Last year when I was pregnant with my daughter a friend pulled out one of these nursing cover type of things and then nursed her baby but could still see the baby. She didn't even have to worry that the baby was going to suddenly rip the blanket off! I thought it was a great idea especially when you live somewhere hot and sweltering like I do. Then the baby won't be hot with a blanket on them and they are protected from the hot sun too. I used this for a car seat cover sometimes too. I decided to just figure out how to make my own since we don't have a store here in Japan that I can just pop in and buy one of these.
1 Yard fabric. I used Sandi Henderson's farmers market in pink.
2 D rings
About 14 inches of boning. I bought mine here: Boning but you could probably just pick some up from a local craft store.
Some sort of absorbent material. I just used a flat fold diaper that I had.
You are going to start by cutting your material. I like my cover to be big so I just found a blanket that was about the size I wanted and measured it. I then cut my fabric 28" X 36". This left enough over to make the straps.
Cut the material for the straps. I cut one piece about 36"X4 so I would end up with a finished strap of 1 inch after I made it into binding. The other piece that you attach the D rings to I cut 6"X4".
Cut your boning. I cut mine 14 inches. I just held it up to my chest and determined how big I wanted my opening to be.
Make the strap fabric into binding for straps. I like to use my Clover binding tool. LOVE this thing. I bought it online (where I have to buy everything).
After you run it through the bias tape thing then fold it in half and iron again. This will make your finished piece 1 inch x 36 inches. I so need to wash the ironing board. Gross.
Now we're going to finsih the edges of the strap. Fold the end down
about 1/4 inch and iron. Then fold the corners in and iron again. Then fold it back in half and iron the triangle parts together. This will make the end pretty. This end it the one that will go through the D ring.
Do the same thing for the 6x4 piece. This end is for the D rings so leave both of it's ends unfinished. After the two strap pieces are all ironed sew right along the edge of the fabric.
This is my birdseye for the little pocket/wiper corner section. I cut a double layer 7x7.
Then I folded it in half and ironed it.
Then sew a straight stitch right along the top of the triangle (where it's folded).
Iron the bottom edge up 1/4 inch.
Then iron both the side in 1/4 edge. Leave the top edge alone for now.
Iron the bottom edge up 1/4 again. Then iron the side edges in 1/4 inch again. Do it in that order or both sides and then the bottoms so that the two bottom corners are folded in the same. They should look like this.
Slip the triangle of birdseye into one of the bottom edges. Iron again. Maybe stick a few pins in to keep it in place.
Sew right next to the edge where the folded part meets the wrong side of the fabric around the 3 sides you just ironed.
I stitched each edge all the way to the end and then backstitched. Took the fabric out of the machine and started at the end for the next side. This will give you pretty finished corners like this.
Now iron the top edge down 1/4 inch and then iron down another 1/4 inch.
Now we're going to put the boning in so that you'll be able to see down at your baby while nursing. I first folded the cover in half and kind of crease where the center is. Then I took the boning and found the center of it and matched them up.
Then lay the boning flat and put a pin at each end to mark the ends. I put my pins far away from the table so I just used my earring. Pretend it's a pin.
Now sew from one pin the the other pin along the edge of the fabric and then sew up where the other pin is. You are going to want to leave one pin in place and not sew right there so that you'll have a hole to put your boning in.
Now slide your boning into the little pocket you just sewed.
Then sew that end shut as well.
Now take your short piece of strap and fold it in half. Put your 2 D rings at the fold and sew along the raw end.
Now take your 2 straps and put them under the edge of the fold right where the boning ends. Sew all along the top edge of the fabric. Attaching the two straps.
Then fold both straps up and sew them to the top part of the nursing cover.
Finished! Now go nurse your baby! Or make some for your friends for a great shower gift.
