Monday, January 30, 2012

Bandana Blankets :: a tutorial and a giveaway!!!

Please, whatever you do, please, please, pleeeeeease... don't sew like I do! I learned to sew in the back of a very tiny little theater, this tiny little theater in fact, from a technical director who was a magician with a sewing machine but lived by that old theater adage that things only needed to last 7 nights and only look good in the dark. I hope that what I lack in technique I make up for in enthusiasm!

So, here is a tutorial on how to make a bandana blanket and anyone who reads the whole thing, or just skips down to the combox at the end and leaves a comment will be entered in a little giveaway!

Step One: Prepare your fabric.

Choose your backing fabric and your coordinating bandanas. They can be different colors or all the same color. It's up to you. I like to make a 2x2 blanket for babies and a 2x3 for toddlers and little kids. So that means 4 bandanas for a baby blanket or 6 for a toddler blanket. You'll need 1 1/2 - 2 yds. of fabric for the back and batting for the middle. You can purchase batting off a bolt or just pick up a package of crib size batting. It's the perfect size for these blankets but buying it off the bolt is sometimes cheaper. Make sure your fabric is all cotton because really, it's the best! (I have used both cotton and poly batting, it usually depends on what I can find and afford.)

Machine wash and dry your bandanas and your fabric. Then you will want to iron everything except the batting of course. Well, you may not WANT to, but you need to. You'll thank me later.

Step Two: Sew the bandanas in pairs. 

Here's the funny thing about bandanas. They are not always perfectly square and sometimes the borders are not perfectly even. Most of them are a smidge rectangular. So, you're going to want to hold two (different colors if you are using different colors) up to a window or a light and try to match up the printed designs, not the corners of the bandana. Also, they may not look like they have right sides, but most bandanas do so make sure you've got your right sides together.
It's weird, I know but it makes the blanket lie much smoother in the long run. It doesn't have to be perfect, just eyeball it!
Chances are, your corners and edges will not match up. It's OK. You're gonna cut those off anyway.... not now, but later. 

Pin one side.

Stitch it.
Use the pattern as your guide for your seam allowance. I eyeball it to about an inch from the edge of the printed design.
Trim it.
I like to use pinking shears.

Iron it.
Open or flat to one side, makes no difference.

Repeat for remaining two or four bandanas. You don't need to be concerned yet about which side which color is on. Just get them sewed in pairs on one side.

Step three: Sew the bandanas all together.
Here is where color placement becomes an issue if you've got multicolored bandanas. With right sides together, you want opposite colors facing each other. Line them up according to the center seam, ignoring the edging and use the see-through technique or fold up the top one to get them straight across again.

Then, pin it, stitch it, trim it and iron it again. Just that one side.

So that when you open it, it looks like this:
And when you flip it over, it looks like this:
Don't worry if your seams don't match up exactly. Mine don't... bet you'd never notice in the dark!
If you are making a larger quilt, do this step all over again for your third set of bandanas and it should look like this:

Step Four: Sewing it all together
Here is how I like to layer it. Find yourself a large space on the floor or at a table and spread out your batting nice and smooth. Then place your backing fabric, right side up  on top of the batting. It will lay out nice and smooth because you ironed it! You're welcome. Finally, place your bandana topper, right side down, on top of the backing fabric. Should look like this:

Pin it all the way around leaving an opening big enough for your hand to fit through on one end.
I like to mark my opening with double pins so I don't accidentally stitch it closed.

Trim it... 
...especially the corners.

Flip it inside out. Don't forget to poke out the corners.

Step Five: Finishing it.
Once you make sure the corners are nice and pointy, turn the opening inside itself and iron it flat. 

Use a blind hem stitch to stitch it closed. You can probably find a YouTube video showing you how if you don't know. It looks like this:

And now... you are done!
Don't fret if it's not perfectly even or even straight. In my experience it usually looks like this...
...so no one will even notice. Plus, it'll be dark.

These blankets machine wash and dry beautifully. The more you use them, the softer they get!

Hello?

Is anyone still there?

And now for the giveaway!
Leave me a comment or send me an email and tell me about your favorite blanket (it can be one that you loved or one that your kids love) and I will select a winner who will receive the bandana blanket featured in this tutorial! 

