DIY Infinity Nursing Scarf

My cousin, Jen, had her second baby in June and when I was visiting this summer, I noticed an awesome infinity nursing scarf she was wearing. I asked my cousin where she got it and she told me her mom bought it on Etsy, but it looked simple enough to DIY. She was right!

I took measurements of Jen's scarf, bought some jersey knit fabric and made one myself for less than $10.

First, I bought a 30"x60" piece of jersey knit fabric, which I scored for 40% off at Jo-Ann Fabric. Their fabrics are almost always on sale, or there's a coupon for a hot deal, so I've learned never to pay full-price.

Second, I laid the fabric flat and then folded it in half to be 30"x30".

My fabulous mother-in-law has a serger sewing machine, so I ran all sides of the fabric once through to make a clean seam on each side. From what I've seen online, I think this step is optional as jersey knit shouldn't fray.

Then, half of one side (about 15" of the total 30", but it doesn't have to be exact) needs to be sewn together to create a hole for your head/neck to fit through. Two sides of the scarf's sides are open / left unsewn and the fourth side is closed when I originally folded the fabric in half. I used a regular sewing machine to close this small section together.

Bottom side of fabric square as shown above: folded over / closed
Left side of fabric: divided in half; the top section is sewn together / bottom section is left open to make scarf's neck hole
Top of fabric: open / not sewn
Right side of fabric: open / not sewn

That's it! How easy it that?

I have a few traditional nursing covers, but I like this one because:

• it can be worn as a regular infinity scarf, pre-, during, or post-nursing a baby 
• I'm a scarf-wearer anyway, especially in the wintertime 
• the material is soft, comfortable and lays nicely
• it doesn't have a wire loop inside, so the scarf folds small enough to stuff in a diaper bag if youre not wearing it as a scarf
• the scarf covers the front, side and back of your body, compared to other nursing covers which only cover the front

I'm so excited to use my new infinity nursing scarf when Aden arrives. I think I'll be far more likely to wear this cover-up vs. saying "ah, screw it" like I did last time. When I was nursing Tory, I hated feeling so isolated by going to another room to nurse. Or, when feeding on an airplane, it was so awkward get that big ol' loop around my neck, then trying to keep Tory and myself covered. Nine times out of ten, my side boob would be hanging out in full view no matter how I positioned myself. I'm not a very shy person, so I really had no issue nursing in front of others, but I know people don't always feel the same way. I think my new DIY infinity nursing scarf will work so much better for all parties involved.