Well, here I am. Trying to survive winter storm Jonas. It's 16 degrees outside and my puppy is my worst enemy right now: the ONLY place he wants to be is outside. In the 18 inches of snow we've been graced with over the past two days. In a time like this, I can't help but wish he was a child who I didn't have to take outside to potty.
Speaking of kiddos, my good friend Nicole his having her baby soon. For her baby shower, I decided to try some new sewing projects: a blanket and some bibs! I absolutely loved making them, and I can't wait to make some more when baby Wagner makes his appearance.
Baby Wagner Blanky
Materials
1 1/2 yd EACH of plain & patterned material
I purchased a cotton & a flannel material
Fat Quarters
Think of how long the babies name is:
1 fat quarter is about 2 or 3 letters
Basic Sewing Machine
I didn't use any fancy stitching, but that's up to you!
Needle & Thread
Corresponding to each fat quarter color if you're using different colors (optional)
Then to whip stitch your blanket shut
First, wash and dry all of your fabric. Use a delicate cycle and be careful what kind of detergent you use, as this is going to be for a baby! When your fabric is all clean and dry, iron out the fabrics.
I ironed the fabrics for the actual blanket on my floor. Just be sure to lay down a couple towels or clean up the area you're going to use before you lay it on the ground.
First, you're going to have to sew your letters on. If you don't have a pattern, I suggest drawing the letter out on paper, cutting it out, and then tracing it onto the fabric.
I sewed each letter on with about 3/4 cm of fabric left as trim from the stitch. I then cut the trim in a rag style.
After the letters are sewn on, place the fabrics outside in, as if the blanket were inside out. Iron them together and then pin your border. Cut edges to make them even if necessary, but don't worry too much about extra fabric, because this is going to be inside your blanket.
Start your stitch in one of the corners. I did my seem about 1/2 cm away from the edge.
QUICK TIP: Be sure that the only fabric under your needle when you turn is the fabric you want sewn! I almost doubled over and sewed two separate areas of my blanket together. Whoops!
Make your way around the blanket. When you approach your starting point, be sure to leave a gap to allow you to turn your blanket right side out. Then, whip stitch the opening shut. It's easier if you iron your fabric to where the edges are folded in, the way the rest of your seam is.
Tada! You now have a simple baby blanket! You can stitch around the edge of your blanket for a decorative, more finished look, but I skipped this part for time restriction reasons.
Now, you're going to essentially start out the same way with bibs.
Baby Bibs
Materials
Fat Quarter
I used the leftover from my letters to match the blanket!
Terry Cloth Square
A hand towel is suitable
Sewing Machine
Needle & Thread
Start out the same way as your blanket. Wash and dry your fabrics, iron them, blah blah all the boring stuff involved in sewing!
Think about what you want your bib to look like. I did a traditional bib pattern and drew one on a piece of paper. Next time, I think I'll go to Dollar Tree and buy a bib to get a more "perfect" pattern. If you don't mind printing, go ahead and find one online and print it off! There's a lot of fun ones out there, bow tie bibs, bandanas. I'm just not a fan of setting up my printer for a small project like this and I thought the pattern was simple enough.
Face your fabrics in and pin them along the outer edge. You're going to want to start your seam along the bottom part of the bib, but off to the side- you're going to have to leave enough room to flip the bib right-side-out!
QUICK TIP
Once you flip your bib, iron it!! Fold the edges under where you're going to whip stitch it shut. It makes the hand stitch 1,000x easier!
Finally, you can add your velcro or a snap. Although I personally prefer snaps over velcro, I used velcro on my first two bibs. I hand sewed the velcro on, because my sewing machine isn't necessarily equipped for that many layers of fabric. But snaps are much more flexible in terms of movement and don't curl up when you wash them, so from now on, I'm going to use the snaps. Be sure to get the bigger ones. Normal snaps can't penetrate through the terry cloth and cotton.
Enjoy!