That's right. 
The very one you saw me put together here! 
One lucky person will get to own it, mismatched seams and all. :-)

I'm leaving this giveaway open until Thursday and will announce a winner on Friday. Feel free to spread the word and share the chance to win! Anyone can enter, you don't even have to have a baby right now. Please make sure you leave me an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner!
 

49 comments:

  1. Each of my kids recieve a "Bear Blanket" when they are born from my Aunt. The blankets are rather large when the kids are babies- but as my kids grow, the blankets seem to shrink. In fact-most nights my 3 year old son will shriek and scream if he doesn't have his dark green "bear blanket" to sleep with.

    Thanks for putting this together! The blanket looks very cute.

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  2. My kids love blankets with satin binding around the edges. A total pain to sew on, but it makes them very happy! Thanks for the tutorial. My son is looking for a project to do for his soon-to-be-born baby brother...perhaps we've found just the right one!

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  3. My mother in law can sew absolutely anything and does an amazing job. She has quilted beautiful blankets for each of my children. They are a treasure, each one speacial and unique. I can't wait to try this. So cute and not so intense. Thanks.

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  4. What a cute idea! I think I may try and make one for my nephew who will be arriving in March! One of my friend's grandmother's crocheted my first son a white blanket for his baptism which is very special and has been used for my other children's baptismal days as well. I found your blog through Shower of Roses and my parents attend the Cistercian Abbey in Dallas. I was there on New Year's and I had wanted to introduce myself but I did not see you there. God bless you and maybe I'll run into you next time!

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  5. First of all, let me say that I love reading your blog! You have a beautiful family, and I do so enjoy the glimpse into your family life that your blog provides.

    Secondly, THANK YOU for this tutorial! I have admired the many bandana blankets you have pictured that you have made. Beautiful!! One question--would it help to tie it here and there with some yarn to keep the layers together?

    Finally, each of my six children has/has had a "security blanket" because, as a thumb-sucking, blanket-toting child myself, I greatly encouraged it! There is nothing quite like a "blankie" to cuddle up with. Even though I am 48 years old, I still have my old blankie in a box in my closet. It is a "crazy quilt" that was handmade (of course) by a lady who gave it to my mother for a baby gift. Let's just say it is in "much-loved condition." But I still can't quite part with it.

    Mary

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    1. Mary, I have made dozens of these over the years and have never tied them with yarn or actually quilted any of them. They machine wash and dry just fine. I don't know what tying the layers together would do. On occasion, I have had to open one back up in order to make some repairs to a well-loved blanket that had a tear in it or a rip and tying the layers or quilting it would have made that much more difficult.

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  6. When I was a baby,my grandmother crocheted a blanket for me. I remember having my mom put it up high so I couldn't reach it because I had gotten to the age (over 7) when it was embarrassing for me that I still slept with a blanket. My mother had tied it in knots at this point to keep it together. It was definitely well loved. When my oldest was born, my grandmother made her a blanket exactly like mine. I was heart-broken that she never carried it around like I did. Nineteen years later and hers still looks beautiful.

    The quilt you made is beautiful and now that I am expecting number 7 this summer, I would love to be the recipient of that quilt! Thanks for the tutorial, so in the likelihood that this goes to someone else, I can try to make one myself.

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  7. I am SO happy you shared this awesome tutorial! I love your quilties!!! One of my favorite blankets is a cute, soft, cuddly little one I made for Austin before he came home from the NICU in El Paso. It is by no means perfect, but I found the most adorable cowboy themed flannel and couldn't resist the temptation to create something out of it for our first little Texan! :) I backed it with part of an old fleece blanket we already owned, and my lack of sewing skills are embarrassingly evident in it's uneven edges, but I love it. :)

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  8. Excellent tutorial! I ordered the backing fabric from Fabric.com so just waiting on that (have all other supplies) and I am so excited (and I don't even LIKE sewing, usually!).

    THANKS for the inspiration ...

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  9. It ate my comment!~

    My favorite blanket is a quilt that was made for us by the grandmother of one of my best childhood friends. Although I didn't see the grandmother all that often she still took time to make this special gift for us. I sleep under it every night and it is fraying and needs repair, but I don't want to part with it for even a few nights!

