Cute blanket, but even better, do you know what’s hiding on the other side?!?! – check it out!:
I’ve been wanting to make a Faux Chenille Blanket forever, so with a baby shower coming up I just went for it. I used the tutorial I first saw, over at MADE. Follow the link for the full how-to, but basically the blanket is several layers of flannel, all sewn together diagonal (er, on the bias, for you sewing professionals) and then the underside cut up all the sewn channels.
After hearing horror stories of how long and hard these are to make (Kimbo rants about it here), I’m here to say I cranked this out (except for the binding) in one evening – seriously! Some tips from me:
–invest in the cutting tool (Living With Punks talks about it) – I can’t imagine cutting this thing, down every channel, with scissors. The cutting tool was a breeze – like pulling a zipper up a jacket – a little resistance, and takes a second to get started, then it just whizzes right to the top. I cut the whole blanket in 20 minutes.
–don’t make it too big – Kate made one, and hers was 1 1/4 yards square – she said it was too big. So I took her advice and started with 1 yard, then cut off a little to make it square. The size seemed perfect.
–Preload bobbins – nothing’s more annoying than stopping to wind a bobbin when you’re on a roll – this will take about 3 bobbins, so go ahead and get those ready.
–Where you cut on the back, you can see through to the backside of the front piece of fabric – does that make sense?? So I layered mine with the top one and one piece of fabric behind it (it’s red) that I didn’t cut, so the red shows through instead of the back of the dot fabric.
–I shouldn’t have put the green and blue together – they kind of blend in to each other – I should have separated them with the orange – oh well.
–I didn’t want the diagonal lines to go through the name, so I hand-sewed that patch on after I sewed and cut all the channels – I think that worked well:
–Your lines don’t have to be perfectly straight – who’s looking that close anyways! Here’s a shot to show my wiggly lines, but the lines are super hard to see, so just use your imagination:
Here are the channels after I cut them but before I stuck in through the wash to fluff it up:
Once again, a shot of the back – – I loved holding this blanket!! I will be making more for sure!!
Put this on your to-do list – you can do it!!
You are amazing! 🙂
How long did it take to sew all the lines? That is the part that takes the time I think.
This turned out really cute! You could also use electric scissors to cut the lines. They are really easy and quick to use, plus they are so helpful if you ever sew rag quilts.
adore. i’m itching to make another one…..so addicting!
Oh thats totally cute!! great tips as well. Perfect timing, I have a friend whos preg. and was wondering what I was going to make for her little boy. 🙂 Now I know!
Thanks!!!
Looks great! I’m sure Kate is jealous of the cutting tool! And genius idea to add an extra layer but not cut it. It never even occurred to me that the back side of the front fabric would show through after you cut the stripes.
That looks like so much work! Amazing!!! 🙂
This looks amazing! I want to make one for Alie!!! 🙂
I know this post was not here when I first googled these blankets! SO cute!! I’m making one for my 1st grandbaby! Love it, except for getting poked by all the pins…I’m using Kevlar gloves…no more pin pokes!!!
Your suggestions are spot on! I’m looking for the cutting tool. It’s different from the one I saw on a tutorial, but it would be worth investing in, I think.
I’m making mine out of cotton fabrics with a layer of thermor in between the front and back fabrics. I think what I should really do is cut all but the last layer before the thermor. That way none of the batting will show. It’s not what the video I watched said to do, but I don’t think I want the batting to show. Thoughts?
Thanks again for all your hints!
This is so cute! Thanks for linking up to Lemon Tree Creations last week!
Wow! Really cute!!! I can’t believe you did it in one night!!!!!!