365 Blankets: #s 9-12

More Flannel Receiving Blankets, they really are a great blanket to have a bunch of.  I use them all the time for my 2 month-old and my 2 year-old still has hers too.

Blankets number 9 & 10:

 Pink Ribbon & Roses

Blankets number 11 & 12: 

 Apples. Pears & Birdhouses

 

365 Blankets: #s 4-8, Flannel Swaddlers

I have been sewing over the past week, just haven't gotten time to edit pictures and blog.  Finally got around to it this morning/afternoon, so here are the next blankets, with more on the way!

Blankets # 4 & 5

Birdies in their Cages - Flannel Receiving Blankets

I love this print!

I made a couple Diaper Burp Cloths to go with the blankets

Blankets # 6 & 7

Polka Dots - Flannel Receiving Blankets

Blanket # 8

Fairy Mushrooms - Flannel Receiving Blanket and matching burp cloths

365 Blankets: #3 - Quilted Flannel Blanket

This is another simple blanket.

1. Take two pieces of flannel and cut both pieces to about the same size (you will probably need to recut the edges once they are sewn together, so don't be worried about them being exactly the same size).

2. Pin the pieces together and quilt. 

3. Serge around the edge of the blanket

4. That is it, that easy!


Here are photos and a few tips that I discovered along the way.

the fabric: white and green baby boy print from the receiving blankets and a green flannel with white polka dots

 Cut the fabric to approximate size

 I like to round the corners of the blankets I make when I am going to do a serged edge, but you don't have to.

Front and back

Lay the two pieces flat with right sides facing out.

Smooth the wrinkles out, flip over and repeat and then pin about every 8-10 inches.

Oops, I measured wrong :)

I used a Free-Motion Presser Foot to quilt the two layers together.

Look close, you can see where it is quilted

If you make a mistake, (like not putting the presser foot back down after a turn) all you need to do is sew back and forth over the end of your stitch and continue on.

Results

 All quilted together.

 Clean up the edges and curve the corners again if you need to.

Serge around the outside

Sew over the serge thread tail end

Add a tag

All done. Finished size, approx. 34x40

Ready to list!

Here is another blanket that I made in a similar way, but I used a walking foot made straight quilt lines.

365 Blankets: 1 & 2 Receiving Blankets

Here is the first of many posts to come over the next year.  I thought I would start out with the very first blanket babies use, a receiving blanket.  They are made of  soft, 100 % cotton flannel and simply have a serged edge.  Nothing fancy, but they are so versatile, that they are a must for all mothers!  They can be used for swaddling, nursing cover-up and as a burp clothe just to name a few. 

Receiving Blanket Picture Tutorial

Choose a cute print of 100 % cotton flannel

 PRE-WASH your fabric

You may want to iron the fabric a bit if you don't get it out of the dryer right away, it is much easier to work with flat fabric.

See how uneven the cut end of the fabric is?  That end was cut straight in the store, so if you made your blankets without pre-washing, you would have trapezoidal blankets instead of square.

Cut the end straight.  Save yourself a lot of time and hard work and invest in a rotary cutter and cutting mat, you will thank me for this advice if you don't already have one.

 Cut to 40 inches

 Fold and cut off the other end at 20 inches, 20 + 20 = 40.  Whatever you do, don't cut off the folded side! You will end up with two 20x40 blankets!

Cut off the corners, this is easily done by leaving the blanket folded and cutting off all the corners at once.  Again, don't cut the folded side, you will end up with a very oddly shaped blanket!

 So this is what you should have at this point, a 40x40 piece of flannel with curved corners.

 Make another one

 Now you have two 40x40 pieces of flannel with curved corners.

To finish the edges, I serge them.  If you don't have a serger, you can fold over the edge 1/4 of an inch and sew it, to keep the flannel from fraying.

 Choose a place to start and stop serging that will hide your stitches, the green baby carriage on the edge will work great, since I am using green thread

 Put the fabric in place and you are ready to go

 Make sure your stitches are not too wide and that your fabric is laying flat once it is serged.  You may want to practice on some scrap flannel before you serge your blanket.

 Once you get around to the end, sew over the starting stitches.

 This is what it will look like once you are done.

 Now, I like to stitch over the tail to make sure it doesn't unravel. 

 Go forward and back a few times and then trim off the tail

 I sew on a tag, to brand my blankets.

 There, all finished and ready to sell.  Two down, 363 to go!