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  10. Charlotte, My quilt seams very rarely match up evenly. I think it gives them that homemade look. Who wants perfection? Well, maybe some people do; but I rather like the slight imperfections in handcrafts.

    Thank you for sharing your process. I always love getting a peek at the nitty-gritty how-to. I was fascinated that you sew it inside out and then flip it later. That's not at all how I'd have done it-- though it is how I do pillows; but it makes perfect sense.

    I adore that coordinated backing. So cute!

    I had a blanket when I was little but my uncle helped me play a game when I was bout four called cut blankie into pieces. I thought it was great but then was dismayed when bedtime came and the blanket wouldn't be put back together. I blame that trauma for my extended thumb sucking and subsequent need for braces. So I'm just saying, don't take the blankies away from your kiddos. They are never too old to cherish them.

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    1. Oh Melanie, how sad! Just to let you know, my big giant 14 year old boy still keeps a quiltie tucked into the bottom of his bed. Just to keep his feet warm, he says, ; ) It's not his original one because that is up in his keepsake box.

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  11. My aunt makes all the kids blankets. They have been loved and used as everything from tents to turbans, and are so well loved. My 12 year old spent a day repairng hers with her Grandma because it was so well loved.
    This blanket is so adorable! I could see Jewel #8 wrapped in it!
    (cmoora1@juno.com)

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  12. Thank you for doing this tutorial. If I ever get my dining room table cleared off I'll have to give this a try. I have leftover batting that I'd like to use up.

    My favorite blanket is a coffee bean throw. I've used it so much over the past 15 years that the poor thing is becoming threadbare. I don't know what I'll do when it develops holes.

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  13. I love your bandana blankets and that one would look great in my son's room! I have two favourite blankets - the first is a quilt made for me by my godmother (who died this month) and which I used with my two when they were babies. And the other was a birthday present from my mama this year - a gorgeous quilt showing off all she learned in quilting class

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  14. I love your quilties, Charlotte, and would thrilled to win one of them! Two of the blankets in my littlest one's crib were sewn by my grandmother for me. I'm so happy to be still using them and that they have held up so well through all of the hundreds of washes they been through. A few other favorite blankets are the ones my great-grandmother knit for me when I was a baby. There's nothing better than a treasured heirloom that you can wrap around you to comfort and keep you warm. I've crocheted a few blankets for my children, but I would really like to knit one and maybe even one day sew one, too.Thank you so much for the tutorial!

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  15. Seven nights, in the dark *and* from 20 feet away! I sew like that, too, but only when doing costumes. Lovely tutorial, friend!

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    1. I forgot about that last part! Well, it was a really tiny theater, so maybe only 5 feet away!

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  16. Little Love left her Quiltie in a hotel room in New Mexico during our trip out to California last year... and doesn't she REMIND me of that fact often!
    :P
    Just wanted to say that YES, these blankies are AWESOME, and Little Boo still still STILL is loving hers to PIECES!
    Thanks for this tutorial. Am forwarding on to Grandma...
    :)

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  17. Thank you so much. I have been wanting you to post a tutorial for these blankets. You made my Monday morning a very happy one.

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  18. Thank you SO much for the tutorial! We are definitely going to try this! My personal favorite blanket is a quilt my grandmother made for me. Well actually the story goes that someone did the top, it is a variety of pastel gingham checks and my grandmother did the batting and backing and quilting. Anyways, I used it so much, that now a lot of the gingham has worn and is falling apart. I'm 39 and have had it since a young child. So now it is neatly folded in my hope chest. My mom on the other hand made sweet baby quilts for each of my first 7 children. However she has never done one for my 8th, so I think this might be just the thing for me (and my 16 yrold dd) will try to have done in time for his 2 yrold bday, in Feb! Thanks!

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  19. I would love win this!! Perfect for my new little one!
    My favorite blanket would have to be the crochet one my mom made. When she passed away I found two unfinished blankets with her stash. One of them was a really sweet crochet pattern in green. It was meant to be a big afghan but was a perfect size for a baby blanket. So I finished the row, did a border around it, and had a baby blanket. It was the last gift she left for her grandchildren. I brought little Tiger home from the hospital all wrapped up in it.
    THANK YOU!

