DIY Teething Pads



So I revealed in this post that I'm in love with my new Ergo Carrier.  I did not mind one bit shelling out the bucks for this quality baby carrier (although I did get it a bit on sale), however, $20 is not something I was willing to spend on teething pads.  I quickly did find out though, that we needed some.  M loves the ergo.  She also loves chewing it.  I, however, do not love it smelling like spit and/or needing to wash the ergo on a regular basis.  SO... I made my own (organic even)  teething pads!



All you need is one burp cloth.  You can use any rectangular burp cloth you want.  I didn't even buy a new one - just used one I already had.  And like I said earlier, it's even organic.  (I used unbleached indian cotton prefold diaper bought online from tendercargo.com)

A really important step if you are using a new burp cloth is to make sure it has been washed in hot water and dried.  Go ahead and get all the shrinking done, because it will mess it up pretty royally if you sew it before it shrinks.


cut that bad boy in half! right down the middle.  (by the way, I don't measure, I rarely use pins, and I have no formal sewing knowledge at all.  I wing everything)


okay so one down side of making your own is it will have raw edges that will inevitibly fray a bit upon further washing.  But you can keep it to a minimum by sewing a double row of stitches as close to the edge as possible.  regularly on a project like this you might be able to use some fray check, but hmmm... doesn't seem like a good chemical to put on teething pads!


next you need to sew on the velcro.  I used pink - because why not?  Like i just confessed, I don't measure.  I also am not good with details.  So... you probably am not surprised that I got too excited and sewed my second piece of velcro in the complete wrong spot and had to pull it out & start again.  Learn from my mistakes, and measure!  A helpful saying that I never use but should: Measure Twice, Sew Once!



Voila! You're all done!!  Congratulations! You just saved $15 + the price & time of shipping!  And what else is great about these is that you can use them on any carrier or on other things your little one tends to munch on!




And baby likes them too!

{p.s. if you can't tell, pictures were taken in the mirror.}

  

Comments

  1. Way to be resourceful! I'm so not a sewer, so I can see me doing this one day just like you did. haha but they turned out great.
    Emily at Amazing Grapes

    ReplyDelete
  2. ohhh this looks awesome and so easy! i'll probably be making one!

    ReplyDelete
  3. this is a fabulous idea! Ethan will chew on my Ergo til it's soaking wet. I've got a couple of torn prefolds that will be perfect!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great idea! I have been eyeing some teething pads on Etsy, but I definitely have some old (very clean) diapers that I could use. I love this! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fantastic idea! I am so sending this post to my friend who has a baby as well:) Have a great afternoon. xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the tutorial. I love cheap and simple solutions. If you want finished edges, you could buy/make some bias tape. Cut a strip of fabric long enough to go around all four sides. Iron down both edges toward the center, and then iron in half. Tuck the unfinished edge inside and sew around. You can buy 1/4 inch double folded bias tape for less than $2, if you don't want to iron.

    I don't sew much, but my mom is great at it. I designed a pattern for her to make me Heart to Heart inserts for my twins. Retail: $25-35 each, my cost: less than $5! I posted here, if you're interested:

    http://merylsmonographs.blogspot.com/2013/08/make-your-own-ergo-infant-insert.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Going to try this for my boba 3g, thanks for posting this!

    ReplyDelete
  8. you're so funny, I get excited and finish things too fast and make mistakes sometimes too, one lady added a ribbon loop on top so you can hang toys or pacifier off of it. =) Thank you for a real simple demonstration of this. I was thinking about buying a $10 one but I think I'll go to the fabric store instead. =)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cute, Where did you get the velcro?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love this version of a teething pad! I was just in the store looking at them ($14-20) and thought there's gotta be a simple diy one.. Where did you get your velcro?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I value your thoughts/encouragement/feedback. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment.