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How to Make a Blanket for a Baby

Are you always jealous of that person at the baby shower that brings the cutest homemade gifts?  Maybe it’s just me.  As crafty as I am, I always just default to buying something because I don’t have time.  Well, I’m trying to get ahead of the game by stocking up on some easy, homemade baby shower gifts.  I thought I would show you how to make a blanket for a baby that is super duper easy.  All you need are a couple yards of flannel, which comes in some of the cutest nursery prints! Coordinate this with some cute matching burp cloths or hair bows, and you will be the one that everyone is jealous of.  Here’s my tutorial for how to make a baby blanket from flannel. Also take a look at these other easy homemade blanket tutorials

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel. Great beginner sewing project and easiest way to make a baby blanket!

sew flannel baby blankets

(This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended.)

To make a baby blanket, you’ll need:

rabbit and unicorn flannel fabric

Watch the video!

After you’re done reading the post, if you still need more help, I filmed a step-by-step tutorial that shows you exactly how to make a baby blanket.  You can watch it in this post.  (If you’re using an ad blocker, you may need to turn it off to see the video.)

 

How to Make a Blanket

First thing you need to do is lay out your flannel and straighten up all of the edges.  Make sure the two pieces of flannel you use are the same size.  Use a rotary cutter and cutting mat to make it easier to cut your edges straight.  Pin the two pieces right-sides-together (with the print on the inside).

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

Sew a 1/2-inch seam all around the outside of the blanket.  Remove the pins as you go.

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

Leave about 8 inches unsewn.

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

Cut off each of the four corners, being careful not to cut through the thread.

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

Turn the blanket right-side-out by pushing the fabric through the gap in your stitching.

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

Use a chopstick or crochet hook inside of the blanket to poke out each of the corners.

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

Iron the sides of the blanket to get a nice, crisp edge.

Iron baby blanket

Stitch around the edge of your blanket using a straight or decorative stitch.  If you use a decorative stitch, you should hand stitch the opening of your blanket closed first.

How to sew a baby blanket with flannel.

If you use a straight stitch, you can just sew the opening shut when you sew around the blanket.  If you are a beginner, I recommend just doing the straight stitch.  The decorative stitches can be hard to line back up if you run out of thread or make a mistake.

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

To ensure the blanket keeps its form in the wash, I like to sew little spots on the blanket using a tight zig-zag stitch.  This is the reason that a lot of people “tie” blankets with yarn, but I like this look better.  In the photo below, you can hardly see it!  I didn’t care very much about being accurate, so I just folded the blanket in thirds and then in thirds again.  I marked the four corners of the folds with pins, and that’s where I sewed.  I changed my top thread to match the top of my blanket and the bobbin thread to match the bottom.  The zig-zag stitch length on my machine was set to .5, and stitched about 8 stitches forward and 8 stitches back.  Easier than it sounds, I promise!

How to make a blanket for a baby out of flannel.

That’s it!  Hopefully you now know how to make a blanket so you can make cute baby shower gifts.  These are so easy to make, I stitched up a few in new time.  Now someone just needs to have a baby girl so I can give her some blankets.

How to make a baby blanket for beginners.

Be sure to check out these other baby crafts.

DIY Burp Cloths with Appliqués

Easy Baby Quilt from Receiving Blankets

Necktie Onesie with Baby Tie Pattern

How to Make No-Sew Fleece Blankets with a Braided Edge

How to Make No-Sew Fleece Blankets with a Braided Edge

How to Make a No-Sew Baby Blanket with Minky Fabric

If you like making baby blankets, also check out this easy strip quilt pattern from Woodberry Way.

Cutesy Crafts is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. This post contains affiliate links.

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Robin Tasker

Saturday 20th of January 2024

So my question is after feeding material through open you left you said that you use zig zag stitch to close blanket. Do you go all the way around the blanket again or just the open that you left to feed material through. I will probably use the straight t stitch, need to know if I am to just do that section or do I go around the whole blanket again?

Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts

Monday 5th of February 2024

Yes, I top stitch around the whole edge again. It helps keep the edge from rolling and makes it look cute.

Denise

Wednesday 14th of December 2022

I can't seem to get the edges even when I press. It is like either the front or back laps over. What is am easy way to keep them from doing thst

Sue Andrews

Sunday 18th of September 2022

I luv easy patterns

Helen Baran

Wednesday 2nd of September 2020

Being my first baby blanket, I didn't understand what it meant but sewing 8 inches forward and 8 inches back. Could you explain a little more? Thanks. Mrs. B.

Mary

Monday 12th of October 2020

The directions are for 8 STITCHES not INCHES. Does that help?

Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts

Wednesday 2nd of September 2020

A zig zag stitch would normally show up as a zig zag that you can see. Like triangles without the bottoms and connected. When you change the stitch length, it makes the zig zags super close together, so the needle still travels up and down, but it looks more like straight lines all next to each other. So when you go 8 stitches forward, you are just letting the needle go down about 8 times. The thread will travel forward slightly, and you'll end up with a little square shape of stitches like under the unicorn in the photo. Then you stitch backwards over the same stitches just to make sure all of your stitches stay in place. I hope that makes sense!

Mary Jane

Wednesday 26th of August 2020

Kim not understanding about the folding in thirds.

Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts

Wednesday 26th of August 2020

The folding is just so you can measure where to sew the darts. I put 4 darts in it. So if you imagine folding a piece of paper in thirds, one way (2 fold lines to make 3 equal sections), then fold in thirds the other way, the darts would go in the 4 spots that the folds intersect. So when you fold the blanket, you mark those spots with pins, and then sew the darts in those locations. You could also measure to find the 4 spots, but the folding seemed faster to me.

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