Simple Nursing Cover

One of my last projects before Little Man arrived was a nursing cover. My only problem was deciding which fabric to use -- with so much in my stash I couldn't justify purchasing new fabric, but I didn't really have anything that seemed *right*.

And that's where my kind bloggy friend, Serena, saved the day! Her sweet little package (which included the darling booties I blogged about) arrived wrapped up in a half yard of a lovely black-and-white floral print. Hmm, maybe that's a good way to use up some of my stash... but I digress.

After combining the black floral with a pale blue cotton sateen (a destash gift from another friend) and adding a bit of ric-rac, I had my nursing cover!

My search led me to a tutorial from the Freshly Picked blog. Really, a nursing cover is just a rectangle of fabric with a bit of boning and a strap around the neck! But it was helpful to have some dimensions for reference, and I liked her construction methods better than some of the other tutorials I looked at.

I did end up shortening the neck straps big time -- the long side was way too long, and the nearly-5-inches on the D-ring side went halfway 'round my neck (not too handy for adjustment purposes!). That could just be the way I wear mine, though. I also only used 12" of boning, which I had heard from several people is plenty -- and it is. My boning is a bit weak, though, so I might get something a bit stiffer.

Using one of these certainly involves a learning curve, but it's so handy to have and so easy to make! I have some of the cotton sateen left over, and I'm thinking a matching baby sling is in order...