Cloth wipes

[niko8083]

I have some old flannel receiving blankets and other flannel fabric that I’d like to use to make wipes. What’s the best way to do this?

I don’t have a serger.
Can I just cut out squares with pinking shears and leave it at that?
Do I need to sew the edges somehow to keep them from unraveling?

Last time around I used cheap wash cloths that my mom cut into smaller squares. They served the purpose, but I wasn’t thrilled with them.

ETA Do they have to be 2 layer or is a single layer just fine?

[Dramaphile]

You could zigzag the edges to stop the fraying. they may fray a bit, but will stop when it hits the stitches. I'm not sure if pinking shears would be enough, but you could test it by cutting one and washing/drying it.

[critter015]

I have a ton of flannel cloths I use as unpaper towels. I just did a quick zig zag stitch around the edges. I've been using them for 7 years and they haven't unraveled or anything. I prefer single layer for wipes because there is more flexibility to get into all of the crevices.

[charlotte]

All of mine are single later, I like them that way! Not sure about the edges if you just cut with scissors.

[mapleme]

I have some flannel ones that I zig zag stitched and they are holding up great 3.5 years later. I also have some flannel ones that I just cut into squares and called it a day. They unravel, but it doesn't matter and they still do the job. If the unraveling gets tangled or annoying, I cut it off with scissors, but mostly I don't care. Ones made out of old tshirts don't unravel at all.

[sassyq]

I have double layer ones that I zig zagged that I use mostly for myself. For the kids I just cut single layer squares and they haven't unraveled on me yet. There's a bit of fraying on some, but they've held up really well. I definitely prefer my double layer ones, but I'm lazy lol.

[niko8083]

I think I’ll try just cutting a few and wash them. See how they hold up. I’ll break out the sewing machine if I have too lol.