DIY Minky Satin Trimmed Baby Blanket

I had been wanting to make my newest niece (born in June) a baby blanket for sometime now and have a girlfriend who is currently pregnant with her second baby boy…..so I decided to finally get started. Crafting really helps me keep my mind off of things, and keeps me busy.

There are so many cute choices on Etsy for similar blankets, but I just couldn’t find the exact fabric that I wanted….plus I really liked the idea of them being handmade (by me).

You’re really not saving any/much money or time by making it yourself (each of mine cost $20-25 for the materials, and took around 2 hours to make), but it is a fun/relatively easy project and will make a great gift! I found a great tutorial online which I followed step-by-step, except for the fabric choices. The tutorial was excellent, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to make a blanket similar to the ones I made.

Supplies Needed:

• 1 yard minky fabric (Both colors I purchased were on sale for $8.99/yard)
• 1 yard coordinating fabric for back You can do the same fabric for both front and back, or do two different fabrics like I did. (Pink Chevron on sale for $4.19/yard, Grey/Teal Animal on sale for $9.99/yard)
• 1 package of satin binding. I went with silver/grey for both blankets. ($7.49/package)
• Coordinating Thread – same color as the satin binding ($5.59/spool) I purchased all of my supplies from JoAnn Fabric, but you could also get everything you need from Hancock Fabric, Hobby Lobby, Crafts 2000, or fabric.com. Make sure you use a coupon if you go into JoAnn’s….I NEVER go into that place without one…they have a nifty little app for the iPhone that always has some good ones, and I like to check out the RetailMeNot app too. Sometimes I am lucky enough to be able to use 2 coupons.  Also, I doubled everything (except for the thread, 1 spool of thread was more than enough for 2 blankets) on the list above because I was making 2 blankets.

Be sure to follow these essential tips:

• Wash AND dry your fabric before you start. It WILL shrink, and you want it to do so before you sew it.
• DO NOT iron the minky fabric. Ironing and high heat will ruin the nap and any embossing in the fabric.
• If the fabric you choose has stripes or a repetitive pattern be sure to think about the orientation when laying out your fabric,  like I did with chevron print….I was sure to line it up to where it would be straight along the borders.
• Use a straight edge like a yard stick to make your marks on the fabric before sewing, this will help you keep things in line.
• Take your time with the corners. This is the most frustrating part of the whole process, and will likely take the most time.

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For whatever reason 1 yard of the minky fabric I purchased was quite a bit more than 1 yard of the coordinating cotton fabric so I will be making a few taggie blankets with the extra (a small blanket the size of a wash cloth…maybe a bit bigger, with ribbons around it as sensory objects for a baby). I made another trip to JoAnn Fabric the other day to get some coordinating fabric for the back and some spools of ribbon. I’ll be sure to post pics and a tutorial after I finish them!

Happy crafting! 🙂