A friend's baby was baptized on Saturday. I would have loved to make her a quilt, but I'm a little behind on quilting at the moment!
But I have a fun gift to make that couldn't be easier and in some ways is more useful than a quilt that I thought I would show you.
You know, hobbies can be expensive! If you love textiles, like I do, you might end up spending the grocery money on things that aren't even in a finished form…
…you aren't even eating beans because I bought you a cover for your bed; you're eating them because now I have something on a shelf that some day, when I'm not spending all day figuring out low-cost meals using beans, I'll make into a bed cover for you!
Not good.
So I have learned a couple of things about this craft of mine. First, you need a stash. The stash is your friend, if you visit it often and know what is in there! The stash does not help you if you simply add to it in that mindless way you have of doing.
I mean me.
Second, you must limit yourself to buying fabulous fabric on sale only, unless it is just too truly breathless to pass up, in which case you must punish yourself by foregoing its cost in some other area, which is hard, because you probably don't spend money on yourself in any other way. Well, maybe in ice cream, which would be hard to give up.
But most of all, you have to keep your eye out for good fabric at yard sales and thrift stores. You have to know that the back of a shirt you would never wear can yield a fat quarter of cute material.
That a mismatched sheet or tablecloth can make a good backing. That a skirt in a hopelessly outdated fashion can be transformed into a pillow.
Train yourself to think outside that box!
The flannel of this blanket is from a sale at JoAnn's. I know I will need flannel for baby blankets, and two yards is perfect for a crib sized quilt, so I don't have to have an exact pattern in mind to know how much to buy.
It doesn't make sense to go shopping each time you have a project, and often the cute things aren't there when you do. So when you see something adorable on sale, snap up your pinks and your blues!
The plaid was a huge pillow sham from Linens and Things that I found at a thrift store the mother of the baby frequents as well (in fact, I was there because she had found a gorgeous Pottery Barn sheet there, and I was hoping to come across something similar) — and it's Indian cotton!
It's so bright and cheery; far too much so for a pillow in any bedroom of mine. I took apart all the seams, which rendered a somewhat narrow, large intact piece. I cut it in half and sewed the long sides together, making it a better shape for a blanket.
For a blanket you don't need batting (so, no quilting) and you don't need binding. You just sew your two pieces right sides together. And every baby needs something like this: bigger than a receiving blanket, soft on one side, cool on the other, grab and go or throw in the crib.
In this case I cut the long sides equal and left the short sides unequal.
Sewing the long sides together, I turned it right side out and then folded over and topstitched the short sides to finish, making a self-binding so that the plaid shows on the flannel side at the ends.
Then topstitch the long sides so that the whole thing just needs to be folded when it comes out of the wash to keep its shape!
This bright color matches how I feel about little Phoebe, a bright beautiful baby!
Thanks to Ann Kroeker for the link!
Ann Kroeker says
Okay, so let me try to think if anyone in my church is expecting…hm…I'll have to watch for bumps, because this is so sweet. I don't have your stash, though, so I'll have to lurk around sale tables at fabric stores with babies on my brain. Other people's babies, that is. My babies would need much bigger blankets by now…
Hillary says
My grandma makes blankets like these for babies. I love them. They're great as blankets and play mats.
scmom (Barbara) says
I always call those blankets "coverlets." They are a great weight, especially for summer babies. I make mine almost identically except I like your idea of pulling the front over to the back on the ends. Thanks, Leila.
TwoSquareMeals says
What a great blanket! I would have loved one of these for my babies. Guess I can still make one for the youngest. I will definitely keep it in mind for baby gifts. It is so wonderfully multipurpose. I just found your blog recently and am truly enjoying you common sense approach, especially to parenting.
Anne R Triolo says
oh that is very cute! Especially the flannel! I'm impressed that you had time for even just this small project during your BUSY month!
Anonymous says
I LIKE the way you think!Mom in MO
Margo says
how cute! I made these for my babies because I couldn't figure out what to use in the summer. I used regular cotton (not flannel) on both sides and it's like a sheet. Once out of desperation for a child who was not first born (read: I didn't have a lot prepared), I pieced one together with scraps from my stash. It's actually very nice because the pieces are all big and one side was an old crib sheet that I cut off the fitted corners. I like your idea of self-facing, however, and I will do that next time.
Polly says
Brilliant. You make this so unintimidating, even for a mostly-beginning seamstress like myself. My best friend is expecting in November…I've already planned to embroider onesies and knit a hat (why not go all out w/ a BFF???) and now? The baby blanket. FOR SURE.
John says
It's nice to find a site you can trust. I like the privacy of shopping online, but you never know what sites are okay. Visit Mymiraclebaby.com this site was recommended by a friend so I tried it. They provide a Personalized baby Gifts, Personalized Gifts, Baby Gifts at affordable price.Their service was great! I'm becoming a frequent shopper!
Suzy Frame says
These baby blankets are just adorable. Thanks for sharing and for letting us see all the patterns and different ways to make them. It is awesome to see all the different kind of blankets you can make. One I heard of not to long ago that I'd like to share is monogrammed baby blankets. I thought the concept was very neat and unique.