial

Happy Wednesday everyone! Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week. It means the weekend is quickly approaching, but it also means my husband has basketball tonight and I have the TV to myself to watch SYTYCD and Love in The Wild. I'll admit that I'm a loser, but anything is better than basketball and other man shows. So, you may have noticed that everything I am making is for babies....Well, get used to it, at least for another 4-5 weeks. Thats when we are expecting baby Olive to arrive. Today I am going to show you how to make a nursing cover. I've looked at several tutorials and they are all about the same. It is an easy project and I think anyone can do it, even if it's your first attempt at sewing.

1. Start by picking a cute fabric. I have made a couple of these out of curtain type fabric. I like the heaviness of it. It doesn't seem to slide around as easily, however it is hotter. What you see below is just a lightweight cotton. Make sure the fabric is not see-through since that kind of defeats the purpose of a nursing cover. Isn't this pattern cute? It's actually for little boys, so I won't be using this one, I'll be selling or gifting it!

2. You can make one of these out of 1 yard of fabric that is 45" in width. I don't cut any off of the width, but I do shorten it to about 30" long so that it doesnt cover my knees and everything when I'm sitting down. After you've cut your fabric you will hem the rough edges on the 2 short sides and one of the long sides. Leave the other long side open because you will be sewing you straps into it. I fold my rough edges in about 1/4" and then fold again 1/4" so that the rough edges aren't showing. I pin mine down so that I don't have to fool with it the whole time. If you have a sewing machine with an adjustable foot, you can sew right over the pins and take them out after the fact. Most newer sewing machines have the adjustable foot.

3. After you've sewn the 2 short and 1 long side down, you'll work on your straps. I used some of the same fabric that I cut off the legnth in the beginning. I cut it about 20" long and 3-4 inches wide.

4. Take 1 strap and fold it so that the right sides are facing each other. Sew 1 end closed, the turn and sew down the legnth. Keep the other end open because you'll have to turn it inside out to see the pattern. Do this for both straps.

5. Turn them inside out. :) Easiest step of the day!

6. You can still leave the other end open. It will be sewn into the hem of the cover anyway. Hold your cover up to yourself to decide where the straps will feel comfortable. For me it is about 13" in from each side. I pinned mine in place so that I wouldn't have to measure again while I was hemming.

7. Begin hemming the top edge like you have the other three. Fold in 1/4" and then fold again 1/4" to conceal rough edges. When you get to the strap you will unpin it and stick the rough open edge under your hem. Then sew directly over it to hold it in place. Continue along with your hem until you get to the second strap and do the same thing. Some people like to add boning in between the straps to hold the cover open a bit. I personally don't like it, but if you want it, you just fold it into the seam making sure it is beding in the correct direction.

8. After you've finished with the top hem, go back and fold your straps facing upward since thats how it will be worn. Sew in place. I go over it about 3 times so that its good and strong.

TA-DA!!!! You can be finished here or you can sew D rings onto one of the straps. I'm low maintance so I'm totally fine with the tie. This was easy right? Now go make one and let me know how it goes. Thanks for looking!!!