Each of my kids has had several blankets, but the ones they end up attaching to that then become their "blankies," are the flannel, crocheted-edge ones. I cannot refuse to do the edging because I hate to crochet, but luckily, I have an uber-talented sister who loves me enough to edge blankies for me!--I honestly can't figure out how anyone can enjoy crochet. It's time-consuming, and by the end of a row, my hand is usually cramped and looking like the claws you find on the ugly old woman version of the queen in snow white.
With the new little one joining us in about two months, it is time to make a few new blankies. We don't know the gender of this baby (it's most likely our last baby, and we wanted a surprise,) so there is one for a boy, and one for a girl. I'll give the other one away as a baby shower gift.
I thought it might be fun to give you a step-by-step tutorial for my version of these easy little blankets.
First, you'll need 1 yard each of two coordinating flannel fabrics. Wash and dry them.
2. Next, you'll need to iron each piece.
3. Lay your two pieces on top of one another, wrong sides together, matching up two edges. Brush your hands along the fabric, starting at the corner you lined up and working your way out to make the two pieces of flannel "stick" to one another.
4. Now, you want to trim your edges so that they are straight and even.
**One of my pet peeves is when stores have this printed on the edge:**
It forces me to cut an extra 1 1/2 inches off because I don't want their name on the edge of my baby's blanket! (scowl)
When you're finished trimming, you should have 4 edges lined up perfectly.
5. Next, I pin (about 10 inches apart) my fabrics together. I do this because it bothers me when they shift after being washed several times and there is an edge with a fold in it because one fabric is slightly bigger than the other. I like to machine quilt the blanket so that it all stays in place.
You can pin using any method you like. You could measure to make your lines even. I counted little squares for these blankets. You could even free-hand it, if you're so bold, but I strongly recommend pinning before you start so that the pieces don't shift while you're sewing and create bunches and perma-wrinkles in your blanket.
6. After pinning, sew your layers of flannel together.
7. Next, I like to serge the edges to keep the flannel from fraying, and to give it a little more sturdy edge.
8. The final step requires the use of a hemstitch needle. (Shown below.)
Sew around the edge of the blanket, turning the blanket with the needle down at the corners. I sew 3/8" (the first line) from the edge, but you could sew a closer or further from the edge, depending on how wide you want your crocheted border.
These are the holes my sister will use to put on the crocheted border.
Viola! Two blankets done in a matter of a few hours (minus the border.)
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4 comments:
I don't understand why you don't want the name JoAnn on your baby blanket! That is weird.
You are good to quilt the top of your blankets. I have never made one, but I've been given several and after they have been washed a few times that two sides are always "coming apart" and not lining up anymore, so the whole blanket is messed up. Mu MIL always makes the kids two when they are born and now I wish she would quilt the top first! I might suggest that to her. Good idea!
I want to point out two things: 1) Crochet is awesome. 2) If you hold the hook and yarn right, your hand won't cramp up like the witch's... I'm just sayin'!
I'm happy to crochet blanket edges for my crochet challenged sister and her unknown gender fetus. Love you!
Found you on the linky party. :)
Cute blankets, thanks for showing how you did it.....I tried to make a flannel burp cloth and could NOT figure out what to do with the edges...now I know-surge.
Super cute!! Perfect for little snuggles. Thanks for linking this up as well!
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