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  20. Ooooh, pick me!!!! :)

    My 8 year old daughter has a blankie she calls "mmmah" (because when she was a toddler, she buried her head in it and took a big whiff "mmmmmmmmah!"). It's so tattered that my dear MIL sewed her an "mmmah bag" to keep it in. Now the bag itself is starting to look a little worn, er... I mean, loved. :)

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  21. This is adorable, Charlotte! I am wondering if even I can sew this ... I was very much a blanket kid. I had one very beloved blanket that looks worn and tattered today (yes, I still have it in my keepsake box). My little guy is a blanket kid, too. So sweet =)

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  22. Oh boy, OH BOY....I'd love it!~ And I even have a baby who'd look just that much more adorable wrapped up in such a snuggly-blanket! ;-) As a matter of fact, just a few days younger than your own sweetie-pie...born Sept. 7th. Thanks for the giveaway and tutorial!

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  23. Sound fabulous! I'd love to win! You are truly a woman of many talents!

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  24. Oh I'm suppose to mention our favorite...one my friend Megan bought for my first son...from somewhere called Grammy's Blankets and quilts! it is truly a worn and comforted favorite now! Thanks Megan! And Charlotte too!

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  25. Thanks so much for the tutorial - as a visual learner, it really helps! My favorite blanket among our 5 children right now is my daughter's blanket that I swaddled her in and then she adopted it as her own. It's big, and 100% cotton so it's soft and stretchy...although I'm a little bummed another baby won't be able to use it! I'd love to win your blanket - it's beautiful! I'd like to teach my daughters to sew and this would be a great starter project for them. Are there different qualities in the bandannas (I've seen them at the dollar store but not sure if they would wash up as soft)? We are also due for #6 in May and my husband is hoping for another boy! :-) Thanks again,

    Mary

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    1. I usually get mine from the craft store and all the say is 100% cotton. They feel very stiff and starched before I wash them but after they are nice and soft.

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  26. My favorite blanket in memory was one that my Mom made when I was a kid. I can't remember her ever sewing, except for this blanket. My Dad's beloved baby blanket was just utterly threadbare, and it had been made for him by his grandmother who he loved very much. So, as a gift (if I remember correctly), my Mom made a cover for it, essentially making it into a new blanket, with the baby blanket inside. It was flannel on one side and VERY heavy due to many layers. Everyone in our family loved it, I can still feel the weight of that blanket on me. It was so special too because it was a sign of my Mom's love for Dad, as well as the fact that my brother and I just couldn't possibly *imagine* my Dad as a child, much less one who liked a blankie! :-)
    I LOVE your blanket tutorial...I just might be able to tackle one of these. I'm horrible at precision, so this looks quite attainable for me. Thanks for such a fun post, Charlotte!

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  27. My favorite blanket is one my third daughter's godmother made her out of the most wonderful fabric. It depicts little children praying to Mary. I love that quilt.

    A picture of it is here: http://bananabearandbophie.blogspot.com/2008/10/sleeping-beauty.html

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  28. Looks great--thanks for the tutorial, especially with the pics!

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  29. I love blankets and quilts of all kinds. This is very doable and cute! Thanks for the tutorial....I'd been wondering how you make them. Makes sense to use bandanas as quilt blocks...how nifty.:) Fun giveaway, too.

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    1. Oops I forgot to tell you about my favorite quilt/blanket. That would have to be the one I made for Monica before she was born. She had a Peter Rabbit themed nursery so I made the blanket from the same pattern I made your little Cupcake's quilt. Out of the center squares in the alternating quilt blocks, I cut out different scenes of a Peter Rabbit fabric. That quilt was a Double Irish Chain and the first I ever made. I still love looking at it! That was way back when I had oodles of time to sew and learn.

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  30. What a great idea for bandanas!
    I really enjoyed making 4 blankets for my girlfriends and myself when we all started having babies. They were all the same - 2 flannel pieces sew together to make them a little warmer. One side has alphabet letters, while the other side has 5 bands of coordinating colors. I didn't know what I was really doing, but it was fun to be creative and it worked out!
    I also have really enjoyed the flannel blankets we've received for each of my kids, and an in-law embroidered them for us with their name and baby info. A treasured keepsake which they each still use!

