Fuzzy Baby Blanket Tutorial

I have been making these fuzzy baby blankets for a while, and finally decided to (a) get them onto the blog, and (b) make one for Button (my little one due very soon)!  They are super easy and fast to make, so get ready...

Supplies:

What you see here is enough for 2 baby blankets.

You need:
1 1/4 yards of a novelty cotton fabric (above it is the birdy fabric, in the top photo it is the one with blue and green animals)
1 1/4 yards of fuzzy "minky"-like fabric.  At Jo-Anns, this fabric is called "Soft and Comfy", "Ultra Cuddle" or "Soft and Fluffy" or something like that.  This is a good item to use a coupon for, as it can be a bit pricy!
1 package of Blanket Binding
matching thread



Step 1:  Cut the fabric

After you have pre-washed and ironed your fabric, it is time to cut it out.  I prefer a square, but you can do whatever shape you want.  If you choose a square, the largest you want to cut it is 40-inches x 40-inches.  This is because ideally you want to purchase and use only ONE package of blanket binding, and if you make the blanket much bigger than 40x40, you will run out.

Lay the fabric on the floor or a large table, WRONG SIDES TOGETHER.  Line up the fabric so the selvage edge of the cotton novelty fabric is along one edge of the fuzzy fabric.  Fold the cotton fabric into a wedge as shown above so an adjoining edge meets the edge of the fabric.  Cut along the top edge.

Now unfold the cotton fabric, pin around, and cut along the other edges.  If you have on your thinking cap, you might realize that this square is now more like 44 or 45 inches.  This is because I used the width of the material as my guide.  To rectify this you can just trim 5 inches off of two adjoining sides of the square.  OR, when you fold it into the triangle shape above, instead of lining up the bottom edge of the cotton fabric to the selvage on the right side, fold it so it is 5 inches away from that selvage and then cut, like so:

Either way, you should come out with a 40-inch square, or thereabouts.

Step 2:  Sew
Keeping your two fabrics pinned together, bring it to your sewing machine.  Unwrap the blanket binding.  Find the middle of one edge of your blanket square (theoretically a bottom edge if your cotton fabric has direction), and place both pieces of fabric inside the end of the blanket binding, scooting the binding over a few inches past the center of the blanket side.  Now your fabric is enclosed by the blanket binding.

You may want to practice your zigzag on some scrap fabric before starting on the blanket, to ensure that you have a satin stitch width/size that you like.  I set my machine at a thread tension of 5, stitch width of 5.5, and stitch length of 0.95.  Figure out what works best for you.  You may choose to use your walking foot when sewing on the binding, if you have one.  If you don't have one, it will still work, but I think it helps a bit with these different fabrics.

You may note that I do not sew the actual fabric together before attaching the binding.  You can do this if you want, just sew a straight stitch all the way around the blanket and then put on the binding.  I am lazy and decided that step was not necessary.

I also do not pin the binding down before I sew.  I go slowly, stuffing the fabric into the binding as I go.

Corners:

When you get to your first corner,  sew all the way to the edge of the fabric and cut the thread.  DO NOT CUT THE BINDING.

Take the blanket out of the sewing machine and lay it flat on something.  I use my ironing board.  Please ignore the gross stains!  Fold the binding so the edge appears to be mitered.  This takes a little finagling, but just open the binding up a little and press the folded edge to the edge of the blanket, pulling it snug at the actual corner.  When the corner looks good, pin it together.

Now go back to your machine and start zig-zagging again, starting from the edge where the binding meets the previous zig-zag.

Continue around the blanket until you get to where you started, stopping 7 or so inches away.  Trim the binding so that it will span the remaining space and overlap your starting point, plus a couple of inches to turn under the binding for a nice edge.    Continue your zig-zag to the end of your binding.

I like to zig-zag over the binding folds, so no little fingers or toes can get in there.  Attach a label, if you want, and the blanket is done!

If giving as a gift, I think it looks cute rolled up and tied with a bit of ribbon.  If you have enough left-over binding, you could use that as well!

What is great about these blankets, besides being super easy and fast, is the textures.  It has the smooth cotton of the front fabric, and the fuzzy back side, plus the satin edges.  I think babies like to feel and play with the different textures.

I hope you will try this out next time you need a baby gift!  They are reasonably priced (especially if you have some coupons), easy to make, and a treasure for the recipient!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at shesoneclevermom@gmail.com.