Re-Purposing Old Receiving Blankets

Let's all be honest with ourselves here. 

We all have receiving blankets.  All of us.  Ok maybe 99% of us.  Some of us got them when we were first time mom's and thought we would actually use them, and some of us for baby showers.  Maybe some of us actually did use them.  But let's all be honest with ourselves, after about 3 months, those receiving blankets you thought you had to have, tend to have served their purpose and are no longer needed.  Maybe you decided, "I'll use these for something soon," and maybe you did and maybe they're sitting in that box to save and use later or dump.

But for me, I love flannel, and I've found a new love for receiving blankets. 

They make easy inserts.  They're easily foldable, and easy to make.

Now I know, not everyone likes flannel, and that's ok, but me, I love it.  I love it for diapers.  To me it's soft and absorbs a lot, other people may not see the same thing I see and that's ok.  But I still want to share my 4 easy steps for re-purposing old receiving blankets.

Now the first step is easy.  Are you going to T&T or serge?  For me I've done both, and they both work well.  Both have their own benefits.

Once you have that worked out, your ready to get started.

Get out old receiving blankets.

Cut off Tags.  Don't worry to much about the extra serge edges.  If you'd like your more than welcome to cut that off.  Since I serged mine I just fed it through.

Cut to desired length and width, making sure there are at least 4 layers of flannel.

And sew.  If your T&T this link will help you with that.
http://www.candleonthehill.net/diaperinserts/index.html

If your serging, then BAM your done.

  And enjoy your inserts.  I love laying them under another insert, stacking them together, and what I call double stuffing them in for nighttime use.  And maybe you need to grab something in case of an emergency cause baby just puked every where?  Bam you have a spit up rag/ burp cloth.  These flannel inserts serve their purpose for pretty much everything.  My oldest even used one as a wash cloth once.  And if they're clean who cares?  (he did once I told him it was a diaper  :) ) Being only 4 layers of flannel, they also fold easy.