Thursday, December 13, 2012

Super simple blanket....

You know we all love those boutique style receiving blankets.  They are usually made of micro fleece or minky fabrics and oh!  How soft they are!  Well, did you know they're really easy to make?  No?  Okay, well lets make one!

Level: Beginner
Cost: depends on the fabrics you choose.
Time: About 45 minutes.

Supplies:
1) You'll need 1 yard of two different fabrics.
2) Scissors
3) Sewing machine with thread
4) Pins

Before we go any further, lets discuss your options for fabrics. 
Minky:  First let me say that I hate minky. It stretches, moves, and sheds.  Man does that crap shed!!  It gets in my nose and I sneeze fuzzy pink snot for days afterwards!  Not to mention, it's expensive.  Most is upwards of $12 per yard and is just ridiculous.  Try fleece instead!
Fleece: This is one of my favorite materials to work with for blankets.  It's very warm, but very light weight and you're able to use it in a ton of ways.  Fleece doesn't fray when you cut it so you can use it for all kinds of blanket projects.
Flannel: I LOVE flannel for blankets.  It's soft too, but a lot lighter weight than fleece.  It's perfect for making SUPER basic receiving blankets and is usually really cost friendly.  It goes on sale a lot and can be had for less than $3 per yard!  It does not stretch and frays, but frays beautifully.  I use it for exposed seams blankets very often, such a rag quilt.
Cottons: Basic cotton, oh I love thee. So many prints and colors, ah!! Cotton does not stretch, but does fray so the edges when working with it need to be finished (or hidden from wear).

Really you can use ANY combination of these fabrics in one blanket.  If you use a cotton for the front and a cotton for the back, you'll want to put a layer of flannel, fleece, or batting inside your blanket....but that's another tutorial for another day.

Lets get started.
Here are my fabrics:
 The first thing you want to do is lay out your fabrics.  My cotton print is face up and my pink fleece is on top of that.
Next, what we'll do is trim up the cotton so that it's the same size as the fleece.
Next, pin it all the way around, spacing pins about every 1.5-2 inches or so. I like to stick pins in to where I can sew right over them. Some like to pin sideways.  Up to you.



Next, sew all around the edges.  Be sure to leave about a 6 inch gap for turning the blanket right side out.
Once you sew all the way around (leaving your gap), pull the blanket thru the gap, turning it right side out.  You'll have a lil gap, with two folded edges that you need to pin closed.


  Now, you're going to pin all the way around the edges of the blanket again making sure your gap is closed and that your fabric is smooth.  (It's a lil hard to see my pins in the next pic, but they're there!)


Next, stitch pretty close to the edge of your blanket, catching both sides and your gap to sew it closed. Go all the way around.  This is called a top stitch.
Now, do it again.  It'll make a clean, nice "custom" edge on your blanket which is really lovely if you're giving them as gifts.



Now you have a gorgeous lil blanket you can give as a shower gift or make a nice pile for yourself for your new addition!

Happy Sewing!