I see a lot of folks selling burp cloths online these days, but sewing a ribbon or doing some embroidery on a 2-ply birdseye gauze rag isn't going to give it magical absorption properties. Face it...burp cloths are for wiping up vomit at first, then piss and poo later. And then who knows what else...washing your car? Washing your windows?
I distinguish myself by being
the only seller I know of selling embroidered burp cloths embroidered on 4x6x4 prefold cloth diapers. In layman's terms, this means 4 layers on the side panels, and 6 layers in the center. The majority of sellers I see are selling cheap gauze, or the "heavy duty" diapers, which are better, but not great and can be bought at major retailers. Not mine! Even better, I have a General Conformity Certificate from the distributor that the materials are CPSIA compliant...not that it matters because natural fibers are exempt from CPSIA regulations, but safety is my number one concern.
Many sellers claim their materials are "diaper service quality" diapers, but no diaper service on earth is going to put Gerber birdseye gauze in their rotation unless they want to go out of business instantly. There is no official standard for what makes something "DSQ" but that doesn't stop unscrupulous sellers from selling you a false bill of goods. Buyer beware!
Furthermore, I also wash and dry (boil and incinerate, essentially) these dipes before I embroider on them. This makes them less square and harder to embroider onto. However, it also ensures the embroidery isn't ruined when you're washing them the same.
The nice thing about DSQs is that they become
more absorbent with additional washing. They "quilt" when they're washed. While this doesn't look as attractive straight out of the dryer, it's not the same as shrinkage, and it takes 20 seconds and a very hot iron to make it flat again.
Here's a pic illustrating how a DSQ looks coming out of the dryer:
Now, if you're using one of my burp cloths strictly for decoration, go ahead and spend that 30 seconds ironing it. You won't ruin it. However, reflecting back on my days with a newborn, I didn't have time to
eat, let alone
iron.
But rest assured, your product will be even more functional and absorbent, just a little bumpy. Everyone else selling embroidered burp cloths makes the assumption that you'll drape them gently over your rocking chair and that's the end of its function and never wash them, which is BS. Their buyers are in for a real shock the first time they wash and dry those burp cloths. Not only do they have the absorbency of sandpaper, they'll shrink like crazy. I guarantee my embroidery won't disintegrate either, assuming you're not bleaching them My embroidery can stand up to bleach at first because I use polyester thread so the color won't run, but the bleach will definitely break down the fibers. For that, I don't recommend using bleach at all. Use the hottest water you have, and if any stains remain, hang it in the sun for a couple hours. Forget the bleach, plus it's bad for the environment and won't get out any bacteria that very hot boiling water can't.
When I cloth diapered my kids (I used fitted dipes, not flat folds) I washed even the nastiest, poopiest cloth diapers using the Sanitary cycle in my front loader, then hung them in the sun to dry. No stains, bright white, and they lasted forever because the fibers didn't break down from excessive exposure to detergents and harsh bleaches or enzymatic cleaners. Then I resold them! As far as I know, they're on they're 3rd owner (and at least 4th kid) and still going strong!
Anyway, here's another gigantic (literally) advantage to using quality products over mass marketed Gerber dipes:
Notice the middle section is wider. What's this mean? BETTER EMBROIDERY! Bigger letters, cooler designs! I took this pic without flash so you could see that they're not perfectly flat non-absorbent rags. Gerber heavy duty dipes are fine, but you'll get a prettier burp cloth out of a DSQ!