Nursing Cover

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Have you seen the Nursing Covers/Hooter Hiders that are so popular right now?? Have you seen how much they COST?!? Some are upwards of $40. Yeah, I know. It’s okay…. Here’s a tutorial to teach you how to make one yourself. I made mine a little different, with alternating fabrics……..and double sided. This way, you get to choose what kind of mood you’re in while nursing. Ahhhhh, the choices. :o)

What you’ll need:

***And just an itty bitty warning. There are tons of pictures. Sorry to make you scroll through them all. I hope they help.

Lay out all of your strips on the floor, for both sides, to make sure you have cut the correct amount and to put them in order.

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Sew the strips together in order, one side of the cover at a time.

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Then iron all of the seams flat. You’re going to then trim the edges, that more than likely are not perfectly lined up after sewing each strip together.

Then, put your two finished pieces together, right sides together, making sure that your bigger top sections (the 5 inch sections) are placed together and the bottoms are at the bottom. Trim the sides a little more if necessary, to ensure that they are the same size, and pin them in place.

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Then sew these 2 pieces together along the left and right side and the bottom, leaving the top open.

Set this main section aside and sew the two neck tie strips together, right sides together. Leave one end open and sew the other end closed… on a curve, like this.

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Trim the corner and turn right side out.

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Press and then top stitch, close to the edge. You’ll have something similar to this.

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Set that aside and grab your main section again.

Take a breath, you’re getting closer……

Now you are going to fold your main section in half, horizontally. The open edge will be at the top. You are going to place a pin at the center at the top, where you just folded….as a reference.

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Now open it back up and measure 7 inches to the left of the pin and 7 inches to the right of the pin, and place a pin at those two spots as well. (If you click on the picture, you can get a closer picture showing that my pins are 14 inches apart.

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Now, sew along the top of your nursing cover from each of those pins, out to the corners, leaving the 14 inch space open. But your seam allowance is going to be one inch.

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So now your main section is sewn all the way around, except for that 14 inch opening, right??

**Now you’re going to make a casing for the 14 inch piece of boning.

First, fold down the top piece of fabric edge, all along the top. You’ll just fold down 1 inch, right where you just made that seam all along the top. And then where the opening is, measure an inch down and fold it. Pin it like I did below and then go press it. **Only fold down the edge of the top piece of fabric.

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This next part might seem a little tricky. But that’s only because it’s hard to explain in writing.

Like I stated before, we are making the casing for the boning. You will be making 3 seams. The fourth side of the casing is the folded side (that you just folded and ironed). Sew the left end of the casing first, stitching down 3/4 of an inch.

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Then sew along the bottom of the casing, opposite the fold, for 14 inches. Make sure you are sewing 3/4 of an inch away from the fold so that the boning will fit inside comfortably.

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***NOTE: Only sew through the top piece of fabric (blue in my picture) and move the bottom (green striped piece) out of the way, while making the casing.

Now, slip the piece of boning into the open end of the casing. (It should slip in there with plenty of room………with 1/4 of an inch to spare.)

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Then, stitch that last end closed, securing the boning into the casing.

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Phew, you did it!!

Okay, now you’re going to clip the 4 corners of your nursing cover, turn it right side out, poke out the corners to a crisp angle with a pencil or something pointy, and then iron the whole thing flat. Be careful while ironing near the boning. I’m not sure how long it’ll take to melt it but I’d suggest not trying it!!

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Next, you’re going to add the D rings to your straps.
Cut your strap piece into 2 pieces. The curved end piece – 28 inches. The D ring piece – 10 inches. Slide the 2 D rings onto one end of the 10 inch piece and fold down 1/4 inch.

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And then fold it down again, but an inch this time, and make a seam close to the folded edge.

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Now, place the raw ends into the opening of your nursing cover, at each end. Pin securely in place. (Make sure you have the right color of the strap facing up.)

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Stitch the straps into place, sewing 1/4 inch from the inside edge of the casing.

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Now, you are going to sew around the entire nursing cover, 1/4 inch from the edge. Be sure to not sew through the boning while sewing along the top. Actually, you probably won’t be able to sew through it…..your needle will probably break. So be careful not to break your needle while sewing along the top edge.

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You’re done!! Well you are if you know how to use that D ring. Need some help? This is how it works……..(The curved end is in my left hand.)

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And then pull it tight. DONE!

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And look, your other side is just as fabulous.

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Now go feed that cute baby. He/she’s been starving while you’ve been making your cover.

OR, you might be making this for a friend. So go try it out in the mirror……and then send it off to some lucky lady!!!