{"id":172,"date":"2025-01-02T21:22:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T21:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newdadsewingschool.com\/wordpress\/?p=172"},"modified":"2025-01-02T21:23:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T21:23:22","slug":"frugal-dad-sewing-project-sew-your-own-baby-blanket-for-your-baby-or-a-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newdadsewingschool.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2025\/01\/02\/frugal-dad-sewing-project-sew-your-own-baby-blanket-for-your-baby-or-a-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Frugal Dad Sewing Project: Sew your own baby blanket for your baby or a friend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
What better way to express your love for your child than by sewing them the quintessential baby blanket for you and them to cherish?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before my daughter was born I decided to make her a baby blanket. This wasn\u2019t like a full sized quilt. It was baby sized, made out of flannel and Sherpa fleece so it was nice and soft. It had three different block pattens on it. I embroidered her name on it, which wasn\u2019t that legible since I was just learning to embroider at the time. We used it, and still do, as a blanket for her in the car seat when it gets cold. Plus it\u2019s something that we can cherish as she gets older and she can potentially cherish as an adult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A baby blanket is a great, low stress, project for new dads learning to sew. It\u2019s straightforward, with easy straight line stitches and is good to practice quilting and working with fabrics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making a baby blanket also makes a nice hand made gift for other dads. To me this kind of gift is something that has been lost in the modern gifting culture of new parents. It shows your support for your friends and a mindfully crafted gift to welcome them to the insanity and rewards of parenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The baby quilt is made up of three layers like a sandwich: the top, bottom and batting. “Batting” is a common component of quilts. It adds extra insulation and \u201cloft\u201d to make it more soft and fluffy. If you go to the sewing store you\u2019ll see a lot of different types of batting with different levels of loft. In terms of beginner sewing it\u2019s not too important to get into the weeds of quilt batting. You can get pre-cut packaged batting or get it by the yard. For this blanket I\u2019m using a 100% cotton batting with a minimal loft.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I base the dimensions of the quilt on the dimensions of the pre-cut batting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As always, it\u2019s important to pre-wash the fabric before sewing so it doesn\u2019t get warped. But DO NOT pre wash the batting or it will disintegrate in the washer. Trust me on this because it is a pain to clean up. Don\u2019t wash it until it\u2019s safely inside the quilt. For this project I recommend flannel. Flannel is easy to work with, it\u2019s nice and soft and you can find a lot of cute patterns at the store in the flannel or nursery fabrics section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supplies:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
1 yard flannel (Side A)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
1 yard contrasting flannel (Side B)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Cotton batting<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Sewing machine and thread<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Scissors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How to sew the baby blanket:<\/p>\n\n\n\nMeasure and cut out your fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Cut out your fabric. The dimensions I am using are 36″ x 36″, which is one square yard. You can do any dimension here too. It can be annoying that the batting dimensions often do not match up well with the fabric dimensions, so you will likely have some excess.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nCut out your fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
2. Iron out any creases in the fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIron out any creases<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
3. Layer the fabrics in the following order. This is important so you don\u2019t end up with the batting on the outside of the blanket.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nLayer fabric: Side A on top of Side B on top of your batting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Layer Side A on top of Side B with right sides facing. Layer batting on top of Side B (the batting should be touching the wrong side of Side B. Don\u2019t worry too much about lining up the layers perfectly since you can trim the seam allowances before you turn it.
This order is important because after you sew the layers together you will turn it inside out. The batting is on the outside here so that when you turn it it will be on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Clip\/pin and sew around the edges with a 5\/8\u201d seam allowance.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSew around with a 5\/8″ seam allowance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Try to line the seam up with the fabric closest to the needle. You can even this out when you clip the seam allowances next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t get too caught up in matching up the seam allowances perfectly here. It will look great regardless because you made it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you get to the corner, leave the needle in, lift up the foot and pivot the fabric around the needle. This way you don\u2019t lose your position. The blanket can get kind of unwieldy while you\u2019re sewing so remember to take your time. I\u2019ve found it can help keep the seams even if you hold up the back while you\u2019re sewing so the feed dogs don\u2019t have to pull it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPivot around the needle when it is down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Leave a 3\u201d gap at the end to use for turning the fabric. Remember to backstitch at each end.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLeave a 3″ gap at the end for turning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Trim the seams around the sides. This helps to reduce the bulk. Be sure not to cut into your seam.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTrim the seam allowance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Turn the blanket right side out. Take this part nice and slow too. It\u2019s like putting a blanket inside a duvet cover. (And I say, contrary to what Tyler Durden said, it\u2019s okay for men to know what a duvet is).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nTurn the blanket right side out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Here it helps to iron down the sides and get them nice and crisp for the next step. Also try to tuck in the edges from the opening down. This will make it easier to stitch shut in the next step.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nIron down edges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
6. Once it\u2019s ironed down, do a top stitch along the edges about 1\/4\u201d from the edge. You will also use this to sew up the opening you left for turning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/ol>\n\n\n\nSew a 1\/4″ top stitch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
To find the\u00a0 seam distance, here I like to use a shortcut where I find a spot on the sewing machine foot that is about the same distance and line up the fabric based on that point. For my machine the 1\/4\u201d seam lines up with the slight groove on the inside of the foot. You can see it in the above photo where the edge of the white fabric lines up with the groove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The top stitch gives the blanket a nice polished look.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe top stitch gives a nice polished look<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
If you want it to look even more polished you can do a ladder stitch (also known as a slipstitch) by hand on the opening before you do the top stitch.\u00a0Here is a good overview of how to do a slip stitch: How to Sew a Slip Stitch (Ladder Stitch)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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