DIY: Nursing Cover

As I have been making my purchases in anticipation of my little boy's arrival, one of the items I had on my list of must-haves was a nursing cover. Having researched the options out there, I was shocked to learn that nursing covers go for about $35 each! That just seems excessive to me for what is essentially just a lightweight blanket with an attached neck strap.


So I took matters into my own hands (literally) and decided to make a nursing cover myself. I Googled "nursing cover tutorials" and found a ton of tutorials out there from people that made their own covers. Now for those of you that are thinking "there's no way I can make something like that," that's exactly the attitude I had when I first thought about taking on this task. I'm not very crafty at all; I don't even own a sewing machine. But as I read through various tutorials, it became a lot less intimidating and seemed reasonably easy.

A few things to note:

- Because I don't own a sewing machine, I sewed my nursing cover by hand. It took me many hours to do, but if you have a sewing machine it would probably go much quicker.

- I didn't follow any one tutorial to its exact instructions. I read through some of them and just followed the steps/recommendations that appealed to me.

- All of the tutorials I found gave instructions for making a cover with a stiff/rigid neckline to "allow for better ventilation, and for Mommy to have visual access to the baby." I didn't find this to be a necessary feature, so I didn't bother.

- Sewing (especially hand sewing) takes time and patience. If you don't have the time or patience, skip it.

These are the materials I used:

- 1 yard each of 2 complementing fabrics (so 2 yards total)

Note: I like to use a decorative fabric paired with a matching solid. The decorative side will be the outside fabric (or the side that faces out when you use your cover), and the solid side will be on the inside. Also, try to choose cotton fabrics since they are easy to wash, and they are lightweight.


- sewing thread
- needle
- ruler
- pen (or fabric marker)
- scissors
- 2 D-rings

Ok, so let's get started. We'll start with making the neck straps.

1. Cut one strip of the decorative fabric 4″wide by 28″ long. This will be the long neck strap that you will use to tie the cover on.

2. Cut one strip of decorative fabric 4″ wide by 6″ long. This will be the strap that you will attach the D-rings to.

3. Fold each strip in half (inside out) and iron flat.


4. Sew each strip along the cut edge.


- For the short strip, sew the entire length.
- For the longer strip, sew almost the entire length, but curve it inwards towards one end.


Trim the excess fabric from your strips.

5. Now that your strips are sewn you need to flip the fabric right side out. Position the sewn line centered in the back so that the front is nice and smooth (so that you will not be able to see the seam). Iron flat again.

6. Sew along the sides of the strips for better reinforcement. Also, notice how the longer strap with the curved edge formed a point when flipped right side out. The point makes the strap easier to use when you thread it through the D-rings to hang it around your neck.


7. Take your shorter strip, put the fabric through both D-rings and fold in half along the straight side of the rings. Sew across the fabric along the straight edge to keep the rings in place.


8. Now that the neck straps are done, cut the large sheets of fabric (both the decorative and solid together) to a size you find suitable for you. Mine ended up being about 34" going across and 24" in height, which was plenty generous for my needs. You may wish to go larger or smaller.

9. Iron the large sheets of fabric so that they are free of wrinkles.

10. Place the fabrics one on top of another and line them up carefully, with the decorative fabric facing inward. If you would like, you can use pins to hold the fabrics together and in place.

11. Begin sewing around the edges. I would start with one of the sides, go around to the bottom, and go back up around the other side. Leave the top side last, since you will need to attach your neck straps to that side. Trim any excess fabric from your edges.


12. When you get to the top side, continue sewing until you get about 10" in from the edge (exactly where you want to place your neck straps can vary, depending on what fit is most comfortable for you). Insert one of the neck straps as shown below, and continue sewing to attach the strap. When you have completely attached the neck strap, stop your seam.


13. Now do the same thing on the other side of the cover with the other strap. Start sewing from the corner and continue sewing until you get about 10" in from the edge. Insert the remaining neck strap and continue sewing to attach the other strap. Again, continue sewing until you have completely attached the neck strap, then stop your seam.

14. Flip the entire cover inside out to reveal the decorative side. The seams that you sewed around the sides and bottom should be concealed. You should now be left with an almost-finished cover, with a hole along the top in between the neck straps. Or, you can also choose to sew inside-out across the middle of the nursing cover, and leave the hole closer to one of the corners (it's up to you). I prefer to leave the hole in the corner (as shown below).


15. Fold the edges of both fabrics inwards to reveal a smooth surface, and sew the opening shut to close the hole. Take time and care to do this last part, since this seam will be visible from the outside (it will not be concealed like the rest of the cover, since it is now flipped to the correct side). Sew as close along the edge as possible for the cleanest seam.

16. Your cover is now complete!