A few weeks ago BabyGirl & I went to a baby shower where the mother was given a small fleece blanket with tabs of ribbons running around the edges. I loved the idea since tags are the first thing that really hold a baby's attention.I used one piece each of two contrasting fabrics (actually left overs from a swaddling blanket I made a few weeks ago, one pink cotton, one patterned baby flannel), and 5 different spools of ribbon in different colors & textures. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the two rectangles measured 17" x 20". The ribbons were cut in 5" lengths with pinking shears to prevent fraying (although next time I think I'll make the ribbons 3 1/2" to 4" long for slightly shorter tags). On the semi-solid fabric I stitched "Sweet Baby Girl" in yellow using tear away cross stitch fabric.
Then I folded the ribbons in half, and pinned them to the right side of the flannel with the loops facing the center of the fabric & the raw edges matching up with the raw edge of the fabric. Make sure you keep the ribbons at least an inch away from the corners.
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sing the side of the presser foot as a guide I ran a seam as close to the raw edge of the fabric as possible. I set the needle position on my machine to sew along the far right position. On the second seam, I moved the needle to the center position but continued to use the edge of the presser foot as my guide.
sing the side of the presser foot as a guide I ran a seam as close to the raw edge of the fabric as possible. I set the needle position on my machine to sew along the far right position. On the second seam, I moved the needle to the center position but continued to use the edge of the presser foot as my guide. I pinned the right sides of the fabrics together and seamed around the edges with a 5/8" seam leaving a hand width opening to turn the fabric. Clip the corners & turn the fabric right side out.
After whip stitching the opening shut, I pressed the edges of the blanket down flat. Finally I ran a zig-zag stitch around the outside edge of the blanket to prevent it from rolling up when washed & totally secure the ribbon tabs.
Here's the end results. As I said before, the tabs turned out a tad longer than I'd like, but I'm still very happy with the finished product. And I've found the gross grain ribbon is the easiest to work with. The satin finish snags too easily.
BabyGirl is giving it to her teacher's first grandbaby. She's very happy with it (she helped lay out the ribbon pattern).
10 comments:
Baby Girl is getting so crafty, helping with layouts and such! I guess she gets it from her talented Mom!
This is incredibly sweet and so cute!!! What a great gift for BG's teacher!
I've seen these several times...very cute! I've thought about making one, but the hooded towel is my usual baby gift! Maybe I'll try this instead next time! Love it!
BTW, Bee made me enlarge the picture so she could see it better... she asked me to make her one for her sixth birthday :)!!
Well that's just cool. I've seen these before, but had no idea why you would need a blanket with tabs on it.. and you have not explained it. I love how springish your fabric and ribbons look. I like it. I like it lots.
Okay. One question though. What is and where do you get tear away cross stitch fabric and how does it work. This just sounds terribly interesting to me. And I'm way out of the look as far as fabric crafting goes.
Zann,
It's also called Waste Canvas. I got mine at Wal-Mart, but you should be able to get it at any craft shop. After you finish your needlework, you pull the canvas apart one strand at a time.
Here's a link with pretty good pictures & instructions on using it:
http://www.needlepointers.com/displaypage.aspx?ArticleID=26549&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cross-stitching.com%2fkh_page.asp%3fid%3d84
Glad you like it....maybe when the time comes...
Soooo colorful and great for spring.
Great job! I keep seeing these in all of the high end stores and yours is way cuter than any that I have seen. I am a new sewer. I've sewn curtains and few dresses for Lilly Kate and I am also interested in the stiching that you did. Did you free hand it? It looks great!
I think this is absolutely amazing! I'm not a sewer yet, I just acquired a sewing machine a few months ago and need to take a class or 2, but I totally want to make one of these when after I've learned how to use my machine. Thanks so much for the step by step instructions! It's perfect for a soon to be new sewer!
Zann- the tabs are for baby to chew on/play with. You could also use the plastic rings to hook toys onto them. There's a really expensive brand of these and other cool baby toys(www.taggies.com).. I think I paid $16 for the taggie ball after one of my jewelry shows. Hannah loved it, and still tosses it around (though now the $1 beach ball is more her style, go figure.)
SOOOO cute! I love taggy blankets!
Baby Girl's teacher is a lucky grandma!
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