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  31. Ohh, I love that backing fabric! I'm trying to figure out my sewing machine. Grr. I will have to try this *one day*...

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  32. I love this blanket! I have really got to learn how to sew. My favorite blanket is a rag quilt that a co-worker of mine sewed for my daughter. It is beautiful and oh-so-soft!

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  33. Great project!! I never had blankie growing up! :( Lots of stuffed animals but never a blankie! So, I am pleasantly surprised that my son who is 8 still loves his blankie!! It is a little pastel green square blanket much smaller than what you made. The top has torn off which was cotton material and what is left is the shiny pastel green silky material. He has it in bed with him every night!! Shhh, don't tell his friends!! :) Lorie- 3lipps@cox.net

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  34. I love these blankets and have attempted a couple as gifts. I had a few questions, but, being stubborn, I decided to just press on and do the best that I can. My favorite bandana blanket, by far, though is the one my 11 year old daughter and her friends sewed for our little baby boy, born Dec 27th, 2011. She was so proud and is always so happy to see us using it. I can tell you that I am very grateful for your tutorial--it answered those little questions that I was too stubborn and lazy to ask when attempting this project. Thanks!

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  35. Thank you so much for the tutorial! I was trying to find something to make for our little guy who is due in March!! My favorite blanket memory is the Teddy bear patchwork quilt that my great-grandmother had made for me when I was a baby. Each Teddy bear was unique in each square and cross-stitched lovingly by my great-grandmother:) I still have it in my hope chest and hopefully my kids will get to use it someday as well! God Bless
    Sarah (seleblanc10@gmail.com)

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  36. Thanks so much for this giveaway!

    My favorite blanket is one my grandmother made for me. It has a pocket that the blanket can be folded into to make it a pillow.

    Natalie

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  37. Thank you for posting the directions! I had a favorite blanket and was devastated when my mother recovered it (thinking she was prolonging its life and trying to be helpful). I still have it.
    Erin (erin.taylor11@comcast.net)

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  38. Very cool blanket. Sewing is one of those things I've always wished someone had taught me when I was younger. One of these days, I'm going to try it. Though I've neglected myself in this area, I have made sure my 13yo daughter has taken sewing classes and knows her way around a sewing machine. This seems like the kind of project she would love! Thanks for the tutorial.

    My favorite blanket is one that my grandmother crocheted for me. It is red and I slept with it every night until high school. I still have it and think of her loving hands whenever I touch it. I imagine her sitting in her rocking chair going back and forth with her feet resting on her little footstool as she made it.

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  39. Hi Charlotte, your blanket is so beautiful! I rally should try and make one but my sewing abilities are terrible at best!! I would certainly like to enter your giveaway and I will bring it to the abortion clinic where I go and pray on Thursdays. We like to give baby booties or a baby blanket to a mom who has changed her mind and cancelled her appt. Another reason I should learn how to make them myself. So, we could stock up!

    My favorite blanket was one that was crocheted by my grandmother that was given to me when I was older. It was green with yellow and white flowers on it. Loved it because it was made by her.

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  40. I was so busy reminicising about my grandmother that I forgot to leave my email address: noreenjohnson7@gmail.com

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  41. This is adorable!
    A perfect gift for a friend having a little boy next month.
    Thanks!
    Darby
    dawhittier@live.com

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  42. This is a great tutorial! I love sewing though I can't say I'm the most skilled at it. I actually gave my favorite blanket from childhood to the closest thing I have to a baby right now, my dachshund mix Twinky. It has baby minnie and mickey and pluto on in and even though every so often I get a twinge of regret when I throw it in the washer all stinky and covered in dog hair it is completely worth it to see her all snuggled up in it at night after it has been cleaned :)

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  43. Such a cute idea Charlotte! Miss you guys! Wish we were closer!

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  44. This is so adorable! Thanks for sharing. As I am not a seamstress (sigh, my mom never taught me and she is a wonderful seamstress) I would love to win this (since I won't be making one). My favorite blankets are not actually mine but my 3 girls. A friend of my mom's made them each a blanket when they were born. They are simple fleece blankets but she crocheted around the edges. They are beautiful and the girls love them.

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