how to make a taggie blanket

After weeks of promising this tutorial - it's finally here!

Want to make a cute tag blankie for a little sweetie in your life?  Here's how...

Items needed:

2 fabrics, 1/2 yard of each {this is enough for several blankets, but less will be difficult to work with}
26" ribbon
coordinating thread
sewing machine
Heat 'n Bond lite
iron

First, pick out 2 fabrics - I like to use minky for the back because it is SO soft.  Wash and dry both fabrics according to the directions that were posted on the bolt.  Make sure you don't use any fabric softener or dryer sheets!  {this is really important later on}

Once you've got the fabrics prepped, cut out 1 square of each fabric.  I make my squares 8.5"x8.5" but you could use any size you like.  After all the sewing this leaves you with a blanket that's about 8" square. 

I love to personalize these blankets, so I add the baby's initial to each side of the blanket.  To do this, I print out the initials in the font and size desired and use it as a cutting template.  For this blanket, I used "Century Gothic, bold" in 250 point font.

The first step in attaching the initial is to use some heat 'n bond lite.  This is a thermal adhesive that will help us attach the initials to the blanket.  If you used fabric softener on the fabric the heat 'n bond will NOT stick, so try to remember not to do that.   

Place the bumpy side of the heat 'n bond onto the back of the fabric.  Using an iron set to DRY and medium heat, press on the paper side of the heat 'n bond for 2 seconds to adhere the heat 'n bond to the fabric.  It doesn't matter how big the piece of fabric is - it just needs to be large enough so you can easily cut out the letter. 

Then simply cut out the letter that you need from the fabric with heat 'n bond on the back. 

In this case, an "M" and "m."

Then place the initial wherever you'd like it on the blanket squares.

Peel the paper off the back of your cut out letter and use an iron to adhere the letter to the blanket square.  The iron is set to DRY and medium heat - press for 6 seconds, until all the letter edges are secure.

I like to sew around the edges of the letters after they are heat bonded just for extra adherence insurance - and because I think it looks nice.  :-)

I used a zig zag stitch, but a straight stitch would work fine too.

Ok - so now you should have a top square and a bottom square which each have an initial sewn on.  Put the right sides together and pin the squares in place.  Make sure you leave an opening on one side so that you can flip the blanket inside out when you done - I mark that spot with criss-cross pins so I don't forget and accidentally sew the whole blanket shut!

After pining, but before sewing, cut your ribbon into small sections that will be inserted while you sew the blanket together.  I make my pieces 3" long and put 2 on each side.

As you are sewing, fold a ribbon piece in half and insert it between the fabrics so that you sew over the ribbon ends and secure it to the blanket edge.

*Make sure the 2 ends of the ribbon are at the edge and the folded side is in between the fabrics*  

This way when you invert the blanket the ribbon will be the right orientation.  Does that make sense?

When you are done sewing all around the edges - except the smallish hole you left open - you're ready to invert the blanket.  You can see my open area at the bottom of the photo.

Invert the blanket, and ta da!  Looks pretty good!

Now you need to hand sew the opening closed.  There's a really great way to do this so that you can't even see the stitches - it's called a "ladder stitch".  I thought about trying to explain it, but I couldn't get any good photos and decided that a video is our best bet.  Here's a great example of exactly what I did...



So now your blanket is completely closed on all 4 sides.  You could call it done, but I like to add one final step.  I think sewing on top of the blanket gives it a more finished look, so I sew all the way around the top using a straight stitch, about 1/4" in from the edge.

Now we're finished!  What do you think?

I love these little blankets and once you make one or two they really are easy to crank out.  If anyone has specific questions about these directions, don't hesitate to ask!