Super Soft DIY Gauze Baby Washcloths

by Natasha on September 5, 2017

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These super soft DIY baby washcloths are easy to make with purchased gauze or old muslin baby blankets!

Today’s post includes a tutorial for DIY gauze baby washcloths that can also double wonderfully as adult washcloths for sensitive skin. They would make a lovely present for new parents or as part of a “DIY spa” type gift set!

Make sure to keep reading to the bottom to find out how to snag cute free printable “handmade with love” bands!

If you know me at all, it won’t surprise you to learn that we’ve been making as much of our own baby “stuff” as possible. My husband and I are both into natural materials, handmade items, DIY, and a certain degree of minimalism.

Just like I’m exhausted by the consumerism and commercialization surrounding so many holidays, I’m frustrated by our current society’s messages that you must have these one zillion (plastic) baby items or you’re a bad parent!!! If you feel the same way, check out this list of “must have” baby items you don’t need!

We would rather our child have a smaller number of high quality items s/he can truly use and appreciate and that, whenever possible, meaningfully fulfill developmental needs instead of providing ‘entertainment.’ You can read more about why it’s so important to chose non-toxic wood toys in this post.

That’s kind of a long introduction for a tutorial, but I wanted to fill everyone in and give some background for today’s project!

Because we prefer handmade items and natural materials, I decided to make a few soft double gauze facecloths for Baby. People frequently recommend a sponge bath with a facecloth for newborns until their cord stump falls off, but we don’t have any facecloths! (That probably sounds weird, but I prefer to use a hand towel. Anyway.)

We didn’t want to rush out to buy brightly colored scrub mitts or ‘normal’ facecloths that might be a bit rough for newborn skin, so I made these DIY easy simple baby washcloths, instead! They’re cute, simple, and easy to customize with the double gauze fabric of your choice – I hope you enjoy!

Even though you’re more likely to think “terry” than “gauze” if you’re shopping for washcloth or towel fabrics, double gauze is a lovely choice for this project because it’s so soft!

Actually, most of the commercially available “muslin” baby washcloths and blankets are made from gauze. If you’re a bit crunchy, you may enjoy making these washcloths out of organic gauze.

I purchased all of my gauze from Fabric.com. This isn’t a sponsored post (wouldn’t that be fun!), I’ve just been a loyal customer for years.

Obviously you don’t have to use organic fabrics, but they’re a nice touch for something that will come into contact with a newborn’s skin. As you can see, I got the fabrics I personally liked without worrying about whether they were ‘for’ a boy or girl. 🙂

Although I’m calling these baby washcloths, they’re really very multipurpose. Folded in half they can become a small burp cloth, and the light fabric means they’ll fit perfectly in a bag or purse to have on hand for quick clean ups on the go. They’re also nice as adult washcloths for sensitive skin or as reusable makeup remover cloths.

Table of Contents

Materials needed for DIY gauze baby washcloths

Double gauze fabric. Each washcloth is 12″x12″, so I recommend getting at least 1/2 a yard to allow for shrinkage in the wash. For a thicker washcloth, allow a total of 12″x24″ for each one.
An iron and ironing board
A rotary cutting set or a cardboard cutting mat with scissors
- If you don’t have either, then find a 12″ square piece of scrapbook paper or yardstick and I’ll show you what to do!
A serger or sewing machine & thread
A large, blunt needle to secure your thread, if you’re serging

DIY gauze baby washcloths tutorial

First and foremost – wash your fabric! Yes, it may come out super wrinkly and that’s annoying because then you’ll have to iron it, but cotton gauze does shrink so it’s very important to prewash it. I went ahead and washed all four pieces of my gauze at the same time, even though I didn’t make everything into facecloths.

It’s generally best to wash gauze either cold or warm and dry it on a low setting.
In case you don’t know, the usual rule is to prewash and dry your fabrics at least as warm as you plan to launder the finished project. Prewashing warm and then ‘actually’ washing cold is great, but preaching cold and then washing the finished project warm can lead to awkward shrinkage!

Iron your fabric. Gauze frequently gets a sweet, crinkled appearance after washing and that’s great, but ironing before cutting and sewing will help ensure your washcloths are more square than ‘random quadrilateral.’

Using your rotary cutting set or cardboard cutting mat & scissors, cut your fabric into 12″ squares. You’ll need just one square per washcloth, so cut as many pieces as you’d like cloths. If you’d like a more luxurious washcloth, cut two squares for each.

If you don’t have a cutting mat place a 12″ square piece of cardstock on your ironed fabric. You can pin it in place, trace around it, or simply hold it in place and then cut.

Finish the edges of each cloth to prevent fraying (gauze loves to fray!) either with your serger or sewing machine. If you’re using a sewing machine, you’ll probably want to use wither a zig zag stitch or an overcast stitch.

For a thicker washcloth, pin two pieces together, right sides out, and serge/stitch them simultaneously. You may want to use thread that blends in with the fabric a little better – I made these with a contrasting thread to make it easier to see for the tutorial.

If you’re using a serger, don’t forget to grab a large, blunt needle and tuck that tail thread under to secure your stitching!

Repeat until you have a stash of super cute and soft DIY gauze baby washcloths!

I also made a quick, newborn sized towel that’s about 30″x30″ by cutting two squares and serging them together, just like a larger version of the thicker washcloth. It should also work well as as an impromptu changing pad if needed.

The free printable bands are a bit different from what’s shown in the photo, but with a similar vintage, handmade feel you’ll enjoy!