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Nesting with No Big Dill

I have a special treat for day three of my Nesting Series…Katy from No Big Dill!
 I love this lady. She is real, she is lovely, she is a wonderful mother to six…count’em 6 beautiful children, she takes gorgeous pictures of her impeccable sewn creations, and her blog is such an uplifting place to visit. Her witty words and creative photography always leave me with a smile on my face and a renewed love for life. 
Today she’s sharing a batch of bright baby blankets modeled with her incredibly handsome Drummer. Enjoy!
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Hello, friends!  I’m Katy from “no big dill” and happy happy happy 😉 to be here sharing a tutorial with you.  
I just had a baby myself a few months ago, so I wanted to make something that I never seem to have enough of: blankets, blankets, blankets!  
Especially if you’re enduring some frigid temperatures when baby debuts, it’s so nice to have a big stack of clean, ready-to-wrap-baby-in blankets.  These don’t require a huge amount of experience, so anyone who can sew a straight line can make these.  They are easy, but have a touch of quilting, which makes it just a bit classier.
 
When I made Drummer’s blanket a couple of months ago, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to finish it, so I started with adding bias, but didn’t love the look.  I stitched around the edge again and liked it more, then thought I might as well add a third row and that’s when I loved it!  So, let’s get started.
What you’ll need:
  • 1 yard of minky dot fabric (I got mine here, but most fabric stores should carry at least a few colors of this) pre-washed.
  • 2 packages of extra wide, double fold bias tape, or you can make your own using this tutorial
  • thread, either matching or contrasting. I did some of both and thought they were both fun.

Are you wondering what kind of bias you should use?  The advantage of store bought bias is that it’s easier.  It’s already made and ready to sew with and the fiber content and starch make it easier to work with since it’s more rigid.  The downside is it’s not as “snugly” as a 100% cotton, or other natural fiber bias, which is ideal for a baby blanket.  Store bought does soften up a bit, as you wash it (I made Drummer’s a couple months ago and it has softened up), just not as much.  If you decide to make your own, make sure to wash the bias fabric beforehand in hot water and dry on high heat so it doesn’t shrink after you sew it on the blanket.  You could also starch it as you pressed it in half, which might make it easier to handle.
 
 If you are using store bought bias tape, you’ll need to attach the two pieces together by opening up the ends and sewing them together.  “Finger press” the seam open and fold them using the previous creases as a guide.

 

Next you need to fold your pre-washed fabric in half (wrong sides together) and make sure they it lays smoothly and on grain.  I had to trim 3 inches on either side of this one (fabric cut off grain is one of my pet peeves!)  Pin and baste (increase the stitch length to 5mm) your open edges together with 1/4″ seam.  I didn’t do this on my first blanket and now my blanket has an unintended little “pocket”.  Oops. (I was going to take a photo of it, but Mr. Drummer happens to actually be sleeping with it as I type, which is rare indeed!)
Now set your stitch length to about 2 1/2mm (this is slightly longer than the default setting, which looks a little more professional than a 2).  Pin your bias around the perimeter of the blanket.  Fold the corners as pictured for a neat mitered look.  When you come to the end of the bias, cut it an inch overlapping the other end, fold under 1/4 inch and pin over the other end.
Stitch close to the inner edge of the bias.  This first time around you’ll want to go slowly, making sure you are catching both sides of your bias.  Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, you can go back later and stitch it on the other side if a few little edges don’t catch.  The first row is going to look just okay, and then stitch around the outer edge and your blanket is looking even better.  By the time you do you third stitching, it will go quickly and make your blanket look amazing with a bit of that quilter’s touch.
thank you
thank you
thank you
!!!
xo
katy
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I love, love, love these triple stitched minky blankets Katy! 🙂 
Thank you so much for nesting with me today.
 
 

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Comments

  6. I need to make a whole family of minkies, my 1 yr old is suddenly dragging this disgusting minky+satin blanket everywhere (my oldest was not a blankie baby so this is new) and my older daughter feels the need to have a blankie now to match. So if I would like to have blankies for the new baby, by my calculations I will need to make about 57 just to guaruntee that baby3 will have one available at

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  9. Carinne–the larger blankets that use a whole yard of fabric are about 31" X 35" depending on how much you need to trim to even out the grain. The mini snuggle blankies are about 18.5" X 15.5".

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  11. Love the triple stitching, those colors, and Mr Drummer. You may have convinced me to try sewing with minky again. That shifting/puckering drives me crazy.

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  14. These blankies are so cute! The triple stitch really finishes it off 🙂 I’d love one (or two… or five) of these for my little one on the way!

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  15. I love this! I can’t wait to make this for my second little girl, due March 14th. I think I’ll have to follow the nesting series too! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

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  16. So cute! I can't wait to make one.
    I have one question. I'm just beginning to learn how to sew, and I don't understand why you need to sew the 2 bias tapes together. Please explain.

    Thanks! 🙂

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  20. I love these these blankets and have been making my own fun color minky blankets, as I just had our 4th son 4mos. ago. Where do you get your ‘no big dill’ labels made? I purchased some off etsy, but I’m ready for a new look.

    Thanks so much!

    Reply

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