Tuesday, May 22, 2012

DIY Project: "Quicky" Yard Panel Baby Blanket

While waiting for the necessary supplies to arrive so I could finish up the project I really was the middle of, I started picking through my fabric stash for something small to complete while I waited. I was happy when I found this really cute baby animal panel, even though I don't even remember when, or for what, I bought it. By chance I also found 2 half yards of the coordinating fabric, and figured I would use them to throw this quick little blanket together.

This project is so simple, it barely needs a tutorial. It is a fabulous project for a beginner quilter (instead of wasting materials making test sandwiches), and perfect if  you ever find yourself in a pinch for a baby gift, as this can be whipped up in less than 2 hours.

Nothing like a crisp, clean, newly-made quilt straight from the dryer. 
I really like the white binding, and check out my new new project labels!

2 Hour Yard Panel Baby Blanket Tutorial

What You'll Need:
1 yard, panel or otherwise, for top
1 yard, continuos or otherwise, for backing
1 fat quarter coordinating fabric, for binding
1 yard batting
Safety pins (never quilt anything without safety pains!)

The top of the blanket displays the entire yard panel - I thought it was so cute with all the different baby animals!

What To Do:
1. First, if you have pieces that are smaller than 1 yard, sew them together so you'll have 1 continuous yard for the front, and 1 continuous yard for the back. I used a yard panel for the front, and 2 x 1/2 yard pieces for the back.
2. Assemble your "quilt sandwich". Begin by laying your backing yard down on a work surface, right side down. Add batting, and lastly, the top fabric, right side facing up. Align all edges and pin together with the safety pins, every 4-8 inches, across the entire yard.
3. Quilt the non-quilt. Sew the layers together in whatever pattern you prefer. I followed the pattern of my top panel, but it doesn't matter. A simple square grid is fine.
4. Bind the edges, using a double fold binding. I used white, cotton scrap fabric to make my binding. (This is also where I added my label.)
5. Done! Wash & dry the blanket, and it's ready to be gifted.

Here you can clearly see how I used the pattern on the panel as my guide when quilting the blanket.

Fabrics:

Top:
1 yard (Yard Panel) Sheri McCulley Studio, Woodland Tails, Panel Blue

Backing:
1/2 yard Sheri McCulley Studio, Woodland Tails, Deer Green
1/2 yard Sheri McCulley Studio, Woodland Tails, Deer Pink

Binding:
white cotton scraps

The backside is two different colors, but even in person, it's hard to tell unless you know about it. 

This little blanket turned out really cute, and while I only made it to combat waiting-frustration, it's actually perfect as a quick little baby gift. A proper quilt takes a lot of time to make, and the amount of work involved is sometimes overkill (for the occasion/relationship/gift). This quicky little blanket is still a cute, handmade gift, and it still has that lovely "quilt-fresh-out-of-the-dryer" feel. It just didn't take weeks to finish. It is conveniently small, only 40" x 40", perfect for a car seat or stroller, and I used really light batting so it's nice and summery. It's even unisex! 

4 comments:

  1. You continue to impress the hell out of me. I wanna try to make a quilty-blanky. Only I have nobody to really send it to.

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    1. Thank you :) You should try it, it's a fun project. And, you can always send it to Llama Face :D

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  2. I love this quilt even more now that I see the backing! You are just amazing with quilts!!!

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    1. Thanks, lady! I'm glad you like it. I liked it before, but it's actually been growing on me even more now that it's finished. I'll probably make a few more like this.

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