Boppy cover from old receiving blankets

One thing I quickly learned when I became a parent is that I had multiple things I did not need and not enough of what I did need. Specifically, I had gotten a lot of receiving blankets at my shower and I honestly couldn't tell you when I really had a use for them. My son refused to be swaddled and they're much too thin to use as an actual blanket, so there sat a pile of unused blankets in the corner of his room. But they were so cute! The good news is they are basically nothing more than strips of soft fabric just waiting to be repurposed.

There were so many possibilities with these blankets, but I decided to make mine into new Boppy covers. We use the Boppy a lot in our house for feeding and just lounging around and between diaper blowouts and messy eaters, one cover was definitely not enough. I wasn't about to spend $40 on a new one at the store either! This was so much easier to make than I thought it would be.

First, you'll need to either print this pattern or use an old cover as a guideline. Pick out two receiving blankets that compliment each other. I liked this little embroidered elephant with the polka dots, and the zoo print is what we brought our son home from the hospital in! Every time I see it, it makes me smile and the blue polka dots are relaxing so it was a no brainer. Grab some scissors, pins, and if you choose to print the pattern you'll need that too.

Next, you'll need to either cut out your pattern, pin it to your blankets and cut OR stack your blankets and use your old cover as a guideline.

I recently made this spaceship cover so I used it as a guideline. If you're going this route, pin it to your blankets and cut along the outside. It's not necessary, but I would recommend making the underside about an inch and a half wider than the top. This makes the outcome a little nicer looking in my opinion.

If you've gone the route that I have, make sure to cut the underside in half so you can slip the pillow in afterwards.

Pin the right sides together, allowing a slight overlap in the middle on the underside. Then, snip about a half inch in every inch around the perimeter of the cover. This will allow a better fit at the end.

Simply stitch with a half inch inseam, double stitching at the middle where the opening is. Now, I leave the ends the way they are so it allows for easy removal and I'm not a perfectionist so the unfinished look is fine with me. You can also add velcro to ensure closure, buttons, or even a zipper--whatever your personal choice is!

Enjoy your new cover and, hopefully, a little freed space in baby's closet! :)