Blanketology

I recently made this blanket for our new niece Baby A.

I made this pattern up as I went after looking at a few other blankets for ideas.

Supplies needed:

1 ½ yards fabric to be used for the top

1 ½ yards fabric to be used for the bottom

2 layers of batting

1 spool of thread

I used flannel for the top and minky fabric for the bottom. I chose to do two layers of batting to make it thicker so that the blanket would be super warm or good as a floor play mat. Obviously you can use one layer, two layers, or zero layers of batting. Similarly, any measurements can be modified according to the size you need.

1. After washing all of your fabrics including the batting to account for shrinkage, cut everything.

I cut my batting to 35 inches square and the outer fabrics to 36 ½ inches. I chose 35 inches for the batting because that was the width after it was washed. This way I only had to cut one side since the pieces lined up like so:



Nice way to save yourself some measuring. I was envisioning the blanket would be about 36 inches square anyways so that worked out well.

I made the outer fabrics a little bigger so that I could sew the standard 5/8 inch seam and so that when the blanket finally was together, the batting would have some room and not bunch or need to be cut down to fit inside the fabric.

If you are using a patterned piece that is geometric like the harlequin pattern I used be sure to figure out what the center of the fabric is and cut accordingly so that everything stays in line. I am crazy so cutting out the harlequin pattern took me forever. This didn’t cross my mind when purchasing the fabric or else I might have made a different choice. Obviously, for those more relaxed, you can cut it any way you want. I would also recommend a cutting mat and rotary cutter for this part. I used scissors and it was a major pain to keep everything straight.


2. Pin the two fabrics so that they are inside out.




Make sure that the fabrics are facing the correct direction if there is a clear up and down to your pieces. If you are using minky like me, make sure the nap is facing down. I pinned the corners together first. Minky is stretchy and I wanted to make sure everything was aligned properly. Then, I pinned the middles and then the rest.

3. Begin sewing making sure to leave an 8 inch or so part unsewn. Backstitch at each end.



I eyeballed the hole size but just make sure your hole is big enough to flip the blanket and get the batting in. I used a 5/8 inch seam because it’s standard and the sewing machine has a clear mark on it for when to turn the corner. I used a standard sewing needle size 90/14 with a standard stitch.

Once this was done, I actually trimmed down the seam to about a ¼ inch. I hate dealing with too small seams so the few minutes it took to do this was an easy trade off for fighting with my sewing machine.

4. Cut the corners to remove extra bulk. Make sure not to cut the seam open.

5. Flip the blanket so the right sides face outside. Push out the corners with a tool if need be.

6. Put the batting in.

I did this like I do our down comforter when I am switching the duvet by holding a corner to keep everything in place from the outside and then using my skills to smooth everything out.


7. Once the blanket is smoothed out and the batting is lying flat, sew the opening shut by hand.

This was my least favorite part.

8. You could use the blanket as is. But, to keep the batting from getting all mixed up and moving around, I did a one inch topstitch around the outside of the blanket. Backstitch at each end.

My machine doesn’t have a one inch mark so I measured one out and made a line on my machine. I also measured out where to turn the fabric so that the stitching is one inch on all sides. I marked this on my machine as well.

9. You are done! Voila!