There’s nothing better than curling up in a blanket on a cold winter’s night with the wind howling outside. In this article we are going to tell you how to sew a cozy blanket. You make a blanket with three layers, the batting, flannel, and plush fabric, but it isn’t too difficult to make.
Table of Contents
Choose the Batting
Batting is the padding which fills your blanket and makes it warm and soft. You can either buy it prepackaged or you can buy it custom made, meaning that you can choose the size. However, pre packaged batting does come in three sizes making it easy to work with. The three sizes are for a twin bed, a queen sized bed, and a king sized bed.
You have a choice of either polyester or cotton batting. Cotton is softer to the touch than polyester. It also comes pre-shrunk so you don’t have to wash it before making the blanket. Another choice to be made is whether you have high or low-loft quality. It all depends how thick you want the blanket to be. High-loft is thicker than low-loft. It is also easier to work with batting that is in sheet form, not loose.
Choose the Flannel
The flannel will be seen on your blanket so you will have to choose the color or pattern carefully. Not only will you want it to match your plush fabric, but your room as well.
Flannel usually comes prepackaged and the thickness does vary, so you will have to decide how thick you want your blanket to be. You need to buy flannel a little bigger than your bating and cut it down to size.
Choose the Plush Fabric
You will want to choose a plush fabric that goes with the color of your flannel. Many people go for white as white matches almost any color.
You can buy plush fabric either prepackaged or custom made. If you buy custom made, make sure that it is slightly longer than the flannel and batting so you can cut it to the right size. It’s always much easier to make things smaller.
The plush fabric is what touches the skin so you need to make sure that you feel comfortable with it and it doesn’t cause any allergies.
Choose the Right Thread
This may seem strange, but the thread you use is very important. If you are using a sewing machine to sew your blanket you will need single strand sewing thread and a little 6-count embroidery floss to finish the edges. If you are hand sewing, you will just need 6-count embroidery floss. You will want to get a thread that matches the color of your blanket.
Wash All the Fabrics
Sometimes you can find batting that is pre-shrunk so you don’t need to wash it. However if it hasn’t been washed, hand wash it with cool water, a soft washcloth, and a little detergent. The flannel and plush fabric need to be washed with cool water and detergent, also by hand.
Batting needs to hang out on the washing line to dry, while the flannel and plush fabric can be put in a drier at a low heat.
Sewing the Blanket
First, pin the three materials together, matching them up at one corner. If they don’t match, you will have to cut the pieces to the same size. You can use either sewing scissors or rotary cutters. Rotary cutters are usually more accurate, but put the pieces of fabric on a piece of cardboard to prevent damaging the surface of the table.
Use a ruler or sewing gauge to decide where to cut. The dimensions of all three fabrics need to be exactly the same. Use a pencil to mark where you want to cut.
The next step is to lay down your batting, with the flannel on top, right side up. On top of the flannel, lay the plush fabric right side down. Put pins through the inner section of the fabrics so that the batting, flannel, and plush fabric stay straight when you are sewing.
Next, put masking tape all around the top layer. It is up to you to decide on the width of the seam. If, for example, you want a one inch seam, place the tape 1 inch away from the edge. Use a ruler or sewing gauge to make sure that the distance between the edge and the tape is exactly the same all the way around.
Put the fabrics under the needle of the sewing machine. You need to sew slowly and pull all the time so that the blanket doesn’t get bunched up. Make sure that you are sewing on the outside edge of the tape.
When you get to a corner, create a curved stitch or you can stop sewing and position your fabric 90 degrees. You will get a nice, sharp corner if you do this.
When you are nearly finished, stop and leave a gap of 6 – 8 inches long from where you started sewing. This will be for you to pull the blanket out so that it’s on the right side.
Finishing Your Blanket
Your blanket will look and feel better if there aren’t any bulky edges, so trim around the edges about ¼ inch in. Use your ruler or sewing gauge to measure this and mark it with a pencil.
When you have done this, take out the pins and remove the masking tape.
The next step is to press the edge of the plush fabric. Do this all the way around the blanket. Use your iron on a low heat setting to avoid scorching the fabric.Then turn the blanket onto the other side and press the edge of the flannel in the same way as the plush fabric.
At this point, the batting is on the outside of the blanket and obviously you won’t want it there so now is the time to turn your blanket inside out. Put your hand in the hole you left when sewing the seam. Move your hand in-between the flannel and the plush fabric and move down until you can feel the seam on the opposite side. Pull the fabric slowly and gently out as you don’t want to pull out any stitches
When you have done this, put your hand back in and straighten out the corners.
The final step is to sew up the hole and this is probably the most complicated part of making the blanket. Make sure that the plush fabric is on top before you start.
You will sew with the 6-count embroidery fleece thread and with a blanket stitch. First, tie a knot in the thread and slide the needle into the flannel fabric which is on the bottom. Then slide the needle through all three fabrics through the hole you created by going through the flannel. You don’t want the thread to go all the way through, so put your finger on the edge of the fabric. Slide the needle through the loop and pull the thread tightly. When you get to ½ inch along, slide your needle through the flannel again and then go through all three fabrics again. Repeat this procedure until the hole is sewn up. Tie a knot at the end to make it secure.
Conclusion
Sewing a blanket isn’t too difficult and you could probably do it in a day or even less if you are experienced in sewing. Just think how cozy you will be with your own blanket covering you.